If I am going to be building an SIP house, what is my best option for a basement. I am concerned about air flow and cold air getting in throught the basement and into t he main floor.  I live in Manitoba which has a very diverse climate.  Summer is +50 and winter is -50C.  Any suggestions.

Move.

Greg Freyermuth
915-256-7563, Cell
[email protected]

If your soil conditions are dry, you could use SIP basement panels. If not, I would go with ICF's with additional insulation on the inside.

dcook4 -

If I had to do it again, I would ICF the basement. I had to heat my house's basement (through radiant tubes in the slab) in the dead of winter in Colorado so that I could get the drywall and paint in. It cost me a fortune because I did not have basement insulation (and my basement is about 2/3 buried in the dirt). At the very least, invest in 2 to 3" of EPS foam on the exterior basement walls, and be sure to put 3/4" or 1" foam board underneath your basement slab. It will cost a bit extra, but the payoff will come quickly at today's gas or electric prices.

olpjeb,

Which type of polystyrene would you use - expanded or extruded - under the basement slab?

Either will work, but I like extruded. It is easier to get where I live (Dow Blueboard) and it has a 25% better value for the same thickness of expanded PS.

what about the reflective bubble wrap type insulation for under a slab?

With basement SIPs... if you leave your basement unfinished, do you still have to drywall (cover) the interior SIP wall?

I read that with ICFs... in an unfinished basement you still have to cover the interior foam.

I was wondering is SIPs were the same or if the interior OSB ply was an acceptable covering.

rarickert;

this is a code related question and most codes require for "finished" areas a 15 min thermal barrier over "plastic" insulation, EPS is considered plastic. Normally 1/2" drywall is used.
I am not aware of a requirement for "unfinished" areas needing a barrier, I would not think that a building official would require the OSB be covered, but it is a matter of iterpretation of the inspector and at their descretion.
We always leave the inside of garage exterior walls on our steel SIP panels bare, as well as the garage ceiling (if there is no living space above)

If you are going ot use basement qaulity sips, make sure that the skins are 5/8" thick .60 treated plywood with a structual member every 4' on center (treated  laminated glu-lam) for the possibilty of hydraulic pressure.  We back fill all of our sip basements and foundation panels with pearock for drainage  and to reduce hydraulic pressure.  We also set all these projects on pearock.  This is in Minnesota.  You do not need to cover with drywall.  I have seen a basement that the inner skin of treated plywood was stained with a batton strip on the verticle seams and a chair rail horizontal for looks.