Basement and below-grade walls
Guardian lists basements among the applications for the system, alongside walls and roofs, as part of the total exterior envelope.
Why below grade is different
A below-grade wall carries lateral soil pressure as well as vertical load, sits against permanent moisture, and is the coldest surface in most houses in winter and the coolest in summer.
Insulating it matters more than people expect: a large fraction of the envelope area in a house with a full basement is below grade, and an uninsulated basement is a significant heat loss and a comfort problem for the floor above.
What to resolve
Waterproofing and drainage, the connection to the footing and to the floor above, and the capillary break between footing and wall. These are project-specific and belong in the engineering rather than in a general guide.
What Guardian publishes
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Guardian states panels can be utilized for basements, walls and roofs, which is the total exterior envelope.
Source · Differentiation sheet
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Published by Guardian Structural Technologies. Last updated .
Drafted from our product literature and published building-science sources. Awaiting our technical review. Confirm any figure against the current product documents or ask us before you rely on it in a design.