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 interaction with the damp-proof course. 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 utilised for basements, walls and roofs — the total exterior envelope.
Source · Differentiation sheet
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Written by Data Subsystems, for Guardian Structural Technologies. Last updated .
Drafted from Guardian Structural product literature and published building-science sources. Awaiting Guardian technical review. Confirm any figure against the current product documents or ask us before you rely on it in a design.