After stripping the forms, we installed 2-inch-thick XPS insulation on the interior side of the frost wall, then backfilled with ¾-inch compacted crushed stone to the interior side and with site soil to the exterior. We spread a 2-inch layer of sand over the crushed stone to improve site walkability and to create a smooth, level surface for the future sub-slab insulation. Finally, we covered the exposed top of the frost walls and future slab area with insulated concrete blankets. It took about two weeks to complete the first phase.
After stripping the forms, we installed 2-inch-thick XPS insulation on the interior side of the frost wall, then backfilled with ¾-inch compacted crushed stone to the interior side and with site soil to the exterior. We spread a 2-inch layer of sand over the crushed stone to improve site walkability and to create a smooth, level surface for the future sub-slab insulation. Finally, we covered the exposed top of the frost walls and future slab area with insulated concrete blankets. It took about two weeks to complete the first phase.

Last November, my company began remodeling a French cottage–style home in the Hudson River Valley region of New York. Built in the late 1960s, the existing wood-framed structure was set on a slab-on-grade foundation. It had half-round transoms above the doors and windows, a cementitious exterior veneer, and a hip roof with steep, unequal pitches and a curved "flare" at the eaves—all in keeping with its architectural style.

Currently, the owners use the cottage as a weekend get-away from the city, and to accommodate their growing family, they decided to make much-needed improvements to the home's size and comfort. Working with architect Jonathan Lanman, they created a scope of work that included tearing down the existing 13-by-18-foot screened porch on the south...

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