How to finish the exposed plinth on a passive raft foundation
The passive raft system uses eps foam slabs to insulate the concrete raft underneath and up its sides, but this leaves an area of exposed foam between the finished ground level and the external cladding. Timber cladding should not normally be installed down to ground level as the constant splash back from rain would cause it to rot prematurely. I decided to render the exposed foam with a flexible rendering system from Sto that was rated to be used at ground level and below. I dug out the stone sub base around the perimeter of the raft to expose the foam below ground level and to give access to render properly. the render was applied as a two part system over a couple of days which then took a number of days to harden up. It is meant to stay flexible throughout its life to reduce cracking over time.
Choosing the render colour to compliment the timber cladding, Indian sandstone and also blue engineering brick.
The cladding was protected with a plastic film during installation of the render. The channel around the perimeter of the build was backfilled once the render had gone off.