On Sat, 05 Jul 2014 21:57:59 -0700, Jeff Liebermann
wrote:

On Sat, 05 Jul 2014 23:31:46 -0400, wrote:

That's bad. Really bad. I was referring to outside, though. Trees
that close to frame buildings aren't a good idea. I had problems with
moss on my driveway in Alabama. ...and that was a completely open
area. The only trees on the lot were a few Crepe Myrtles (the bushy
type) and a 10' Cherry that I'd just planted. The problem was on the
North side of the house, though.

I have some moss or algae (not mold) growing on the roof and in a dark
outside corner. I control it by spraying the area with dilute bleach
twice per year:

You might want to string some copper wire across the roof. They also
make copper and zinc strips for the purpose.

http://www.thisoldhouse.com/toh/asktoh/question/0,,401167,00.html
There are a few redwoods leaning against the deck and part of the
roof. I try to make room by cutting back the roof and deck, but the
trees just keep growing. The north side of the trees sometimes
accumulate some moss but conveniently, that side is not in contact
with the house.

I don't like any growth in contact with the house. Any wind and
there's more work to do. It's good to keep the exterior dry, too.

Nah, you're not crammed fourteen to a house and shuttled back and
forth from the dorm to work.

I have a cot, sleeping bag, and some survival supplies in the office.
However, they're not for the occasional all night writing exercises,
data recovery exercises, or last minute taxes. They're for when the
roads are closed due to flood, mud, or crud and I can't drive home.

Sounds like a regular occurrence. Ugh.

Just before I bought this house, I lived with some friends in a
crowded apartment building located about 20 ft from a major freeway.
The traffic noise was so bad that everyone had mattresses blocking the
freeway facing windows. Actually, I didn't live there as all of my
stuff was in a cramped storage locker.

Sure, but you were mentioning temperature being an advantage. I
didn't find it so, at least for a smaller building. Perhaps a large
building (more constant sub-slab temperature) would be different.

How was the slab in the summer? I would expect the slab floor to be
cooler, especially if there were cold water pipes inside. An
acquaintance built a thermal sink near his house consisting of an
underground water tank containing about 500 gallons of water. The
water is not for drinking (but can be used for fire suppression).
Instead, it is pumped through copper and plastic pipes in the walls
and floor. During the summer, it keeps the house at ground
temperature. During the winter, the water is heated by his wood
burner. It is then slowly pumped through the walls and floor to heat
the house at night. It's not intended to heat or cool the house, but
rather to moderate the temperature swings so that minimal heating and
cooling will work more effectively.

Like the Winter, it worked fine for a month or two into the season.
Late in the season it got to be the wrong temperature and would work
against the heat pump. Most people have this mistaken idea that only
a few feet down the ground is a constant temperature - not true. Just
notice the position of the mixing valve when you take a shower, during
Summer and Winter.

Thermal conductivity of concrete is about 1 W/m-K while kiln dried
wood is roughly 0.1 W/m-K (varies with moisture content).
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_thermal_conductivities

Yes, you can feel the difference with your feet. ...and it's rare to
use wood as insulation.

I've seen wood laminate over foam board insulation (underlayment) used
on slab foundations. However, I have no personal experience:
http://www.doityourself.com/forum/solid-hardwood-engineered-laminate-flooring/320138-laminate-over-rigid-foam-insulation.html
Delta-FL moisture barrier, EPS foam, 3/8" OSB (oriented strand board),
3/32" underlayment foam, and laminate sandwich. The end result is
allegedly better insulated than a 2" elevated sub-floor on the slab.
The catch is that the slab should be perfect as wet spots (leaks and
cracks) and lumps will wreck anything you put on the slab. The
underside of a laminated wood floor is quite sensitive to moisture so
the moisture barrier also has to be perfect.

Yes, a foam board probably would have made all the difference. Much
of the downstairs of our house was tile or bamboo flooring, with the
master BR carpeted, directly on the slab. All of the floors were
noticeably warmer/colder than the upstairs floor.

I'm leery about putting anything over concrete (whether floor or
wall), for exactly the reasons you state. Concrete is porous and
moisture *will* come through. I really don't want to stop it on the
inside. My current basement has an unfinished basement and I'm not
sure what to do on the floor. I'm only planning on using it for a
shop and storage but I want to sheetrock the walls, at least, if not
put in a ceiling (though may not for tax reasons). Most of it is
carpeted now, which I'm tearing up (sawdust in carpeting is a PITA).
The problem is that the floor is dusting. Not sure how to handle it.