We do not recommend the use of a dimple membrane on top of the Peel & Stick as the back fill material, upon settlement, will drag the dimple membrane off the wall. Whereas the Peel & Stick membrane acts as a shear plane, allowing the back fill material to slide down the foundation wall. Special care must be taken to not damage the membrane when backfilling.
The video below shows the installation of Nudura Peel & Stick membrane.
There are three methods of protection (we recommend the first option):
The Nudura Peel & Stick membrane (manufactured by Suprema) will protect the EPS foam not only from ants and has been tested and proven to the same test criteria as used for evaluation of termite barriers by the International Code Council Evaluation Service (the ICC-ES). The membrane has been found to pass the testing with excellent barrier properties for termite resistance. As Termites are considerably more destructive than carpenter ants, the membrane certainly will provide even better resistance against termites.
Some of the bulletins below provide methods for minimizing ant strikes on the home with simple tips such as keeping stacked fire wood away from the perimeter of the building. As for detailing, the inspection strip detail (link shown below) can be used to see if infestation has occured. If a carpenter ant were to ever access the EPS foam below grade (nearly impossible with the Peel & Stick membrane) he would basically get ejected to the grade outside. The concrete check cut at grade assures that he cannot get farther up in the wall without detection by a pest control operator. This is where building and site management is important.
Vancouver and lower mainland area have significant rainfall and careful attention must be paid to the building envelope design.
The Nudura Peel & Stick Membrane is intended for below grade. Installing NUDURA Peel & Stick above grade should be avoided as it is a vapour barrier and its use over the full surface of the ICF wall (except for limited purposes of window and opening flashings to discharge water from around frames out the the exterior of the EPS foam) could trap vapour within the wall assembly which, if the dew point is reached, would cause condensation of water within the concrete core or the exterior EPS foam.