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BC Building Code Insulation Requirements for Kamloops

Kamloops is Climate Zone 5 under the BC Building Code 2024. Minimum effective R-values for attics, walls, crawl spaces and foundations, plus the Step Code.

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Kamloops is Climate Zone 5

The BC Building Code 2024 came into effect on 8 March 2024 and applies to permits applied for after that date; it is based on the National Building Code of Canada 2020 with BC changes. Its climatic data table (Appendix C, Table C-2) lists Kamloops at 3450 Celsius heating degree-days, with a January 2.5 percent design temperature of minus 23 degrees. The energy efficiency section sorts locations by heating degree-days, and 3000 to 3999 is Zone 5. So Kamloops, and the neighbourhoods from Brocklehurst to Juniper Ridge, is a Zone 5 location for insulation purposes.

That is a warmer zone than most of the Interior. Sun Peaks and other higher-elevation communities sit in colder zones with higher minimums, and the contractor we connect you with quotes Sun Peaks jobs to that zone, not to the Kamloops numbers below.

Minimum effective R-values, Zone 5

Subsection 9.36.2 gives prescriptive minimums as effective thermal resistance in RSI (metric). Effective means the whole assembly, framing included, not the number on the insulation bag. For a house in Zone 5 without a heat-recovery ventilator, Table 9.36.2.6.-A requires: ceilings below attics RSI 8.67 (about R-49); cathedral ceilings and flat roofs RSI 4.67 (about R-26.5); walls RSI 3.08 (about R-17.5); floors over unheated spaces, which is how a floor over a vented crawl space is treated, RSI 4.67 (about R-26.5). With a heat-recovery ventilator, Table 9.36.2.6.-B lowers the attic to RSI 6.91 (about R-39) and walls to RSI 2.97 (about R-16.9).

Table 9.36.2.6.-C, for buildings containing only dwelling units that use the heat pump or HRV path, raises Zone 5 walls to RSI 3.69 (about R-21) and keeps the attic at RSI 8.67. Sentence 9.36.2.6.(2) requires rim joists to meet the wall value, which is the clause that makes closed-cell foam at the rim the usual answer in Kamloops. Below grade, Table 9.36.2.8.-A requires Zone 5 foundation walls at RSI 2.98 (about R-16.9), which also covers a conditioned crawl space wall.

What that means in inches of foam

Using a published Canadian closed-cell rating of R-6.03 per inch (Elastochem Insulthane Extreme, LTTR at four inches) and an open-cell rating of R-3.8 per inch (Insulthane 450 NM), a rim joist needing about R-17.5 effective is roughly three inches of closed-cell. A vented attic to R-49 is not usually all foam; the common Kamloops approach is a foam air-seal layer on the ceiling plane topped with blown-in to reach the total. A cathedral ceiling to R-26.5 is about four and a half inches of closed-cell against the deck. The contractor's quote converts the assembly target to a thickness for your product, framing and depth, which is why the R-value on the quote should be the effective number, not the per-inch number.

The BC Energy Step Code in Kamloops

New homes do not follow the tables above directly. The City of Kamloops adopted the BC Energy Step Code for permits applied for on or after 1 January 2022: all new Part 9 residential buildings (three storeys or less, up to 600 square metres) must meet Step 3 under Subsection 9.36.6, and Part 3 buildings meet Step 2. The province then reserved Steps 1 and 2 for smaller buildings in May 2023, so Step 3 is the floor everywhere in BC and Kamloops is at that floor. Step 3 is a performance target proven by a HOT2000 energy model from a licensed energy advisor and a blower-door test at the end, with an EnerGuide label displayed in the house.

For a builder that means the foam is specified by the energy model, and airtightness counts as much as R-value. Open-cell in the wall cavities with closed-cell at rims, cantilevers and the garage ceiling is a common Kamloops combination because it hits the air leakage number without over-buying foam. The City requires the pre-construction compliance report and drawings with the permit application, and the as-built report, blower-door result and EnerGuide label at final inspection.

Renovations, additions and permits

For an existing house the prescriptive tables are what an inspector compares against when a permit is involved, such as an addition, a basement suite or a Sahali split-level opened up for new windows. Whether a permit is needed at all is set by the City's Building Regulation Bylaw No. 11-84: Part 6 lists the exemptions and Part 13 lists when a permit is required, and the City's permit FAQ points you there rather than giving a blanket rule. Re-insulating a crawl space or attic inside the existing envelope is a different question from building a heated shop, and the contractor we connect you with will tell you which side of the line your job is on before the rig shows up.

Need it hauled or installed?

Call (778) 765-0272 or request a call back. This website connects Kamloops homeowners and builders with a local, licensed and insured spray foam insulation contractor. Calls and form submissions go directly to that contractor, which quotes and completes the work.

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