Can You Stop Ground Frost From Going Deeper?

That will work just fine.

Around where I live there are many places that have snow three feet deep or more that apparently don't freeze at all because of it. I keep finding these spots when moving snow with the snow blower.

Wow. Brings back memories when I lived in the north (closer to Hudson Bay) and my father used to pile snow around the house to just below the windows. Usually out about 6 feet. The snow sure was a great insulator and kept the house warmed. Frost would go very deep (plus 8 feet) where the snow was blown away. Air temperatures were consistently below minus 30 and often to minus 40 every night. Straw or hay bales were not an option as there is no farming and the only cows you would see were moose. All in all despite the hardship of winter a great place to grow up.

So OP snow will work as well as the hay bales.

No wonder you moved to the banana belt.

Ok, that's enough cracks at northerners ;) and yes, we have both cows and moose. The moose like the hay fields too.

Straw, or hay, bales may be easier to deploy and remove.

we had some water lines freezing one year, and put 2" rigid foam panels on the ground. that helped

Yeah. Straw bales. Store them around the outside of the barn in a deep layer. Use them in the summer. If you get to it now, the problem won't get worse and may even reverse itself.

Yes, there is an answer. It is called FPSF, Frost protected Shallow Foundations. There is a procedure involved used mostly on new construction, but can be applied to older buildings. There is alot of info about it on line. We were actually proposing using this in our new home so our foundation footings would only have to be 2 feet deep. Our frost line here is 5 feet. Town requires 6FT deep footings. Now that the economy is where it is, that is out of the equation so we are looking into FPSF for cost savings and more so it is so much cheaper. Here is a link that will give you some more insite: http://www.toolbase.org/Technology-Inventory/Foundations/frost-protected-shallow-foundations#jumpInstallation

Also:

http://building.dow.com/na/en/applications/building/foundations/foundationshallow.htm

Let us know how you make out.

Snow is the answer. I understand that in the upper pennisula of Michigan the ground never freezes because of the heavy snowfall there.

oilcan13

I grew up in the UP in the lake effect snow zone. The ground freezes to 8 ft occasionally there. The snow may be good insulation but cold is still cold. Foundations are dug at least 8ft. You can not depend on a lot of snow every year. You can depend on it being cold.

1.You would have to remove the snow about 4 ft. and warm the ground to stop it from going deeper and draw the frost out. A make-shift wood frame and insulated tarps would work fine.

2. For the future, Flax straw is the best insulation of straws if available.

3. Warning !!!!!!!!!! If you use any type of straw next to a building or Mobile Home to insulate it, your Insurance might be Void if you have a fire so it would be wise to check with your Insurance Company.