Archive for December, 2009

The basement is usually the last place people think to insulate, yet it can account for up to 1/4 of heat loss in a home. Upgrading basement insulation can significantly cut down on energy use. It creates a comfortable living space and extends your recreation and living space for very little cost.

Many people don’t insulate their basement walls because they mistakenly believe that the soil outside does the insulating for them. Unfortunately, traditional masonry basements, whether they’re poured concrete, concrete blocks or even stone have very little insulating value. Basements lose so much heat because of large, un-insulated surfaces above and below grade level. There is also a lot of air leakage through basement windows and penetrations, through cracks, and at the top of the foundation wall (sill area).

Done properly, basement insulation will not only reduce heat loss, but it will make your basement warmer, drier and much more comfortable.

But before installing any kind of basement insulation, you need to ensure that any cracks, leaks or other moisture problems are dealt with properly. Moisture can seriously damage your finished basement and the problem is far more difficult and expensive to fix after a basement is finished. So just make sure that any water leaks or seepage problems are solved before you start insulating.

There are two main ways to insulate your basement – interior insulation and exterior insulation.

Here we are just going to talk about interior basement insulation, as doing it from the outside is major and would cost big dollars. Though if you have to dig up around the exterior of your home in order to properly damp proof your basement, I would make sure I added insulation to the exterior of the foundation before it was filled back in.

When you insulate the interior of your basement you can use any of the main types of home interior insulation, including fiberglass bats, rigid foam board and spray foam.
Having a metal or wood frame of studs will help support the insulation and give you a place to attach drywall or paneling.

I think the best solution is building wood framed stud walls, up against the concrete or block walls, and then adding insulation in-between the studs. If you create standard 2×4 walls you can install an R-13 (3.5” thick) insulation in-between the studs which meets the code in new construction today. You must also not forget to insulate the rim board or header joist of your basement to the same standard. This is the space between the bottom of your joist and the bottom of your floor.

To insulate this way you should first install a moisture barrier over the bare concrete foundation wall before adding the stud frame and insulation. Then after the wall is insulated a vapor barrier needs to be installed before the walls are finished with drywall or whatever. Moisture and vapor barriers will help reduce condensation, and the problems related to it.

Many basements have no insulation at all, and for most homeowners this means there is great potential for improvement. Insulating a basement isn’t a difficult job, and un-insulated basement walls account for a substantial amount of heat loss, so you can quickly see why adding insulation to your basement walls (whether you want to finish them or not), will help make your basement warmer and the floors above more comfortable while saving you money on your heating bills.