Insulating my basement. Is my plan too simple?

[Don.1936]

Question one. How far down?

I live in a comfortable 60-year-old house with an undeveloped basement used mainly for storage. I don’t intend to develop it, but I’d definitely like to put a little insulation in place around the inside of the foundation in order to save some energy. (We don’t explicitly heat our basement, but enough heat escapes from the ducting, hot water heater, etc., to make it tolerable down there in the winter.) The basement has 7.5 foot painted (latex) concrete walls (in excellent condition) that rise about three feet above ground level, with the floor joists embedded in the concrete at the top. I haven’t yet determined how far down I should take the insulation. I’ve been looking around this forum, but haven’t yet found an answer to this question (for an undeveloped, unheated basement.) Any suggestions? (I suspect it’s good to not insulate it all the way down, so as to get the benefit of some cooling in the summer. )

Question Two. What’s wrong with this solution?

The southern Alberta climate is pretty dry, summer and winter, and I’ve never had any sign of moisture in my basement (except when my hot water heater leaked on me). Luckily, we have sandy soil and excellent drainage. Anyway, I want to do the insulation as simply as possible and suitable for a basement that will only be used for storage. (I’d like to do a neat job, however.) . . . . . Well, here’s my plan. I’m going to buy some rigid R5 pink foam board and use silicon or some such thing to glue it to the walls from the top down to the desired depth (see question one). Then I’d like to glue some painted 1/8” thick (?) wood paneling over it to provide a protective surface. I’ll cover the joints with 3/4” molding. I don’t plan to use a vapor barrier because our climate is so dry and we’ve never had a problem with moisture. In fact, we’d welcome a little more moisture in our house, especially in the winter. So how does this sound? Any suggestions as to what type of adhesive I should use, if I go ahead with this?

It may be evident from the preceding that I’m not really too experienced with home improvement projects, so any advice to steer me in the right direction would be very welcome. Thanks in advance.

[Concretemasonry]

You have hit on several good points that most people miss because they are micro-managing basement climate control.

1. You are smart enough to recognize the benefits of not covering the entire wall with insulation and getting the benefits of the thermal mass or "heat sink" during the AC season. The soil is a wonderful moderator - at 5 feet down, it possibly 50 degrees warmer than outside air in the winter and is 30 or 40 degrees cooler than the outside air in the summer. You certainly can have some summer heat in Alberta. It really doesn't make sense to totally insulate the wall.

There are some Canadian stanards that suggest insulating the upper portion of the wall. While there is no magic line drawn on the concrete near or slighlty below grade, it makes sense. I can find no strong technical reason for the standard (I have search hard). It is based on an economic study of insulation few years ago.

I think the partial insulation makes more sense than the "cacoon" system where you are preventing the heat generated inside the house from being naturally moderated. This is especially true in dry climates.

2. Gluing rigid extruded styrofoam to the walls has worked very well many people over the years. You could insulate the upper portion with the foam. You could use strips as spacers to support the paneling.

A true carpenter would not appreciate this approach, as would those who want a basement remodeled to a level that exceeds the upstairs finished by a builder. This concept could also be responsible for a few of the academic types shooting it out over scientific difference of opinions.

Keep in mind you are improving a storage area and "building a piano".

Dick

[em69]

See following link which explains how far down to insulate:

http://www.joneakes.com/cgi-bin/getd...ls.cgi?id=1545

Go info why not to leave an air space:

http://www.joneakes.com/cgi-bin/getd...als.cgi?id=743

The first paragraph explains how to properly apply the foam board to the concrete wall to avoid an air space:

http://www.joneakes.com/cgi-bin/getd...als.cgi?id=743

There is so much good information on this site, plus you could also contact CMHC and the NRC for information.

[Don.1936]

Very helpful. Thank you. Don.

[Konrad Fischer]

Because it can not stop IR-Radiation, which brings out about 99% of the warmth. Only solid construction materials like wood can insulate warmth losses in reality. In Germany we have a lot of tests about that topic, besides our building industry and their slaves in government applaud for polystyrene and mineral wooll etc.

So I would be happy with your good old house, saving costs and the risks of dampness and mold. More information you will find on

www.xxxxxxxxxxxxxx-info.de/7mold.htm

and

www.xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx-info.de/2auffen.htm

Good luck!

Konrad

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