cold basement

I own a small home built in '51. It has all hardwood floors that I refinished myself. Regarding insulation it has moderate coverage in the attic (4-6 in.), in the exterior walls (2x3 laid flat) little if any, and in the basement (which is at least 10 deg. colder than the upper level) none. My question is: What is the most efficient thing to do in the basement to insulate in an attempt to feel warmer throughout the house?

P.S. I know that heat rises, but I also know thw heat ALWAYS transfers from hot to cold in a natural system. Could I be losing heat from the upper level to the frozen basement?

Thanks

 

burmadave,

Hard to tell you what to do, this may be better if you had a insulating company come out and assess what you have and how to improve it. Listen well and then try and do it yourself.

Heat rises and cold falls unless someone changed the rules on me.

Don't know where you live and I assume you have block walls? What do you have for heating and is it balanced to heat your basement? You have to look at everything and the best thing to do is call a company and check it all out.

Hope this helps!

 

cold air stays low and heat rises. what you dont want in your basement is drafts from the outside. once you get those it will create an airflow(pressure) forcing it upward. i'd go in my cellar during the day w/ lights off and look for light coming in from the outside fill all those holes with silicone caulking and insulation(just dont make a mess w/ the caulking).get a dehumidifier so you will get the moisture out of the air down there because the moisture holds cold temps. its a start anyway.

 

Thank you for the advice. The basement has 2 small registers from the furnace that are located right under the floor of the upper level, so I doubt if they help much in the basement. The foundation is a poured foundation with one row of block on the top. These walls are very cold so I suspect that there is no insulating foam next to them. I think I will call an insulation co. and get some advice.

Thanks again