Do I need to insulate my basement?

I am finishing my basement with metal studs.

Is it necessary to insulate the walls that I will put up next to my concrete foundation?

The house is 1 year old and the basement is very dry. I live in Missouri where the weather is hot in the summer and cold in the winter. There is a pipe that runs around the house below grade to drain around the foundation. The house is on a ridge and is high compared to the surrounding area. The basement is surrounded by concrete that is all below ground level.

 

andrewe77,

Let's ask this first, is it required by Code in your area? The reason I ask is the following taken from Kansas (it was handy so I used it),

"Concrete foundation walls in finished rooms/areas shall be furred out and insulated with a minimum of R-8 insulation extending down to the basement floor slab on basement walls less than 50% above grade and a minimum of R-13 insulation on basement walls that are more than 50% above grade.

Exception: Basements having concrete foundation walls with less than 20% exposure above finished grade (based on height of wall times basement perimeter excluding unheated basement garages) may be uninsulated walls."

You should be taking out a building permit for this project and the information that you ask should be available through your local building department.

Insulation will benefit for both seasons. Use of metal studs is an overkill, IMO, but if you prefer to do this, plan ahead as making modifications later will be troublesome. You may want to use W/T bottom plates and install wood frames around doors for jambs and trim applications.

Hope this helps!

 

Insulating the basement walls is one of the best investments you can make. I too live in an area with hot summers and cold winters. My insulation paid for itself in just 2 years.

 

I contacted my city govt and they do not require inspections or permits for basement finishing. Therefore, I'm just on my own to do it to the International building codes, whatever the hell they are.

I decided not to insulate because I will have an unfinished storage area that will be separated by a door and it will not be studded next to the foundation. Any insulating of my remaining 2 walls will be pointless in my opinion.

I have already done 2 of the walls with steel and I love it. It's really easy to work with.

 

Insulating is, of course, up to you. Its your house.

I only finished about 2/3 of my basement. Since I was going to use the unfinished third as a workshop, I insulated the dividing wall to keep the noise level down. It does make it quieter. I can't hear SWMBO at all

Five years ago I was saving $200/yr on heating costs. Energy costs have gone up a lot since then. I'm probably saving $350-400 a year now. Plus the basement is the warmest room in the house in the winter.