We moved into our house last summer. It has a 16' x 16' basement room which we are planning to finish off. Foundation is poured concrete and very dry.
I plan to line the concrete walls with 2" XPS foam board and then frame inside that. That's all good.
Here's the rub ...

The basement ceiling is exposed joists with fiberglass insulation stuffed in. It is just hanging there and kind of gross. I was originally planning on covering it and installing a drop ceiling to hide it.
Lately, we've been fighting mice and I have evidence that they have been up in the insulation. I fear it is harboring the mice, providing nesting material and space.

My thought is, that if I insulate the basement walls, there is no need for this insulation and it would be best to rip out all the insulation and get rid of it.

What do folks think?
With insulated basement walls, is this insulation even doing anything?

I am of the feeling that it would be best to get rid of it all.


Thx,
Rob

 

Insulation should be used between conditioned (heated) areas and unconditioned spaces. If you are going to keep the basement heated like the rest of the house then get rid of the insulation if you want. But if you are going to only partially or occasionally heat the basement then you might want to keep it.

When I built my house I did the main floor and moved in. The basement was left unfinished and I insulated the ceiling. Then when money allowed I finished off the basement but I left the insulation in place since it wasn't in the way.

 

I agree. And might add that it also helps with sound deadening. But I would probably get rid of it due to the mice.

 

If it wasn't for the mice I'd just leave it but, I'm not sure how badly it is contaminated with mice feces, urine, etc without tearing it out. Plus, it would provide great living space if the mice return.

 

I'd be removing the insulation and not replacing it.

 

How much?

Insulation between conditioned spaces does nothing for you. Fiberglass below R19 does nothing for sound control. But if you want sound control try the blue jean material, we installed R19 in our basement ceiling and it works great.

 

I will have to interject a disclaimer in here.

While Marq1 had a good experience with his project using an R-19 product, to say that anything below R-19 does nothing would be inaccurate. For example, does that mean there is no point in insulating a 2x4 bathroom wall for sound?

Clearly, any insulation is better than none when it comes to sound control. But as he pointed out, there are various products that can be used, each with different thicknesses, densities and properties.

Keep in mind that I'm not arguing in favor for the op keeping his insulation, I think it should be removed. The comments about sound are just a side point.

 

well, I'm going nuclear on the mice ... setting up traps all over the basement plus placing bait traps a swell.
I may just leave the insulation as-is after I clobber the mice.