Wall Insulation

[Jeff396]

Yes, the builder did waterproof the exterior of the basement. However, we still have had a few moist spots which I believe are mostly due to a few pockets near the house that don't pitch away from the house in addition to backfilling a bit higher than the waterproofing. I was actually hoping I would be told to "NEVER" use this waterproofer.....it's really the pits to apply. Kinda like a paste. I will check out the web site, thanks.

Jeff

 

[Jeff396]

No, I never heard of Glen Haege. The time I lived in Michigan was a bit before my talk radio addiction. I mostly remember the Bruiser and was it 104.somethings painful conversion to Country music. Anyway, I sure do miss cruisin' Woodward and Gratiot! I will, however, give that site a look see....thanks.

Jeff

 

[GrantMO]

Rodney,
How do you get much r value from using styrofoam alone? I was thinking of insulating my basement stud wall like so, from inside out, sheetrock, plastic, fiberglas, 1"styrofoam, Tyvek, siding. Wouldn't that provide more r value than just styrofoam?

 

[Jeff396]

Got this on the Handywire site. Sounds pretty much like what you did.
<font color=blue>
Vapor Barrier
Is it required to put a vapor barrier on a new wall in basement even though the wall will be two inches away from concrete foundation?

Required?? no, but recommended. The idea is to keep the moisture from moving through the insulation. If the wall is cold, when the moisture is in the insulation it will condense. The condensation will make the insulation wet and it will lose its insulating ability. Also, the wood in the wall will get wet and the repeated wetting and drying of the wood will cause it to rot.

I also recommend putting plastic on the cement side of the wall too. the reason here is different. Here it is a matter of reducing the dampness and humidity in the basement. If there is a vapor barrier on the inside of the wall, the same problem of wetting and drying the wood can occur and cause dry rot of the wood.

The 6 mil plastic is relatively cheap. It is worth the cost and effort.</font color=blue>

There is also a paragraph on the site that suggests that waterproofing the walls before erecting stud walls is a good idea to cut down on basement dampness. So, I guess that's what I'll do. Thanks for the feedback./w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif


Jeff