Insulation, Radiant and Vapor Barriers - insulating my basement

I am about to pull down my wood paneling in my basement and put up sheetrock,what would be the best insulation to use...I only have an inch between the wall and cinderblock.

You are limited to 3/4 blue board sheathing. It won't give much insulation, but basements usually don't need that much since the walls are 8" thick and mostly covered by dirt anyway.

is there anything else i should put between the walls besides insulaton...i'm new to this stuff

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My wife and I are in the same boat, but I've visited Owens Corning (http://www.owenscorning.com) which provided me with alot of my answers. It may be biased, but at least it's a start.

If I were you, depending on your insulating requirements (of course), I would create a 2x4' or 2x6' subwall. 2x6' wall will allow for R21 fiberglass insulation, while the 2x4' will allow for a R15.

Myself, I have 2x4' walls, but in southern Ontario we need a R17 in our basements. So I'm going to pull the 2x4' frame, 2 inches away from foundation giving me 6' to fill with fiberglass R21 insulation.

If you want to stick with your 1" you're options are limited to foam board, which gives you a R5.

Hope that gives you some ideas.

I finished my basement with 2x4 studs and had the room for R13 insulation. .Before studding I covered the walls with 6 mil plastic and left the top open to breath. Since you only an inch to work with I would be more concerned with moisture/mold than temperature insulation. Someone else stated that you really do not need it as it is below ground, I concur. I would consider the plastic over your studs and run a dehumidifier.

Check out what the recommended insulation is for your area. You can get many answers onn the forum from people living everywhere, using different systems and criteria.

Generally people think they need more insulation than they do (it is usually no lower than aout 50 degress on the other side of the block or concrete wall below grade. In practicality, an unfinished basement is a semi-conditioned space without without insulation.

Also, keep in mind that if you are not insulating the entire basement, the amount of insulation put into one or two rooms will have little effect unless you have weatherstripped interior doors (LOL) for the insulated rooms.

I would worry more about the floor insulation than the bottom four feet of the walls. There are about the same temperature due to the conductivity of the soil and concrete.

Dick

thanks for all of the feedback...i live in ny and it gets cold sometimes,would foam be ok

My wife and I are in the same boat, but I've visited Owens Corning (http://www.owenscorning.com) which provided me with alot of my answers. It may be biased, but at least it's a start.

If I were you, depending on your insulating requirements (of course), I would create a 2x4' or 2x6' subwall. 2x6' wall will allow for R21 fiberglass insulation, while the 2x4' will allow for a R15.

Myself, I have 2x4' walls, but in southern Ontario we need a R17 in our basements. So I'm going to pull the 2x4' frame, 2 inches away from foundation giving me 6' to fill with fiberglass R21 insulation.

If you want to stick with your 1" you're options are limited to foam board, which gives you a R5.

Hope that gives you some ideas.



so i just can go to home deopt and ask for R5

do i need to paint or vaporize the cinderblock?

Cinder block has a air flow through it, meaning you can vapor coat the interior of the cinder block and the moisture will not accumulate in the block.

However, understand that this is something that you can really only do with block.

Damp proofing for precast & poured foundation walls really need to be on the outside.

for foam, a breathable, well taped foam board or a thin coat of breathable spray foam should be fine.

What was the wood paneling fastened too?

the wood paneling was nailed to wood 1x4's it looks like