Cold Basement Ideas

[1lkstage]

Bought a home last year, split foyer, half sunk basement with 8 foot block walls that are sheetrocked over 1/2 inch sheet insulation (no studs). We had a new furnace installed right away. I did remove a wood burning stove from down there(now I know why it was there!!). My intentions now are to gut the walls, stud it out, insulate it and re-sheetrock it. Put in a false ceiling, and some elec. outlets and recessed lighting.

Any ideas on how to keep the heat down there? Insulate the floor/ceiling? Anyone use Perma-floor? Will thier be any moisture problems between the walls? What for vapor barriors to use?

Any ideas are appreciated.

Lonnie

[18 inch Crappie]

Look at adding base board heating. After you insulate it better.

[King Canada]

Is there a door that separates the lower level from the rest of the house. Also leaving the furnace blower run constantly will help keep the warm air from stratifying on the highest level.

[JustinG]

Well, here is one idea. You could insulate the outside block exposed above ground with insulation and extend it below ground level around a foot or two. Then cover the syrofoam with dairy board or something that can hold up to moisture. That would be a BIG help. Another big help would be to replace your old basement windows and doors if you have any. That is also going to be a huge energy and cold saver. Then install some electric baseboard heat on a separate thermostat from the rest of the house so you can turn up the heat in the basement only when you are using it. You could also install a gas fireplace down there-the options are endless. I guess in my book, tearing out existing interior walls might be a last resort.

Hope this helps,

Justin

[LwnmwnMan2]

An easy thing to try....

Shut off all your vents upstairs, open all the ones downstairs.

Naturally your heat is going to rise, so if your force it downstairs, it will work itself back up.

Same thing in the summer. Your basement will naturally be cooler, so close the vents off downstairs and open the ones upstairs, this will force more of the airconditioning upstairs, where most of the heat is.

[soldoncass]

I wouldn't recommend taking the foam off the outside walls, and replacing it with fiberglass insulation inside a stud wall, for sure. The poly required on both sides of the insulated walls created problems. What we have gone to is 3/4 inch foilbacked urathane foam glued on the blocks to meet the new energy code requirements and then build your 2x4 walls in front of that for electric, drywall, etc. ( NO fiberglass insulation ). I would add more foam to what you have on the blocks now to get the R value up, before building the 2x4 walls. There are many variables possible though, so some investigating is in order for you. IE: when was the house build? are the joist bands insulated? what "type" of insulation board is on your walls?(if it is that old white beadboard-get rid of it- it holds moisture). Foilbacked urathane foam is the best, cause it reflects heat and cold and is a vapor barrier with foil tape on the joints so you don't have to mess with poly, and it has very good R-value per inch, and it is "closed cell" so it won't hold water. Certain types of glue will "eat-up" some types of foam, so make sure they are compatible. Other than that, trying some of the other suggestions mentioned, a door separating the 2 levels is the only way to "keep heat down there". Good luck.

p.s. Make sure the heat is done correctly down there, or nothing else you do will make it "warm".

[sparcebag]

Soldoncass knows his sssshhh.best answer yet and wont be beat!

[zelek]

You can find a good article on insualting basements here:

http://www.buildingscience.com/bsc/resources/foundations/default.htm

[fishyspringer]

I was wondering if you could frame a basement with steel studs then use the pink sheet insulation with the paperless sheetrock?

[Ryan Berger]

get a cornburner..

[Bobby Bass]

Quote:

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with the paperless sheetrock?

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Paperless ?

[joe_stack20]

I have about the same set up as you...only thing is i have a Gas Fireplace down stairs. And Right above the Stairway going upstairs i have a cieling fan pushing that warm air back downstairs...it does the trick. I also Close vents in areas not needed Like the downstairs bathroom. shuffle the heat to wear its needed...not to wear its a luxury to have. Hope it helps.

[fishyspringer]

yes, Georgia pacific makes it. I havent seen it at the local home improvement stores yet, havent really looked either. But instead of the outer paper layers it is made of some sort of fiberglass scrim. You install it the same way though. I have been thinking on using it in my basement whenever I get to finishing it. Anybody here use it?

[Justfishing]

On many split entry homes the basement is open to the front door and garage/house door. Any time these doors are opened the cold air flows to the basement. If that is the case for you then supplemental heat and good insulation are whats needed or seal the basement from the upstairs so the heat stays in the basement. Of course you will have to keep some ventilation for the gas furnace.

In my house the basement stays warm when the basement door is closed and the furnace cycles during clod weather. The basement gets cold on the days at the beginning and end of the heating season because the furnace doesnt cycle

[kunk]

Keep the basement door closed as much as possible. Have baseboard heat installed with a separate control and use only when you're down there. We have a cat so we put a spring loaded hinge on the basement door and keep a small block there so the cat can go up or down to get to the litter box. Seems to work fine.

[Johnny_Namakan]

As far as insulating the floor, the company I work for designed a subfloor that is exactly for this type of thing. We use 3/4" and 5/8" Baltic Birch Plywood and laminate onto one face a dimpled plastic sheathing. This creates an airspace between the slab and the subfloor. It was designed for basements that have moisture issues to keep the plywood raised off the slab a bit and is protected by the waterproof plastic laminate. But we've also found out from our customers that it keeps the room much warmer than it was prior to installation. It comes in 4x8 and 2x4 sheets. It might be something to consider. It's a very small portion of our business (hardwood flooring manufacturer) but we have some local contractors that use it so we make them some when they want it. drop me a line if you're interested in finding out more about it. [email protected]

[sparcebag]

Baltic Birch Ply Wow I'd have to think it would cost a fortune! How bout green treated sleepers 3/4"foil backed insulation,between sleepers,poly 3/4" CDX sheathing!

[fishing tech]

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Naturally your heat is going to rise, so if your force it downstairs, it will work itself back up.

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Turn your furnace fan to on so it runs all the time. The fan that is. this will equallize the temp between upstairs and down. you will still have about a 3-4 degree differance but it also cuts down on the dust in the house. I have been doing this for 15 years and it works great.