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Insulating Foundations
How to Insulate Foundation Walls and
Floors to Keep Your Home Warmer and Drier
By: Mark J. Donovan
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A basement can be quite chilly if not insulated well. When building a
home that includes a basement it’s a smart idea to think about installing
exterior foundation insulation. A significant amount of heat loss can occur
via a home’s foundation walls. Insulating a foundation prior to backfilling
around it can significantly make the basement feel warmer and more
comfortable. By insulating a foundation you can lower your home energy
heating bills and reduce the risk of water vapor condensation problems.
Insulating foundation walls can also help to mitigate water and radon gas
penetration into the basement, mold and mildew growth, and even insect
infestation. |
| With any new home construction it is important that a
perimeter drain be installed around the foundation footing walls. The
foundation perimeter drain helps to direct water away from the home,
thus preventing water from entering the basement. The exterior
foundation walls should also be sealed with a waterproofing membrane
sealer. Rigid foam insulation should then be placed up against the
foundation walls to provide the necessary insulation to keep your
basement warmer. By insulating foundation walls on the exterior of the
foundation, thermal bridging is lowered, thus dramatically reducing the
amount of heat that is wicked away from the basement walls and into the
surrounding soil.
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Insulating exterior foundation walls also helps to protect the
waterproofing sealer from becoming damaged during the backfilling of the
soil around the foundation. In addition, the insulation adds another barrier
layer of prevention for moisture and water penetration into the basement.
When insulating foundation walls on the exterior of the foundation, the
insulation, along with the waterproofing sealer, should be installed from
the foundation footings to just below the finished surface soil grade.
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Similarly the basement floor slab should also be insulated to ensure a
warmer basement floor. Again rigid foam insulation can be used to create a
thermal barrier between earth and the underside of the concrete slab.
If your home is already complete and you want to create a warmer basement
your most economical solution is to first apply a waterproof sealer to the
inside basement foundation walls. Then attach 2x4 or 2x3 furring strips,
placed on their flat sides, up against the foundation walls, and install
rigid foam insulation in between them. The furring strips should be spaced
on either 16 or 24 inch centers. Alternatively traditional 2x4 stud walls
can be framed adjacent to the exterior foundation walls and paper-faced
rolled or batt insulation can be installed in between the stud bays. The
insulation paper-facing should face the interior of the basement.
Similarly, on the basement slab floor you can install a floating floor. The
floating floor is effectively a network, or crib, of 2x4s placed on their
flat sides on the concrete slab, and rigid foam insulation installed between
the 2x4s. A plywood subfloor can then be installed over the network of 2x4s.
A finished flooring product can then be attached to the floating floor.
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