To Insulate or Not Insulate, That is the Question

[Steve Siwek]

Hi everyone,

Looking for opinions. I have a concrete wall about an inch or so thick that was layed over a limestone foundation sometime in the 40's/50's I imagine. I've decided to build a pallet wall/reclaimed wood wall over the concrete. My question is, would you put studs up and then put insulation in-between the studs or would you just put up ferring strips and forget the insulation?

Thanks!
Steve

[Bill Dufour]

Depends on climate and humidity. If you live in the desert humidity is probably not a problem. If you live north of the arctic circle I would add insulation. Between the poles and the equator insulation becomes optional at some point. If freezes in your location i would definitely add insulation if you plan to use the room for more then storage.
Bill D.

[Steve Siwek]

Great points Bill, thanks. I'm in northern Illinois so in the summer the basement stays nice and cool, but it does get a bit humid. And yes, although it's not what's considered by today's standards a finished basement, I do use it as an entertainment area of sorts.

[Peter Kuhlman]

As Bill says —-
Totally dependent upon use and location.
I just got done insulating exposed concrete walls in my basement. If moisture or icing is an issue then how you insulate is really important. The key in northern climates is to have the point in the wall that the temperature hits the freezing point to be inside of foam as if it happens inside the fiberglass it will build up a lot of ice from the inside moisture. My first house and basement I did I just used fiberglass and a plastic vapor barrier. Had big issues with that. After researching I went with 2” of layered foam to prevent any ice and reduce chances of moisture collecting.

[Steve Siwek]

Thanks Peter for the information and relaying your experience!

[Rodney Walker]

I live on the west side of Washington. It's a much milder climate than yours. I regret not insulating my shop when I was building it and it was easy.
If it was me and I had the option I would insulate plus any vapor/moisture barriers that seem appropriate between the wood and the concrete. Water seal paint for basements maybe?
Rodney

[Carl Beckett]

Trapping moisture and long term mold growth would be my concern.

[Ken Platt]

As it happens, I am in the process of insulating my basement walls right now. I live in Northern Connecticut, so I'm guessing a bit colder than you, but probably not too much. THe portion of the basement (it's a big basement, divided into several sections) that I have already put the insulation on feels much warmer to me.

I used a product called "Insofast" (I know, catchy, right?) that has integral plastic studs in the foam rigid insulation. It's about 2.5x as expensive as plain rigid foam, but then you can attach your wood wall right to it, so you avoid the extra step of framing in a wall. Easy to work with, I found that even with my old cruddy walls, I was able to glue the panels up (I cleaned the walls with a wire brush on a shop vac) but you can also attach them with concrete screws. I'm happy enough with the ease of the product that I 'm planning to use it for the rest of the basement too. The website for the product is very informative.

ANyhow, roundabout way of saying I'm very pleased so far with how much more comfortable the insulated walls make the basement.

Ken

[Jerome Sidley]

Ken
Those are cool did you price out the job with traditional studs and vapour barrier? I'm wondering the difference in job price between the two.

[Eric Schmid]

Put rigid insulation between the concrete and the studs rather than in the stud bays. You can add fiberglass batts to the stud bays for more insulation. Use seal tape on the rigid seams. You can install the studs sideways if you need more space. Even 1” of rigid, property sealed will make a big difference.

[Ken Platt]

Hi Jerome, I did not price it out, as for my purposes price was not the top factor. However, I did look around online and did find some folks who had done the pricing and it ended up, at least according to their calculations, to be more or less a wash between the two methods. For me, factoring in time/work, this stuff was a winner. Plus, for my particular circumstances, there were some things that made it seem like a better choice of material to put up on the wall.

If I had more time than money, and if my basement was intrinsically drier and had, newer, better condition walls, I might have gone with the more traditional method.

Ken

[Jerome Sidley]

Thanks, Ken
That is what I was thinking the time savings looks huge.

[Lee Schierer]

If any portion of the wall is below grade you need to check it for moisture. A quick way to do that is to cut several squares of clear plastic at least 12 x 12. Tape these squares to the wall in various locations where you plan to install your wood. Leave it for a few days, it's even better if one or more of those days have rain. If you see moisture on the wall side of the plastic you need to worry about mold growing on your wood. You may need to install a moisture barrier and possibly drainage.

[Steve Siwek]

Hi Ken, I just went on their website and I'm impressed. that is one heck of a product making me rethink how I was going to do this and see if I can't swing this product. Impressive.

[Ken Platt]

Steve, just in the past few days I have put up the panels (I used a beadboard from the borg) over the insofast stuff. I used staples and they hold very well in the plastic "stud". Aside from cutting out the openings for the windows and support beams, super easy. THe videos on the website accurately portray the ease of use, with just one exception - I chose to leave some support on the panels for 24 hours help the bond of the glue, which I didn't see mentioned anywhere on the website, but is recommended on the construction glue tubes. SLowed me down because I only had so many boards and weights and such to lean against the panels to push them into the wall. For concrete in better condition, I might not have bothered, but I felt like my walls needed the insurance.

Ken