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[DaveWertz]

This summer on my to do list I was tossing around the idea of insulating my basement ceilings. Im not going to use fiberglass bats but I am looking into using the bubble style reflective barrier. Have any of youins tried this stuff before? I seen most say they had great results in the room temps above the basement after this install. And its pretty cheap to do. I think I loss most of my heat on my first floor threw my basement being cold. Last yr I went ahead and spray foamed the frame sill with great results but Im always striving for more to save some wood here and there. Any other suggestions Im open ears....

[slimjim]

I use it whenever we do radiant ultra fin, it works very well with stopping air infiltration.

[Roger2561]

Dave, Slimjim - I have a crawl space under my kitchen.  It's big enough that I can comfortably kneel and not get tired.  The space has poured walls with 2 inch foam insulation inside and outside.  The floor of the crawl space is dirt.  What kind of insulation should I use on the dirt floor?  Oh, plan on having that expandable foam insulation sprayed on the rim joist (actually it's a large beam but it doesn't offer any insulating value).  What I'm thinking of doing is simply heating the space to 60 degrees so it keeps the floor warmer, thus making it warmer in the kitchen area.  Oh the kitchen area is nearly 500sqft.  Any thoughts on what to use on the dirt floor?  Thanks, Roger

[aries9245]

Roger I use 2" foam boards when pouring concrete in crawl spaces and basements with radiant heat I'm sure it would help in your situation just seal around edges with spray foam cans..

[Roger2561]

Roger I use 2" foam boards when pouring concrete in crawl spaces and basements with radiant heat I'm sure it would help in your situation just seal around edges with spray foam cans..

aries9245 - Thanks for the tip.  I'll keep that in mind. 

By having the crawl space heated, thus the floor nice and warm and fixing a few other smaller air leaks, the air convector won't run as often.  Right now I lose approx. 5 degrees of heat in about 15 minutes.  When it gets really cold (like this past Feb) it'll lose 5 degrees in every 6 minutes meaning the heating unit is running every 6 minutes.  That's wasted energy and puts more of a load on the OWB.  I want to cut down on that.    Roger 

[hockeyguy]

Roger, I used a product called Clean Space by Owens Corning on my dirt crawlspace floor. Almost like a pool liner, it covers the floor and wraps up and is secured to the foundation walls to form a good vapor barrier. Though it's meant as a vapor barrier, it seems to give me some insulating value. Much nicer than crawling around on wet dirt, I also sprayed the rim joist. Pouring concrete down there wasn't practical.

[Sluggo]

Dave,do you have in floor heat in your floor joists?  If you do then the bubble wrap is a great idea.  If you don't then I don't see you gaining anything out of it.  You don't heat your basement? 

[atvalaska]

dam ....I have to state this over and over  foil/bubble warp is a POS u have to user it right!!!

[DaveWertz]

No there is a small radiator in the basement but does not by anymeans heat the basement. ATV what would you recommend? And no I don't have radiant floor heating. Im kinda stuck between a rock and a hard place here. I can get the bubble/foil really cheap. I want to keep this as cost affective as possible. Im trying to save to have my walls dense packed over the summer. My floor I can feel I loss allot of heat or the cold just simple comes threw the walls in the basement and up threw the floors.

[DaveWertz]

I use it whenever we do radiant ultra fin, it works very well with stopping air infiltration.

Slim. Do you tuck it up in between the joist of staple it "flat" across to each joist then do you use any kind of foil tape to seal up the seems?

[slimjim]

Dave, it goes straight across the for joists and all seams get taped to create an airtight space in the joists, as ATV stated, r value is almost useless but the dead air space helps and if you run radiant in the joists it is amazing the heat that can be transferred into the floor itself.

[tawilson1152]

Dave, I used the bubble wrap, and Great Stuff and caulk and sealed up my foundation walls. Putting a heater in the basement helped me track down the drafts and seal them.

[DaveWertz]

Looks like this is the route I will be going then fellas. Thanks for the help!

[Sluggo]

Dave,without radiant heat in your floor joists you are wasting your time and money.

[DaveWertz]

I want to basically stop air infiltration. Not so much as insulate them. I think most of the cold that comes into my house comes straight threw the floors. Yes I do have some coming threw the walls but the floors are always much colder than the walls. I will be insulating the walls at some point. Not really sure what other options I have for the floors other than this?