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All-Purpose OWF Discussions => General Outdoor Furnace Discussion => Topic started by: DaveWertz on March 11, 2015, 01:41:34 AM

Title: Insulating basement ceilings
Post by: DaveWertz on March 11, 2015, 01:41:34 AM
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....
Title: Re: Insulating basement ceilings
Post by: slimjim on March 11, 2015, 03:38:17 AM
I use it whenever we do radiant ultra fin, it works very well with stopping air infiltration.
Title: Re: Insulating basement ceilings
Post by: Roger2561 on March 11, 2015, 04:32:11 AM
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
Title: Re: Insulating basement ceilings
Post by: aries9245 on March 11, 2015, 05:34:32 AM
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..
Title: Re: Insulating basement ceilings
Post by: Roger2561 on March 11, 2015, 07:14:48 AM
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 
Title: Re: Insulating basement ceilings
Post by: hockeyguy on March 11, 2015, 06:34:07 PM
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.
Title: Re: Insulating basement ceilings
Post by: Sluggo on March 11, 2015, 08:01:13 PM
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? 
Title: Re: Insulating basement ceilings
Post by: atvalaska on March 11, 2015, 10:07:17 PM
dam ....I have to state this over and over  foil/bubble warp is a POS u have to user it right!!!
Title: Re: Insulating basement ceilings
Post by: DaveWertz on March 11, 2015, 11:03:27 PM
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.
Title: Re: Insulating basement ceilings
Post by: DaveWertz on March 11, 2015, 11:04:45 PM
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?
Title: Re: Insulating basement ceilings
Post by: slimjim on March 12, 2015, 03:25:00 AM
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.
Title: Re: Insulating basement ceilings
Post by: tawilson1152 on March 12, 2015, 05:57:10 AM
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.
Title: Re: Insulating basement ceilings
Post by: DaveWertz on March 12, 2015, 09:03:05 PM
Looks like this is the route I will be going then fellas. Thanks for the help!
Title: Re: Insulating basement ceilings
Post by: Sluggo on March 12, 2015, 09:17:57 PM
Dave,without radiant heat in your floor joists you are wasting your time and money.
Title: Re: Insulating basement ceilings
Post by: DaveWertz on March 12, 2015, 09:34:10 PM
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?
Title: Re: Insulating basement ceilings
Post by: Jwood on March 12, 2015, 10:25:42 PM
Why not just vapor barrier it then if not insulting just trying to stop air movement.
Title: Re: Insulating basement ceilings
Post by: DaveWertz on March 12, 2015, 10:54:45 PM
Well from my understanding with this bubble wrap and them taping up the seems it acts as a vapor barrier.
Title: Re: Insulating basement ceilings
Post by: Jwood on March 13, 2015, 12:39:05 AM
Except if you are not gaining anything by using bubble wrap foil poly is a heck of a lot cheaper.
Title: Re: Insulating basement ceilings
Post by: DaveWertz on March 13, 2015, 01:30:00 AM
Poly?
Title: Re: Insulating basement ceilings
Post by: Jwood on March 13, 2015, 05:45:10 AM
Poly as in plastic
Title: Re: Insulating basement ceilings
Post by: hondaracer2oo4 on March 13, 2015, 07:43:47 AM
Radiant barrier foil has a few applications. Please read these two articles as a starting point so you can understand how and what it actually does. You are wasting your money in the application that you want to use it for.

http://www.greenbuildingadvisor.com/blogs/dept/musings/stay-away-foil-faced-bubble-wrap (http://www.greenbuildingadvisor.com/blogs/dept/musings/stay-away-foil-faced-bubble-wrap)

http://www.energyvanguard.com/blog-building-science-HERS-BPI/bid/29497/The-Foil-Faced-Bubble-Wrap-Sham-Understanding-Radiant-Barriers (http://www.energyvanguard.com/blog-building-science-HERS-BPI/bid/29497/The-Foil-Faced-Bubble-Wrap-Sham-Understanding-Radiant-Barriers)
Title: Re: Insulating basement ceilings
Post by: Jwood on March 13, 2015, 08:25:24 AM
All I'm trying to say is if you want to stop air just use poly. Save yourself some money!
Title: Re: Insulating basement ceilings
Post by: coolidge on March 14, 2015, 07:46:56 AM
Sprayfoam the exterior walls and you will see a huge difference.
If it's in the budget of course.
Title: Re: Insulating basement ceilings
Post by: coolidge on March 14, 2015, 08:01:58 AM
(http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e27/wildbird1/image.jpg2_zpshk8am822.jpg) (http://s36.photobucket.com/user/wildbird1/media/image.jpg2_zpshk8am822.jpg.html)
(http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e27/wildbird1/image.jpg3_zpso5esuzta.jpg) (http://s36.photobucket.com/user/wildbird1/media/image.jpg3_zpso5esuzta.jpg.html)

Before and after the concrete wall was insulated with 2" of closed cell foam.
Title: Re: Insulating basement ceilings
Post by: DaveWertz on March 15, 2015, 07:53:31 AM
Coolidge. How well will this hold up to water? Part of my basement is stone wall foundation while the other half is block. The stone wall side does seep water when we get heavy rains. This one one of my main concerns as to why I never did anything with the walls. I would hate to insulate them and in return the water ruins whatever I may have done.
Title: Re: Insulating basement ceilings
Post by: coolidge on March 15, 2015, 11:32:52 AM
Dave,    The closed cell foam will still allow water in, the water will seep through the cracks in other areas of the rock. Water gets where it wants to go every time, just takes longer to show.