Insulating Basement Walls

[woog]

I recently had a drainage system installed around the perimeter of my basement. The guy that did the work said I should attach furring strips to the foundation walls and attach a vapor barrier to that. He also said to run the bottom of the vapor barrier into the gap he left where the floor meets the foundation wall in case there is any seepage.

I have read some information on this blog that says I shouldn't do that. One says I should install foam insulation directly onto the foundation wall and put furring strips over that and then sheetrock.

My main question is... if I attach the foam directly to the foundation and happen to get water, is there enough room for the water to run down the wall and into the french drain??

Also, if this is possible, after I install the foam insulation can I build a 2x4 wall in front of that and if so do I need to install a vapor barrier at that point?

Thanks for any help and advice.

[jar546]

Don't listen to that guy.

Frame with regular lumber or metal partition studs and leave an airgap for the wall to breath. You cannot afford to trap water between the foundation and your finished space. It will need to breath.

He is an idiot.

[seaneys]

Owens Corning have an excellent web site with good customer service!

Steve

[woog]

Thanks for the advice but one more thing...

SO do you think I should frame the basement walls, attach a vapor barrier on the the back side of the wall but leave an inch or so between the wall and the foundation to help with air movement?

So you don't think the polystyrene foam should be installed directly against the foundation?

Thanks

[chad4290]

i would use r 13 for insulation. leave gap for breathing. i have seen other people put poly down in a basement. but it always has high moisture so it basically just traps it and then condenses and runs down to the bottom plate. plus it is nice to have full wall for electrical and plumbing.

[jar546]

Just use faced batt insulation between the studs. Get this plastic sheeting out of your head.

[frenchie]

Disagree with both.

- Do not, under any circumstances, use plastic anywhere. Basements should get vapor-retarders, not vapor barriers.

- Do not use batt insulation. Use closed-cell foam.


If you want all the ins & outs of why I'm saying this... download & read these:

http://www.buildingscience.com/docum...ding-basements
http://www.buildingscience.com/docum...lation-systems
http://www.buildingscience.com/docum...ting-basements

[cc777z]

I have a business doing residential carpet cleaning and water damage cleanup. From my research on flood damage control the following procedures will work in most situations.

I'm currently redoing my basement due to a flood a couple years ago. My sump pump failed and ended up with 10 inches of water.

As a result of this flood and some other leaky areas in the walls I decided to gut my basement. It is an old house and the basement is in good condition. Just has some cracks where water leaked in during heavy rains and during spring snow thaws.

I'm sealing the cracks and then haveing spray foam applied. I'm leaving the stud wall approximately 1/2 inch away from the block wall. The spray foam is approved for stopping low levels of moisture. I will be sheetrocking with moisture and mold resistant sheetrock. It costs a little more but also more durable.

At the bottom of the sheetrock I am leaving about 3 inches up from the floor. This will greatly add in drying any moisture from the walls. For baseboard I will be using a commercial style plastic base which is glued on. It can easily be removed in case of a flood. With the spray foam which is water proof and sprayed onto the studds the wood will get miminum water absorption and with the water resistant sheet rock will greatly reduce the amount of drying time when it does get wet.

Short of many feet of water or sewage backup this should work well. Even with feet of water or sewage the spray foam can be cleaned off and the walls resheeetrocked. And with the foam sprayed on the sides of the studs they can be dried out in place and reused.

As for your floor I'd leave it alone. Just don't put down any kind of permanent flooring. A loose carpet that can be pulled up or large area rugs will work just fine. There are also some types of cusioned flooring out there that can be laid down where the edges snap together. They can easily be pulled up in a wet situatation, dried, cleaned and reused. Check the flooring depts of your local home improvement stores.