Do You Need To Insulate Basement Walls Below Grade

The basement which between the boiler hot water tank hot water pipes and heat radiating from the floor is probably around 55 58 f will radiate heat slowly into the below grade soil.

Do you need to insulate basement walls below grade.

I still believe you should insulate when you finish your basement. Most contractors would probably say it s only necessary to insulate a metre below the outside grade. They might think because the temperature below the frost line stays pretty constant you have to. Below are some considerations to help you make this decision.

They might think because the temperature below the frost line stays pretty constant you have. While reduced costs might tempt you to use fibrous insulation such as fiberglass batts mineral wool batts or cellulose these materials are air permeable and should never be installed against a below grade concrete wall. If you re building a new home interior wall insulation also works better with the construction schedule. Dos and don ts of finishing basement walls find out what it takes to successfully finish a basement s concrete walls to create a comfortable living space down below.

Most contractors would probably say it s only necessary to insulate four feet below the outside grade. Many people will argue that basement insulation is not important because the foundation temp stays a constant 55 degrees and the wind does not blow 8 feet underground. Now do i do the floors next with the same r igid boards plywood on top then my studded walls filled with pink insulation or do i put my studded walls after my rigid foam on the walls and then the floors with rigid foam. For example if you insulate the exterior walls you ll have more space inside the basement.

The basement heat will move very aggressively through the above grade concrete brick rubble foundation wall toward the 10 f outside air. When you insulate the interior walls you ll be able to have an uninterrupted connection between the below slab insulation and the wall insulation. The answer is yes you should. If you are deciding to insulate your basement you will want to consider whether to insulate your foundation to 2 below ground level or to insulate the full foundation wall from top to bottom.

Spray foam is an expensive material to insulate with as is appropriate rigid foam insulation.