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OK, not the whole basement, because I would have to build interior walls and all that crap ..... and my back would plead, beg, and scream for mercy after about 2-3 ....
minutes .....
Anyway .... my basement is completely uninsulated. I have read a bit about insulating the rim joist area and how it can save a fair amount on heating costs.
I see a lot of little areas where caulk will definitely help ...... and perhaps some spray foam as well ....... but would it be worth it for me to run insulation around the rim joist area?
Also .... I have read some about rigid foam insulation. Would this be a much better option that regular insulation .... or should I (or rather, my nephew) just caulk and stuff it with regular insulation?
Micah 6:8; He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God.
John 14:19 Jesus said: Because I live, you also will live.
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helped my parents do a basement room once. not sure what the best option really is (i was young and just did what I was told here), but here's what we did:
1. got insulation pads that basically went up on the wall like drywall.
2. stuffed the joints of these pads with regular insulation
3. put up drywall
4. textured and painted the drywall
#gmstrong
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The kind of spray foam you SHOULD use needs to be professionally installed. First the caulking is a good idea, then it doesn't matter if you go with fiberglass or rigid. Just remember that the "R" value of insulation has a point of diminishing return somewhere around R19... putting two layers of R19 doesn't get you R38..  It gets you about R21 only at twice the price.  In the end I would use fiberglass because it's easier to work with (its more forgiving) just don't let the nephew cram it up in there, it has to be loosely fit into the space so it isn't compressed because the air space in the insulation is a large part of what makes it work.... might be worth slapping a few staples around the outside of each piece too just to hold it in place.. Then insulate the underside of your floor. 
yebat' Putin
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I don't actually know the proper answer, but my inclination is to say: Seal cracks/gaps between boards with caulk or spray foam, then just stuff regular insulation against the rim joists. I would think that regular R-13 would be fine.
Browns is the Browns
... there goes Joe Thomas, the best there ever was in this game.
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Quote:
Then insulate the underside of your floor.
I would ..... but that would get into more expense than I really want to right now.
I'm looking for an inexpensive way to impact my gas bill this winter .... with the most bang for my buck. (since my bucks are dwindling as medical costs go up, up, up ........)
Micah 6:8; He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God.
John 14:19 Jesus said: Because I live, you also will live.
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Is your furnace in the basement? How old is your furnace?
yebat' Putin
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Quote:
Is your furnace in the basement? How old is your furnace?
Ancient. It's older than me.
It's not getting replaced either. Not this year. I've already gone through too many savings already.
Micah 6:8; He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God.
John 14:19 Jesus said: Because I live, you also will live.
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As other said, seal and insulate the rimboards. Then if cost is a factor, do a little insulating under the floors here and there as money permits, starting with the areas you use most. (ie the floor under the living room, then the bedrooms, and finally the kitchen and dining rooms)
Warmth is a matter of perception, and if the floor is kept warm from cold air rising through it, the room will be slightly warmer and 1 degree can be everything when your sitting there watching TV.
Also if not already done, a good waterproof paint on the walls can help some as well.
Last edited by FloridaFan; 09/09/10 04:08 PM.
We don't have to agree with each other, to respect each others opinion.
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Also... do the plastic on the windows thing, and get the little foam pads for lightswitches & outlet boxes; you'd be amazed at how much draft you can get through an outlet box.
Browns is the Browns
... there goes Joe Thomas, the best there ever was in this game.
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Quote:
Ancient. It's older than me.
It's not getting replaced either. Not this year. I've already gone through too many savings already.
Wasn't going to recommend replacing it. Actually I was going to recommend putting a humidifier on it but if its that old I'm not sure how that would work. Humidifiers will put moisture in the scorched hot air and actually allow you to keep your house a few degrees cooler but without sacrificing comfort (in fact a little humidity will make it MORE comfortable at lower temperatures) and if you are handy you can put one on your furnace for $200.. if you need to pay somebody it will probably cost you double that to include labor...
Just trying to figure out some low cost ways to save you some cash.
yebat' Putin
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Quote:
Also... do the plastic on the windows thing, and get the little foam pads for lightswitches & outlet boxes; you'd be amazed at how much draft you can get through an outlet box.
Luckily this house does have newer double insulated windows. There is no draft through them at all .... even last year when we got blizzarded ..... lol
I only have 6 outlets on outside walls ..... so the foam things should be cheap and easy to do.
Micah 6:8; He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God.
John 14:19 Jesus said: Because I live, you also will live.
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I ran a portable humidifier part of the winter last year.
I don't know if my fuel bills dropped by more than my electric went up or not.
Micah 6:8; He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God.
John 14:19 Jesus said: Because I live, you also will live.
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Quote:
I ran a portable humidifier part of the winter last year.
I don't know if my fuel bills dropped by more than my electric went up or not.
Just set a pan of water on top of or in front of a floor vent. It's a bit of a hassle having that stuff on the floor, but it works just as well and it gets the moisture around the room a bit better.... and you don't burn the electricity to do what the moving furnace air can do for ya.
Browns is the Browns
... there goes Joe Thomas, the best there ever was in this game.
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Quote:
Quote:
I ran a portable humidifier part of the winter last year.
I don't know if my fuel bills dropped by more than my electric went up or not.
Just set a pan of water on top of or in front of a floor vent. It's a bit of a hassle having that stuff on the floor, but it works just as well and it gets the moisture around the room a bit better.... and you don't burn the electricity to do what the moving furnace air can do for ya.
I so, so, so miss my old house when it comes to heating. Had a wood burner in a back room - ducted vent, with a fan in it, right above the wood burner - I could keep my house at 80 if I wanted to - gas bills ran about $30 per month. Had friends over many weekends during the winter and we'd actually have to open the windows to cool it down.
Anyway, what made me think of that was your water bucket thing - I'd put a pan on the wood stove - full of water. It would boil. I even did eggs in it a few times.
The good old day, huh?
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Yeah, the house I grew up in was steam heat with radiators. Had to bleed em every autumn, then my mom would put a big ole 6 quart saucepan on each one filled with water. It just worked
Browns is the Browns
... there goes Joe Thomas, the best there ever was in this game.
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YTown, did you frame your walls with 2/4's. [tip] If so it's very good to staple the edge of the crafted insulation to the inside of the stud on the outer edge.
This way you can use drywall adhesive [glue] on the face side of the stud. [All studs EXCEPT the edge stud]
You will still have to screw all edges of the drywall, but you can get away with less screws in the field and this will give you a better finish once painted.
The glue will hold the board much better than without, even with less screws in the field.
Prp, had a good tip too with the pads.
Expandable spray insulation can be used [spay around the back of the box once the wires are pulled] in replace of the pads if you had to.
One more tip that you might or might not already know; don't put the drywall on the floor leave at least 1/2 inch.
Start your 1st sheet from the bottom of the floor joist and I like to leave about 1/4 inch cap from the joist so that you can allow for leveling your next(but) joint
[adjacent horizontal sheet]
Good luck.
Last edited by FL_Dawg; 09/10/10 08:24 PM.
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I'm not going to do walls this year. I have a very small trickle of water when it pours really bad and I have to fix that before I do walls and such.
Micah 6:8; He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God.
John 14:19 Jesus said: Because I live, you also will live.
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Take it from someone who understands.
My business has been part time [4th year now] and have had some medical problems to boot.
Feel free to ask me anytime if you have remodel questions.
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Well .... let's see ...... 15 tubes of caulk and 6 cans of spray foam and this thing is sealed up tighter than a drum. Every water line to the outside had air pouring through. There was a huge gap where they ran an electric line to the outside. There were leaks between the block and the header. (I think they call it) There is one old window in the basement, and it might as well have been standing wide open. We got everything sealed up about as well as it could be sealed up. There was a gap at the top of the window between the header and the window frame that took almost a whole can of spray foam to fill. Then we put in a styrofoam air seal gasket, and caulked and stapled that in. Started on the insulation, and this part looks like it should go somewhat quicker. We got about 1/3 of that done. This part seems like the easiest part. (Thank goodness!) I can already yell the difference in the basement. I turned off the the furnace vent almost all the way and the basement is still warm. I can't believe how many drafts there were in there though. I would put my hand in to clean the dust and dirt out and found so many places where cold air was just pouring in. Hopefully between this, regasketing my doors, and bubble wrapping my windows, my heating bill will show the results of all the hard work. 
Micah 6:8; He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God.
John 14:19 Jesus said: Because I live, you also will live.
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Holy cow.... did you move into a house made of swiss cheese?
Browns is the Browns
... there goes Joe Thomas, the best there ever was in this game.
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15 cans of calk.....Sounds familiar, I had the same problem many years ago and did exactly as you did, and like yours my results were great, no more drafts in the basement. You mentioned some water comming in through the walls, that's another problem you will have to address, again I had the same problem on the leaky basement, I called in the pro's for that problem, $15k later it's dry as a bone down there. good luck on the basement project. P.S. Get that leak fixed, after all we're talking about the foundation of the house here, not to sound like a know it all or anything, I'm just pointing out the obvious, of course I'm sure you know that. 
LET'S GO BROWNS !!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ![[Linked Image]](http://www.dawgtalkers.net/uploads/OldSixty-Two/new0400001.jpg) [b]WOOF WOOF[b]
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It's not a stream os water .... just a trickle, and only when it pours. Since I regraded a part of the back yard it happens even less. I think some clean up, vinyl cement, and waterproofing paint should take care of the rest. Eventually I might finish the basement ... but that's a project for down the road. If I do, I almost want to redo the back door and steps for better access ..... and so I can get the fridge and freezer that are down there out. PPE ...... guess it was a "holy" residence before I moved in. 
Micah 6:8; He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God.
John 14:19 Jesus said: Because I live, you also will live.
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I caulked my basement 10 years ago when we moved in. The basement was heated but only warmed to 64 degrees with the thermostat on the first floor set at 70 degrees.
Two years ago I put up 2 by 4 studs and used 3 1/2 inch fiberglass and insulated 6 ft down the walls from the ceing. I added another piece of insulation to the rim joist area.
Now the basement is 72 degrees and the thermostat is still set at 70 degrees on the first floor.
I feel by not insulating the floor joists of the first floor over a heated basement you have a warmer floor. Especially on vinyl and tile floors. We walk around without shoes on in the house.
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Quote:
It's not a stream os water .... just a trickle, and only when it pours. Since I regraded a part of the back yard it happens even less. I think some clean up, vinyl cement, and waterproofing paint should take care of the rest.
Eventually I might finish the basement ... but that's a project for down the road. If I do, I almost want to redo the back door and steps for better access ..... and so I can get the fridge and freezer that are down there out.
PPE ...... guess it was a "holy" residence before I moved in.
Check those downs for obstruction. I a bought a brand new house (5 years ago) and rebuilt all of the spout drains myself because they were leaking (poor installation crafstmanship.)
Last edited by OoooRahJoice; 10/08/10 09:18 AM.
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I used R-30 insulation in the rim joists. That should be pretty good. I have hardwood floors, and I agree with you and am afraid I might wind up with cooler floors if I insulated the floor joists. I am going to (eventually) glue the floorboards from underneath to eliminate the squeeking I get when I walk ..... and probably insulate the furnace vents. I'm also going to insulate the water lines, and maybe get a hot water heater jacket. Then .... I'll be done. For now.
Micah 6:8; He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God.
John 14:19 Jesus said: Because I live, you also will live.
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I still say you should just eat a lot of beans and heat the house with natural gas.
I AM ALWAYS RIGHT... except when I am wrong.
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Oooooooh that smell ...... can't you smell that smell .......  lol
Micah 6:8; He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God.
John 14:19 Jesus said: Because I live, you also will live.
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I just got a few more ideas for insulating my house from this checklist. http://www.familyfeatures.com/releases/dowfiles/GREAT_STUFF_FACT_SHEET.pdfI had no idea that you can use spray foam to seal around electrical outlet boxes. That's probably a really good idea in an older house like mine. I didn't think about sealing around the dryer vent and such. I also am going to look into sealing up under my siding with spray foam like I saw in a video.
Micah 6:8; He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God.
John 14:19 Jesus said: Because I live, you also will live.
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1st String
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all good ideas Ytown thanks for posting.... word of caution if you need to rewire those electric boxes anytime becareful with the spray insulation, it might be one heck of a mess for ya but other than that
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Just be careful with the spray foam. It expands quite a bit - and as it dries, it gets very hard - it can warp windows even.
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33 degrees here in Youngstown tonight/this morning ..... and the house is warmer than it was at any time last winter. I didn't insulate the basement ceiling, because I didn't think it would do much to warm the wood floors upstairs ...... and the floors were warm as could be last night. The basement, even with the thermostat set at 69 degrees and the vent almost completely closed off in the basement is probably close to 80. I went down there to throw a load of laundry in and had to take off my sweatshirt because it was way too warm. My upstairs bathroom has always been a little cold, even when it just drops to 50 or so. I sealed the rally old and drafty window in there and it's the warmest room upstairs now. Bring on the winter! I'm ready!
Micah 6:8; He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God.
John 14:19 Jesus said: Because I live, you also will live.
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Good for you.. I suppose the real test will be when the utility bills start coming in..
yebat' Putin
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I gotta tell you ..... even if my bills don't drop more than $10 per month during the winter, it will have been worth the work, because the house feels so much warmer overall, with no drafts or breezes.
Micah 6:8; He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God.
John 14:19 Jesus said: Because I live, you also will live.
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That right there is what *really* makes it worthwhile.
Even if the bills didn't drop at all, to have that extra level of comfort totally makes it a worthwhile endeavor.
Browns is the Browns
... there goes Joe Thomas, the best there ever was in this game.
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I was confused for a second, Cause I was wondering how you Insult a basement... 
Am I the only one that pronounces hyperbole "Hyper-bowl" instead of "hy-per-bo-le"?
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I would say that you just put it down, but generally they're already feeling pretty low.
Browns is the Browns
... there goes Joe Thomas, the best there ever was in this game.
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That's great. Something to think about. If you lower your thermostat setting a few degrees. Check and see if if certain rooms are colder than others. Generally you want bedrooms a few degrees colder because you are under blankets at night. Other rooms that you are in like living room you may want a couple degrees warmer. Kitchens heat up when you are cooking.
You can adjust your heat register vents to regulate the rooms temperature. If you can drop your thermostat settings a few degrees and live comfortably you can save money on your heating bills.
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