We seem to be having a fair bit of cold penetration along the basement
mudsill (above the stone foundation) and between the floor joists.

I would like to insulate and my first thought is to use a combination
of the 2 inch "pink" rigid insulation (cut to size) plus expanding
foam insulation to fill remaining irregular gaps.

Any other or better suggestions before I start the project?

Thanks

On Jan 29, 3:44 pm, blueman3333 wrote:
We seem to be having a fair bit of cold penetration along the basement
mudsill (above the stone foundation) and between the floor joists.

I would like to insulate and my first thought is to use a combination
of the 2 inch "pink" rigid insulation (cut to size) plus expanding
foam insulation to fill remaining irregular gaps.

Any other or better suggestions before I start the project?

The ideas you have sound OK. Since the draft is coming in through the
floor jouist I would consider getting up there with come regular caulk
and seal all the cracks where the cold can come in. Foam is only
needed for really big cracks.

At that point you could just use fiberglass bats which are
conveniently sized to fit in the space between the joists. It would
require some type of ceiling to finish however, drywall perhaps. A
finished basment adds to the function and value of the home and
finishing the ceiling is a big step in that direction.

"Lawrence" writes:
On Jan 29, 3:44 pm, blueman3333 wrote:
We seem to be having a fair bit of cold penetration along the basement
mudsill (above the stone foundation) and between the floor joists.

I would like to insulate and my first thought is to use a combination
of the 2 inch "pink" rigid insulation (cut to size) plus expanding
foam insulation to fill remaining irregular gaps.

Any other or better suggestions before I start the project?

The ideas you have sound OK. Since the draft is coming in through the
floor jouist I would consider getting up there with come regular caulk
and seal all the cracks where the cold can come in. Foam is only
needed for really big cracks.

At that point you could just use fiberglass bats which are
conveniently sized to fit in the space between the joists. It would
require some type of ceiling to finish however, drywall perhaps. A
finished basment adds to the function and value of the home and
finishing the ceiling is a big step in that direction.

Perhaps my explanation is unclear. The area of cold is along the
outside *perimeter* of the house at the level of the "mudsill" which
in my old house is something like a 4x10 or so resting (irregularly)
on top of a 12 inch or more stone foundation. My guess is that a lot
of the air is leaking between the inevitable cracks between the
irregular foundation and the mudsill. But additional cold is probably
penetrating the mudsill itself since wood has a rather poor R-value.

So I was proposing to cut (irregular) rectangles of 2" pink rigid
insulation to fit between the joists along the perimeter mudsill. Then
since everything is rather irregular anyway I was going to use foam to
seal between the rigid foam and the surrounding joists, stone
foundation and mudsill.

Does this explanation help?

blueman wrote:
"Lawrence" writes:
On Jan 29, 3:44 pm, blueman3333 wrote:
We seem to be having a fair bit of cold penetration along the basement
mudsill (above the stone foundation) and between the floor joists.

I would like to insulate and my first thought is to use a combination
of the 2 inch "pink" rigid insulation (cut to size) plus expanding
foam insulation to fill remaining irregular gaps.

Any other or better suggestions before I start the project?
The ideas you have sound OK. Since the draft is coming in through the
floor jouist I would consider getting up there with come regular caulk
and seal all the cracks where the cold can come in. Foam is only
needed for really big cracks.

At that point you could just use fiberglass bats which are
conveniently sized to fit in the space between the joists. It would
require some type of ceiling to finish however, drywall perhaps. A
finished basment adds to the function and value of the home and
finishing the ceiling is a big step in that direction.

Perhaps my explanation is unclear. The area of cold is along the
outside *perimeter* of the house at the level of the "mudsill" which
in my old house is something like a 4x10 or so resting (irregularly)
on top of a 12 inch or more stone foundation. My guess is that a lot
of the air is leaking between the inevitable cracks between the
irregular foundation and the mudsill. But additional cold is probably
penetrating the mudsill itself since wood has a rather poor R-value.

So I was proposing to cut (irregular) rectangles of 2" pink rigid
insulation to fit between the joists along the perimeter mudsill. Then
since everything is rather irregular anyway I was going to use foam to
seal between the rigid foam and the surrounding joists, stone
foundation and mudsill.

Does this explanation help?

Sounds like a winner. Just cut the pink
insulation over size and smash into place and it
will deform to make a fairly tight air seal as
well as provide insulation.

On Tue, 30 Jan 2007 01:14:21 GMT, blueman wrote:

"Lawrence" writes:
On Jan 29, 3:44 pm, blueman3333 wrote:
We seem to be having a fair bit of cold penetration along the basement
mudsill (above the stone foundation) and between the floor joists.

I would like to insulate and my first thought is to use a combination
of the 2 inch "pink" rigid insulation (cut to size) plus expanding
foam insulation to fill remaining irregular gaps.

Any other or better suggestions before I start the project?

The ideas you have sound OK. Since the draft is coming in through the
floor jouist I would consider getting up there with come regular caulk
and seal all the cracks where the cold can come in. Foam is only
needed for really big cracks.

At that point you could just use fiberglass bats which are
conveniently sized to fit in the space between the joists. It would
require some type of ceiling to finish however, drywall perhaps. A
finished basment adds to the function and value of the home and
finishing the ceiling is a big step in that direction.

Perhaps my explanation is unclear. The area of cold is along the
outside *perimeter* of the house at the level of the "mudsill" which
in my old house is something like a 4x10 or so resting (irregularly)
on top of a 12 inch or more stone foundation. My guess is that a lot
of the air is leaking between the inevitable cracks between the
irregular foundation and the mudsill. But additional cold is probably
penetrating the mudsill itself since wood has a rather poor R-value.

So I was proposing to cut (irregular) rectangles of 2" pink rigid
insulation to fit between the joists along the perimeter mudsill. Then
since everything is rather irregular anyway I was going to use foam to
seal between the rigid foam and the surrounding joists, stone
foundation and mudsill.

Does this explanation help?

Can't you get cannisters of urethane foam and
just foam the entire rim?

Goedjn writes:
On Tue, 30 Jan 2007 01:14:21 GMT, blueman wrote:

"Lawrence" writes:
On Jan 29, 3:44 pm, blueman3333 wrote:
We seem to be having a fair bit of cold penetration along the basement
mudsill (above the stone foundation) and between the floor joists.

I would like to insulate and my first thought is to use a combination
of the 2 inch "pink" rigid insulation (cut to size) plus expanding
foam insulation to fill remaining irregular gaps.

Any other or better suggestions before I start the project?

The ideas you have sound OK. Since the draft is coming in through the
floor jouist I would consider getting up there with come regular caulk
and seal all the cracks where the cold can come in. Foam is only
needed for really big cracks.

At that point you could just use fiberglass bats which are
conveniently sized to fit in the space between the joists. It would
require some type of ceiling to finish however, drywall perhaps. A
finished basment adds to the function and value of the home and
finishing the ceiling is a big step in that direction.

Perhaps my explanation is unclear. The area of cold is along the
outside *perimeter* of the house at the level of the "mudsill" which
in my old house is something like a 4x10 or so resting (irregularly)
on top of a 12 inch or more stone foundation. My guess is that a lot
of the air is leaking between the inevitable cracks between the
irregular foundation and the mudsill. But additional cold is probably
penetrating the mudsill itself since wood has a rather poor R-value.

So I was proposing to cut (irregular) rectangles of 2" pink rigid
insulation to fit between the joists along the perimeter mudsill. Then
since everything is rather irregular anyway I was going to use foam to
seal between the rigid foam and the surrounding joists, stone
foundation and mudsill.

Does this explanation help?

Can't you get cannisters of urethane foam and
just foam the entire rim?

I would love to just foam it but I am worried about two problems.
1. The spray cannisters they sell (at least at home centers) are
rather expensive. Say $7-8 per aerosol can (even the pro-pack stuff
is not much cheaper)
2. It tends to look rather messy and non-professional -- and I don't
think it is just my application technique

Do you have any specific suggestions on materials or techniques that
might avoid the abvoe two problems.

On Mon, 05 Feb 2007 17:04:10 GMT, blueman wrote:

Goedjn writes:
On Tue, 30 Jan 2007 01:14:21 GMT, blueman wrote:

"Lawrence" writes:
On Jan 29, 3:44 pm, blueman3333 wrote:
We seem to be having a fair bit of cold penetration along the basement
mudsill (above the stone foundation) and between the floor joists.

I would like to insulate and my first thought is to use a combination
of the 2 inch "pink" rigid insulation (cut to size) plus expanding
foam insulation to fill remaining irregular gaps.

Any other or better suggestions before I start the project?

The ideas you have sound OK. Since the draft is coming in through the
floor jouist I would consider getting up there with come regular caulk
and seal all the cracks where the cold can come in. Foam is only
needed for really big cracks.

At that point you could just use fiberglass bats which are
conveniently sized to fit in the space between the joists. It would
require some type of ceiling to finish however, drywall perhaps. A
finished basment adds to the function and value of the home and
finishing the ceiling is a big step in that direction.

Perhaps my explanation is unclear. The area of cold is along the
outside *perimeter* of the house at the level of the "mudsill" which
in my old house is something like a 4x10 or so resting (irregularly)
on top of a 12 inch or more stone foundation. My guess is that a lot
of the air is leaking between the inevitable cracks between the
irregular foundation and the mudsill. But additional cold is probably
penetrating the mudsill itself since wood has a rather poor R-value.

So I was proposing to cut (irregular) rectangles of 2" pink rigid
insulation to fit between the joists along the perimeter mudsill. Then
since everything is rather irregular anyway I was going to use foam to
seal between the rigid foam and the surrounding joists, stone
foundation and mudsill.

Does this explanation help?

Can't you get cannisters of urethane foam and
just foam the entire rim?

I would love to just foam it but I am worried about two problems.
1. The spray cannisters they sell (at least at home centers) are
rather expensive. Say $7-8 per aerosol can (even the pro-pack stuff
is not much cheaper)
2. It tends to look rather messy and non-professional -- and I don't
think it is just my application technique

Do you have any specific suggestions on materials or techniques that
might avoid the abvoe two problems.


They sell the stuff in, not aeresol cans, but in multigallon
cannisters, (two components and some mixing apparatii (apparatae?)

And if it's an unihabbitted space, it doesn't really matter
how uprofessional it looks, and if its' inhabbited, you're
supposed to cover it. In any case, once it's up, you can
carve it to shape with an electric carving knife.

Are you doing this repair from the inside? If so, I did exactly what you
are proposing. The only difference is that I put a good size bead of
caulking on all four seams of the space and smushed the poly board into it.

A more recent example is to cut the foam a bit smaller then the opening
leaving say about a half inch gap all around and then going back with the
spray foam to fill in the voids. Much easier then trying to get tight fits
with the foam board.

"blueman" wrote in message
...
"Lawrence" writes:
On Jan 29, 3:44 pm, blueman3333 wrote:
We seem to be having a fair bit of cold penetration along the basement
mudsill (above the stone foundation) and between the floor joists.

I would like to insulate and my first thought is to use a combination
of the 2 inch "pink" rigid insulation (cut to size) plus expanding
foam insulation to fill remaining irregular gaps.

Any other or better suggestions before I start the project?

The ideas you have sound OK. Since the draft is coming in through the
floor jouist I would consider getting up there with come regular caulk
and seal all the cracks where the cold can come in. Foam is only
needed for really big cracks.

At that point you could just use fiberglass bats which are
conveniently sized to fit in the space between the joists. It would
require some type of ceiling to finish however, drywall perhaps. A
finished basment adds to the function and value of the home and
finishing the ceiling is a big step in that direction.

Perhaps my explanation is unclear. The area of cold is along the
outside *perimeter* of the house at the level of the "mudsill" which
in my old house is something like a 4x10 or so resting (irregularly)
on top of a 12 inch or more stone foundation. My guess is that a lot
of the air is leaking between the inevitable cracks between the
irregular foundation and the mudsill. But additional cold is probably
penetrating the mudsill itself since wood has a rather poor R-value.

So I was proposing to cut (irregular) rectangles of 2" pink rigid
insulation to fit between the joists along the perimeter mudsill. Then
since everything is rather irregular anyway I was going to use foam to
seal between the rigid foam and the surrounding joists, stone
foundation and mudsill.

Does this explanation help?

On Mon, 29 Jan 2007 21:44:51 GMT, blueman3333
wrote:

We seem to be having a fair bit of cold penetration along the basement
mudsill (above the stone foundation) and between the floor joists.

I would like to insulate and my first thought is to use a combination
of the 2 inch "pink" rigid insulation (cut to size) plus expanding
foam insulation to fill remaining irregular gaps.

Any other or better suggestions before I start the project?

Thanks


imho:

I'm guessing as long as you aren't using the fiber glass to stop
drafts. I've learned from my house, that I can insulate the heck out
of something, but drafts will make areas still feel cold.

For the foam stuff, I like the dap latex stuff. It cleans up well.


tom @ www.BlankHelp.com

I prefer Icynene insulation around sil interior
the R-value is much higher than fiberglass.


"LayPerson Tom" wrote in message
...
| On Mon, 29 Jan 2007 21:44:51 GMT, blueman3333
| wrote:
|
| We seem to be having a fair bit of cold penetration along the
basement
| mudsill (above the stone foundation) and between the floor joists.
|
| I would like to insulate and my first thought is to use a combination
| of the 2 inch "pink" rigid insulation (cut to size) plus expanding
| foam insulation to fill remaining irregular gaps.
|
| Any other or better suggestions before I start the project?
|
| Thanks
|
|
| imho:
|
| I'm guessing as long as you aren't using the fiber glass to stop
| drafts. I've learned from my house, that I can insulate the heck out
| of something, but drafts will make areas still feel cold.
|
| For the foam stuff, I like the dap latex stuff. It cleans up well.
|
|
| tom @ www.BlankHelp.com
|
|

On Wed, 31 Jan 2007 06:00:14 -0500, "Mark Monitor"
wrote:

I prefer Icynene insulation around sil interior
the R-value is much higher than fiberglass.


Agreed! Just that IC isn't a diy product, as far as I know.

I personally dislike fiberglass unless it's encapsulated such that
none of it is exposed to the inside of the living space.

tom



"LayPerson Tom" wrote in message
.. .
| On Mon, 29 Jan 2007 21:44:51 GMT, blueman3333
| wrote:
|
| We seem to be having a fair bit of cold penetration along the
basement
| mudsill (above the stone foundation) and between the floor joists.
|
| I would like to insulate and my first thought is to use a combination
| of the 2 inch "pink" rigid insulation (cut to size) plus expanding
| foam insulation to fill remaining irregular gaps.
|
| Any other or better suggestions before I start the project?
|
| Thanks
|
|
| imho:
|
| I'm guessing as long as you aren't using the fiber glass to stop
| drafts. I've learned from my house, that I can insulate the heck out
| of something, but drafts will make areas still feel cold.
|
| For the foam stuff, I like the dap latex stuff. It cleans up well.
|
|
| tom @ www.BlankHelp.com
|
|

LayPerson Tom writes:
On Wed, 31 Jan 2007 06:00:14 -0500, "Mark Monitor"
wrote:

I prefer Icynene insulation around sil interior
the R-value is much higher than fiberglass.


Agreed! Just that IC isn't a diy product, as far as I know.

I personally dislike fiberglass unless it's encapsulated such that
none of it is exposed to the inside of the living space.

tom



I was talking about the "pink" solid insulation boards -- not
fiberglass batts.

On Mon, 05 Feb 2007 17:06:02 GMT, blueman wrote:

LayPerson Tom writes:
On Wed, 31 Jan 2007 06:00:14 -0500, "Mark Monitor"
wrote:

I prefer Icynene insulation around sil interior
the R-value is much higher than fiberglass.


Agreed! Just that IC isn't a diy product, as far as I know.

I personally dislike fiberglass unless it's encapsulated such that
none of it is exposed to the inside of the living space.

tom @ www.Consolidated-Loans.info



I was talking about the "pink" solid insulation boards -- not
fiberglass batts.


Extruded foam boards are nice, but the restrictions on using them
exposed kind of makes them more complicated.

tom @ www.BlankHelp.com