Finishing the basement of a condo. I intend to insulate the outside
walls, but do I need to insulate the inside walls ? (the walls between
units), they are not cinder-block, they are poured.

Thanks

Sid.

On May 8, 8:37*am, sid wrote:
Finishing the basement of a condo. *I intend to insulate the outside
walls, but do I need to insulate the inside walls ? (the walls between
units), they are not cinder-block, they are poured.

Thanks

Sid.

How will you insulate outside and how well, concrete is a poor
insulator , insulating both sides is best, with foamboard.

on 5/8/2008 9:37 AM sid said the following:
Finishing the basement of a condo. I intend to insulate the outside
walls, but do I need to insulate the inside walls ? (the walls between
units), they are not cinder-block, they are poured.

Thanks

Sid.

The outside of the basement is already insulated, with dirt.
I insulated my poured basement walls with studs, insulation and sheetrock.
The average year round temps down here, without any heat supply, is
between 62-75º F.
I do have the oil boiler and propane water heater down here, which
supplies a little heat in the winter, and the house AC helps cool it in
the summer, since cool air flows downward.

--

Bill
In Hamptonburgh, NY
To email, remove the double zeroes after @

On May 8, 9:05*am, willshak wrote:
on 5/8/2008 9:37 AM sid said the following: Finishing the basement of a condo. *I intend to insulate the outside
walls, but do I need to insulate the inside walls ? (the walls between
units), they are not cinder-block, they are poured.

Thanks

Sid.

The outside of the basement is already insulated, with dirt.
I insulated my poured basement walls with studs, insulation and sheetrock.
The average year round temps down here, without any heat supply, is
between 62-75º F.
I do have the oil boiler and propane water heater down here, which
supplies a little heat in the winter, and the house AC helps cool it in
the summer, since cool air flows downward.

--

Bill
In Hamptonburgh, NY
To email, remove the double zeroes after @

Dirt is not insulation, my freeze depth is 3.5ft, dirt transfers cold.

On May 8, 10:15*am, ransley wrote:
On May 8, 9:05*am, willshak wrote:





on 5/8/2008 9:37 AM sid said the following: Finishing the basement of a condo. *I intend to insulate the outside
walls, but do I need to insulate the inside walls ? (the walls between
units), they are not cinder-block, they are poured.

Thanks

Sid.

The outside of the basement is already insulated, with dirt.
I insulated my poured basement walls with studs, insulation and sheetrock.
The average year round temps down here, without any heat supply, is
between 62-75º F.
I do have the oil boiler and propane water heater down here, which
supplies a little heat in the winter, and the house AC helps cool it in
the summer, since cool air flows downward.

--

Bill
In Hamptonburgh, NY
To email, remove the double zeroes after @

Dirt is not insulation, my freeze depth is 3.5ft, dirt transfers cold.- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -


Here's my take on answering the question. The value of insulating
something depends on the temp difference between the two areas. As
Ransley pointed out, depending on climate, the outside soil temp can
be quite low for at least a good part of an outside wall. On the
other hand, for a condo basement wall that is shared with another unit
on the other side, the potential temp difference will be less. A
finished basement that is heated on the other side, would have about
zero temp differential. An unheated one, maybe 15 degrees or so.
Even if it's a shared foundation wall with no basement on the other
side, the area towards the middle of that wall is going to have a lot
less temp differential than an outside wall when it's 10 degrees out.

So, it's clearly less important to insulate than the other walls.
However, if it were me, I'd probably just go ahead and do it anyway,
as over the years, even a small difference can add up.

On May 8, 9:15*am, ransley wrote:
On May 8, 9:05*am, willshak wrote:





on 5/8/2008 9:37 AM sid said the following: Finishing the basement of a condo. *I intend to insulate the outside
walls, but do I need to insulate the inside walls ? (the walls between
units), they are not cinder-block, they are poured.

Thanks

Sid.

The outside of the basement is already insulated, with dirt.
I insulated my poured basement walls with studs, insulation and sheetrock.
The average year round temps down here, without any heat supply, is
between 62-75º F.
I do have the oil boiler and propane water heater down here, which
supplies a little heat in the winter, and the house AC helps cool it in
the summer, since cool air flows downward.

--

Bill
In Hamptonburgh, NY
To email, remove the double zeroes after @

Dirt is not insulation, my freeze depth is 3.5ft, dirt transfers cold.- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

I insulated the outside wall with 1" foam board. My thought is that my
neighbors side of the common wall is heated to at least 60-65F. Do I
really need a lot of insulation on common walls, even if they are
poured ?

sid wrote:

I insulated the outside wall with 1" foam board. My thought is that my
neighbors side of the common wall is heated to at least 60-65F. Do I
really need a lot of insulation on common walls, even if they are
poured ?

If the temperature on both sides of the wall is the same, what's the purpose
of the insulation?

On the other hand, insulation may prove useful for noise abatement.

On May 8, 11:11*am, "HeyBub" wrote:
sid wrote:

I insulated the outside wall with 1" foam board. My thought is that my
neighbors side of the common wall is heated to at least 60-65F. *Do I
really need a lot of insulation on common walls, even if they are
poured ?

If the temperature on both sides of the wall is the same, what's the purpose
of the insulation?

On the other hand, insulation may prove useful for noise abatement.

Another question:
Some of the DIY construction books show not studding out basement
walls but just screwing up 2x2s and attaching wall board to them. Is
this recommended or not ?

On May 8, 8:37*am, sid wrote:
Finishing the basement of a condo. *I intend to insulate the outside
walls, but do I need to insulate the inside walls ? (the walls between
units), they are not cinder-block, they are poured.

Thanks

Sid.

I thought you meant the outside and inside of one exterior wall, I
wouldnt insulate an interior adjoining wall, just all walls that are
exterior to weather. 1' foamboard depending on type is only R4-R7,
thats not much insulation. in Zone 5, R- 40 is optimal for walls, but
few can do it or afford it unless it is new construction.

On May 8, 8:37*am, sid wrote:
Finishing the basement of a condo. *I intend to insulate the outside
walls, but do I need to insulate the inside walls ? (the walls between
units), they are not cinder-block, they are poured.

Thanks

Sid.

What did your building inspection department tell you when you asked ?
Better call them if you haven't, and then you'll have the right
answers if your HOA gets snitty about the project. Good luck.

Joe

On May 8, 2:26*pm, "Joseph Meehan" wrote:
"ransley" wrote in message

...
...



Dirt is not insulation, my freeze depth is 3.5ft, dirt transfers cold.

* Dirt does insulate and even the best insulators transfer heat (cold does
not transfer, it is just the lack of heat.) *:-)

* *In most areas the ground temperature evens out at about 4-5 feet.

--
Joseph Meehan

*Dia 's Muire duit

OK dirt insulates, it sucks out your heat in winter, an insulated
basement wall underground will reduce heating costs. Does dirt
insulate better than stone or concrete, R value of stone might be 0.5-
1 R" im guessing here.

On May 8, 2:59*pm, ransley wrote:
On May 8, 2:26*pm, "Joseph Meehan" wrote:





"ransley" wrote in message

...
...

Dirt is not insulation, my freeze depth is 3.5ft, dirt transfers cold.

* Dirt does insulate and even the best insulators transfer heat (cold does
not transfer, it is just the lack of heat.) *:-)

* *In most areas the ground temperature evens out at about 4-5 feet.

--
Joseph Meehan

*Dia 's Muire duit

OK dirt insulates, it sucks out your heat in winter, an insulated
basement wall underground will reduce heating costs. Does dirt
insulate better than stone or concrete, R value of stone might be 0.5-
1 R" im guessing here.- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

Anyone have a comment about the use of 2x2s ?

Thanks

"sid" wrote in message news:299cf387-58ea-494c-a7e0-

Anyone have a comment about the use of 2x2s ?

Thanks

******************

Even 1 x 2 is OK since they are only holding the wallboard and not
structural. OTOH, I'd use 2 x 4 on the outside walls and insulated them.

"Joe" wrote in message

What did your building inspection department tell you when you asked ?
Better call them if you haven't, and then you'll have the right
answers if your HOA gets snitty about the project. Good luck.

Joe

Why do you have to call the building inspector? None of their business if
you frame and insulate your walls.

"willshak" wrote in message
The outside of the basement is already insulated, with dirt.


Do some research and see how much heat is being lost to that dirt. It is
not a very good "insulator" at all.

On May 8, 7:20*pm, "Edwin Pawlowski" wrote:
"willshak" wrote in message
The outside of the basement is already insulated, with dirt.

Do some research and see how much heat is being lost to that dirt. *It is
not a very good "insulator" at all.

Per Ransley & Ed..... dirt isn't much of an insulator (but better
than concrete)

R values per inch

"dirt" ~.25
concrete ~.08
wood ~1.2 (depending on type)

In areas where the frost depth is substantial you'll have dirt temps
up against your foundation wall in the 32F to 0F (or lower).

Heated spaces will loose lots of heat through soil contact. That's one
reason why above ground well insulated spas / hot tubs are so much
cheaper to heat than in-ground energy hogs.

Without decent insualtion on the basement walls you can lose a lot of
energy heating the soil mass around the basement. How much depends on
the local soil temps during the heating season.

cheers
Bob

On May 8, 6:57*pm, "Joseph Meehan" wrote:
"ransley" wrote in message

...



OK dirt insulates, it sucks out your heat in winter, an insulated
basement wall underground will reduce heating costs. Does dirt
insulate better than stone or concrete, R value of stone might be 0.5-
1 R" im guessing here.

* * You over estimated. *It is about 0.25* as compared to wood at about .50.
Of course when you consider that it is DIRT CHEAP, that's not so bad. * *The
mud buildings in the American southwest use it because of both the price and
the insulation value when you have walls several feet thick.

* *It varies a great deal depending on the soil mix and the amount of water
in it. * It is also a good heat sink and will temper day-night changes very
nicely.

--
Joseph Meehan

*Dia 's Muire duit

In cold climates with no insulation and dirt covering the basement
walls it is a drain on the utility bill, single pane glass is 1R,
imagine heating a glass house. I insulated my basement walls with 2
and 3" of R 7.2 foamboard, up to R 21, it helped dramaticly. Adobe
usage is in areas that even today dont have heating equipment. OP will
save alot by using more than 1" of foam. Logs homes are actualy fairly
well insulated, wood is near 1-1.2R. A 12" log might be 16R