Hi:

I'm at my wits end.

I own a 1956 ranch house in Montreal QC. Measures 60 x 30. The
basement nor the house for that matter had much renovation definitly no
insulation added to attic or basement. The basment is virtually empty
and the concrete has been repainted with some sort of enamel looking
grey paint. The basement is about 7 foot 3 maybe 3 feet above grade.
There are 12 windows. I chaulked the outside pretty well. The outside
siding is wood and in good painted shape I just sealed here and there.
The weired part is that the space between the joists which appear to be
sitting on the foundation have actually been filled with concrete. I
suppose they laid the joists/floor atop of the foundation and poured
another layer. Can i say the joists are embedded in concrete? I just
find it interesting. I recently put up 1.5" blue rigid insulation. I
placed 3 sheets wide and left about 15 inches off the bottom so as not
insulate the whole wall. However I put insulation bewtween the joists.
Now im seeing condensation on any exposed concrete. like just under
heater vents and on windows frame edge. so i chaulked it then put some
shrinking plastic over the hole...I guess i need to chaulk the blue
stuff to the wall...

PLEASE EMAIL ME AT

I can send you pictures and give more
detail...however i hear little feet up stairs so i must bail

later

d

You need to be very careful here Deliper. The CMHC has put out a
booklet called Keeping the Heat In. They strongly recommend that you
DO NOT insulate the rimjoist in cases where the joists are embedded in
concrete, just air-seal the cracks. The reason is to that insulation
will keep the moisture from drying and the joists will rot. Here is
the
link...http://oee.nrcan.gc.ca/publications/...Insulating.pdf
Be patient, this is a large PDF file, so it takes a long time to load
up. The material on embedded joists begins on page 65.

For others, this material is designed for the cold Canadian climate, so
it would apply to the northern US as well.

Steve

On 1 Mar 2005 04:27:20 -0800, wrote:

Hi:

I'm at my wits end.

I own a 1956 ranch house in Montreal QC. Measures 60 x 30. The
basement nor the house for that matter had much renovation definitly no
insulation added to attic or basement. The basment is virtually empty
and the concrete has been repainted with some sort of enamel looking
grey paint. The basement is about 7 foot 3 maybe 3 feet above grade.
There are 12 windows. I chaulked the outside pretty well. The outside
siding is wood and in good painted shape I just sealed here and there.
The weired part is that the space between the joists which appear to be
sitting on the foundation have actually been filled with concrete. I
suppose they laid the joists/floor atop of the foundation and poured
another layer. Can i say the joists are embedded in concrete? I just
find it interesting. I recently put up 1.5" blue rigid insulation. I
placed 3 sheets wide and left about 15 inches off the bottom so as not
insulate the whole wall. However I put insulation bewtween the joists.
Now im seeing condensation on any exposed concrete. like just under
heater vents and on windows frame edge. so i chaulked it then put some
shrinking plastic over the hole...I guess i need to chaulk the blue
stuff to the wall...

PLEASE EMAIL ME AT

I can send you pictures and give more
detail...however i hear little feet up stairs so i must bail

later

d

What is your basement's relative humidity?

later,

tom @ www.mesothelioma-poll.com

The temperature of the basement is roughly 19=B0C and 35%. The house
sits on a crown so water drains away quit well I think. I guess google
filters out email addy's

so here it is again.

deliperrot at yahoo dot com

Here is someother info. I took off the floor moulding on the mail
floor and chaulked it I felt a draft/cold air. I still have not
chaulked the rigid insulation in the basement. I placed plastic over
the rigid insulation where my old crappy windows are and its still wet.
like the chaulk can't dry. I think what i need to do is make a sealed
cell. The rigid insulation plus the paint act as vapor barriers. I
dont want to put up plastic. because its an old leaky house and
moisture is just part of the game. I also turned off my exhuast furnce
fan and turned off the humidifer. to see if it makes a difference.