Insulating Basement?

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As it starts to get cold outside, the foyer and kitchen floor (tiled floor and even other areas of the floor with hardwood) of my house is really cold. I can have the heat running at 70 degrees but the floor itself stays cold. Is it worthwhile to insulate the ceiling joists of my basement? Would this help? My basement is mostly above ground (I have full windows in basement) so I suspect the basement gets colder than a normal bsement. Or should I look into chaulking/spray foaming the area where the house sits on the cinder blocks, there’s already insulation in those areas, not sure how well it’s sealed though. Thank you for your help.

Our Answer

It’s never a bad idea to insulate a basement floor. The insulation should also extend to the box beam seam, which is where the floor beams sit on the foundation wall. The best insulation to use would be unfaced fiberglass batt insulation. The other area that would help to insulate would be the basement walls above grade. There are a number of companies that make special insulation for this space, such as Owens Corning. These improvements should make your basement much more comfortable.

Basements & CrawlspacesInsulationQ & A

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Community Answers

Paul nardone

I have started insulating ceilings in basement with unfaced rolls of R-30 fiberglass
Is it ok that it is u faced ? Do I need a vapor barrier? I have gas fired FHA heat so basement is basically Unheated and it is a dry basement.

Reply
- Tom Kraeutler
  
  No vapor barrier needed. Just use unfaced fiberglass.
  
  Reply
lvremodeling

Sorry, I didn’t see post earlier, was busy, but yes, R-30 is good for ceilings not to close to recessed lighting if you have any, about 6″-8″ apart if you do.

Reply
edward17

Thanks for the great answers. So I purchased a few packs of faced R30 a few weeks ago. Would that not be good to use on the ceilings?
Thank you

Reply