Insulating basement walls with foam board
Which type of foam board insulation is ideal for basement walls if you intend to insulate your basement walls? You don’t need to wonder any longer because we’ve done the study and have the solution.
The polyisocyanurate foam board is the ideal type of insulation for basements. Choose a polyisocyanurate foam board with a coated glass face in particular (CGF).
Sadly, not all basements can be properly insulated. For a basement to be insulated, several requirements must be met. All of that will be covered in the parts that follow. Read on!
Insulating basement walls with foam board | Which foam board insulation is best for basement walls?
Liquid polyisocyanurate foam board is the first state. It is sprayed over a surface and allowed to dry until it takes the form of a stiff board. All polyisocyanurate foam boards are hence fronted. Aluminum foil is a typical face material for polyisocyanurate foam board.
However, the material must be semi-permeable when choosing an insulation material for basement insulation. This is required so that internal basement wall moisture can dry out.
Without a semi-permeable layer, moisture will be unable to escape from the basement wall layer, which may result in the growth of mold. As a result, rather than the typical aluminum facing, the ideal polyisocyanurate foam board for basement insulation should have a semi-permeable facing.
With its semi-permeable facer, polyisocyanurate foam board with coated glass facer (CGF) is the best type to use on basement walls. For basement ceilings, polyisocyanurate foam board with an aluminum foil facer can be utilized.
What alternative foam boards can be used for basement wall insulation?
Other foam boards may be used to insulate your basement walls if you do not require a very high R-value.
Expanded polystyrene foam board (EPS)
Expanded polystyrene foam board has the advantage of having the greatest R-value per dollar at 4.6 R-value per inch thanks to its low cost. It satisfies or exceeds all building and energy codes despite being expensive.
Water doesn’t retain in EPS foam board, which is available with or without a face. Vapor barriers can be made from versions with vapor-retardant faces.
Extruded polystyrene foam board (XPS)
XPS foam boards are simple to identify because they are typically vivid blue, pink, or green in color. In terms of price and R-value, XPS falls in the middle between EPS and polyisocyanurate foam board. Due to their inherent semi-permeability, XPS foam boards are frequently used as basement wall insulation.
It is made from recyclable materials and comes in both faced and unfaced varieties. It is a vapor retarder, not a vapor barrier, due to its unique features.
The fact that it can hold onto moisture for a long period is a drawback.
Insulating Basement Walls With Foam Board
Because not all basement walls can be insulated, not all basements are made equal. In the sections below, we’ve detailed the prerequisites that must be completed before and during insulation.
The majority of these needs can be easily met, which is fantastic news. Unfortunately, one of these could be impossible to complete in a finished house.
Filled cores
Below-grade concrete masonry walls, which are those walls or portions of those walls that are below the level of the outer ground, should be entirely filled. Insulating masonry that isn’t filled can make the hollow areas of the wall more conducive to moisture buildup.
The basement walls can deteriorate from the inside out if there is moisture present that has very little opportunity of evaporating elsewhere.
Maintain drying capacity on the interior side
Basement walls should have insulation installed to guarantee that below-grade walls may continue to dry on the inside. Because they are below grade, below-grade walls cannot dry on their outside side; instead, they can only dry on the inner side.
Below are installation instructions that can keep a basement wall’s ability to dry on the inner side.
Leave a Reply