How to insulate basements / Discussions

...to a design that is doomed to fail. First I think you should read a few of these pages - Best practices for insulating basements Why basements are moldy and how to avoid it Choosing the best insulation for basement renovations Those pages should help a lot, but a few things to mention - I see your point about how the...

...Toronto) and on a budget after gutting the entire finished basement due to extensive moisture penetration and mold issues. The foundation/walls are concrete block and we have 2 sides done with interior plastic membrane to french drain and sump pump, one side exterior waterproofing, and one side with no waterproofing bu...

...to run down the wall and not be absorbed in to the stud wall. In a perfect world there would be a way to manage any water that drains down the wall, but that’s a good start.  Did you see the following page about best practices for basement renovations? Why are basements moldy? How to fix & prevent mold in homes As ...

...to the air where it is easily handled by a dehumidifier or ventilation equipment. If you want one more page to read, this one explains pretty simply how to insulate a basement properly - How to insulate a basement so it won’t develop mold.  

...however I wasn't going to insulate my basement because I have a wood stove, and it stays pretty warm. But I feel for summer I want to have some insulation to keep it cool. Can I put foam board in between my studs and tac nail it? You could put foam between the studs, but why not batts? Were you choosing foam due to rea...

...to moisture damage, but trapping moisture inside will allow condensation to form on the wood. You can learn more here about how that happens and how to avoid it –  How to build and renovate basements properly so they don’t develop mold When you see Rockwool on basement walls, any moisture in the concrete can move right...

...how to do it properly if you decide to repair it. See our page about how insulation works, and this page on how to insulate a basement properly. Perhaps they used metal studs instead of wood studs as a way to stop the wall from rotting, but that as well is not a good practice. The conductivity of metal means that it wi...

...to work, or insulate, and I don’t really want to use closed cell spray foam, due to health concerns. Thank you. Your current design is very much inline with how we like to do basements, and for a few more tips you could check out this page -  How to Insulate Basements Properly And to address your question specifically,...

...to actually do that first, which could be a simple matter of applying caulking or acoustic seal to the rim joists to stop air leakage while you still have access to them. If you were going to install batts in the cavities before rigid insulation boards, I would go with Rockwool since it handles moisture way better than...