Walls / Discussions

...walls and insulated with Roxul insulation Batts I went to go do some electrical work today and pulled back a bath and noticed that there was a bunch of condensation and a little bit of mold in between the bat and the polyiso. Did I do something wrong here? The humidity in my basement is 45%.

My husband is finishing our basement and installed 1 inch foam insulation to the exterior wall before framing and then installing fiberglass insulation. When he began drywalling he noticed moisture behind the fiberglass on the secrion of the wall that is above ground. At this point we are wondering what we could do to ...

Hello, We are redoing our basement ourselves (zone 5, 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 exterio...

...walls from the outside, that may give you some valuable tips as well. And the only other point I think you should keep in mind is that the junction between the wall and the roof. They can be tricky since many of those older bungalows have low roof lines making it tricky to insulate well while still allowing ventilation...

If so, how would the windows be installed? Also, once installed can I add stone and mortar to the stucco exterior? You could use Straw bale SIPs on the outside of a shipping container home, but I’m not sure it is your best use of your money or resources.  The thing is – SIPS stands for Structural Insulated Panel, so th...

...walls. That way you keep your stud wall dry and don’t have to go through this again in the future. And a question – what is  your climate zone? Insulating old block foundations from the inside can be a bit risky in really cold climates, as they are accustomed to staying warm with a lack of insulation. Suddenly being ex...

...walls to crack. Concrete block walls are not as strong as poured concrete, since they are only held together by the mortar between blocks.

...walls were just about touching the block walls and had no barrior between them. I now am going to put 4 new walls up (same as before 3 exterior, 1 dividing). I use Drylok so far on all the exterior walls follwoing the instructions. Now I plan on installing a vapor barrier using 6 Mil plastic and hold the new walls a fe...

...walls. From all of my reading it says that your basement foundation walls can only dry to the inside. If I put foamboard on the concrete and seal it everywhere, when moisture comes through the concrete it will have nowhere to go. Perhaps I am missing something here but seems to me over time behind the eps will be wet a...

...walls. And you are right, they can be an excellent insulation system for wood-framed houses, and done with 2x4’s as well since you no longer need the depth of the studs to accommodate batts.  The fact that it is a foam product can give it a bad rap in green home building circles, but we think that EPS insulation may be...

Pls. Send me any info on green grants i might be eligible for ? we put on a steel roof and insolated basement but need new window and drywall unfinished basement, also interested in solor panels Thank you for any info you can send  Figuring out where to start with home renovations when you first buy a home is not easy....

...walls made of plywood?  What I’m getting at here is that it really isn’t, or doesn’t *have* to be a crawl space anymore. If the walls (or ‘sides’) are just plywood then it seems to be it may be doing no good but only harm. I will try to elaborate :  Insulating the ground on top of the poly and not having air sealed and...

I have started construction on a 38'x20' passive solar greenhouse. 2x6 framed walls on south side with many windows. Struggling a bit on: 1) Best insulation type to go between studs.  2) If I should have a vapour barrier, or let the wall breath (high humidity inside). Location and type of vapour barrier.  3) best rigid...

...walls, there are many ways to build. The industry is moving towards prefabricated homes because they can often be a higher quality for the same price for a number of reasons, you can read more about prefab kit houses here.  So why don’t you check these pages over and see if anything resonates, and feel free to come bac...

Research has shown vented roof with air tight attic can save 20% energy. Have you done that before? And suggestion for new 2 story build ?   I don’t fully understand sorry, can you give us more details? In the research you mention, where does the 20% energy saving come from, meaning compared to what? Homes should be ai...

...walls had been insulated but not on a portion of the basement walls that were not finished on the interior. I have dug down about a foot on the exterior walls and there is no cracking evident below ground level, on any part of the foundation.  The interior  walls are in good condition with no evidence of moisture or mo...

Hello all, I am an architectural designer who, personally, love slab on grades. However, one big worry I often have is water damage at the base of the wall. Due to the wall being so close to grade, I worry about water pooling inside the sill of the wall. What is the proper way to design a slab on grade to prevent water...

...walls dry to the interior, by that we  mean to caution readers against installing interior poly vapor barriers that traps moisture in with studs and causes walls to rot. Preventing the moisture from escaping from the concrete in the first place is perfect. Read more here- How to insulate basements properly so they won’...