XPS / Discussions

...XPS rigid insulation. It’s a great product; we have reservations about the climate impact as XPS foam has high green house gas emissions, but finding used stuff is great. The advice you received about installing it directly to the concrete is correct. XPS is a vapor barrier, and that is a good thing. Yes it will keep t...

Eight years after our house was built, we noticed that the MDF baseboards in our finished basement became discoloured and swollen from potential moisture. We removed the dry wall, the vapour barrier and the fibreglass insulation in two large areas along the same back wall. The concrete appeared to be saturated with wat...

I have an unfinished walkout basement with 3 sides at or below grade. The two sides of the house have poured concrete step foundation down toward the rear with framed walls on top. The framed areas have fiberglass insulation but the concrete is bare.  I want to finish these walls with a newly framed wall covering the c...

We live in Bellingham WA and our basement was built in the 70's. It has high humidity (70-80%RH) although I don't see any visible damp anywhere. The washer/dryer are down there - the dryer vent is fully sealed, there is no actual ventilation in the basement apart from the drafts. There is a sink, the hot water tank wit...

...XPS with 4" studs and roxul insulation to give around r24 (local code). This is expensive and I'm not 100% on board because the basement is half above grade. I have seen in the CMHC book a scenario where a vapour barrier starts on the concrete, just above grade height, goes down the concrete wall, under a 6" frame (wit...

I read in one of your articles when putting up rigid foam to Install two inches of rigid insulation board directly against concrete.  A mold expert told me to put the board on top of the framing, not directly onto the concrete wall so the house can breath.  What is the right course of action? Thank you Can you please e...

...XPS, because the foil itself is a vapour barrier. See this page all about rigid insulation panels -  The difference between Polyiso, EPS & XPS Foam Insulation & Styrofoam We always choose (and recommend) EPS over XPS due to the fact that XPS has much higher greenhouse gas emissions than EPS.  So if you are look...

While searching to purchase EPS boards, which are very difficult to find here in QC, I've bumped into a 4' x 8' x 1" thick board, called GPS.  Do you have a webpage about GPS insulation?  I want to insulate my existing basement concrete floor, on top of it.  I have very limited head room, no more than 5 ft where there ...

I have been reading so much on insulation ....and out of the foam boards I think eps might be the best to use,  but not sure if the foil face would be good, may not be breathable...might be better to just do eps board and buy attic foil to put over that .....this might be the cheapest way to get some insulation on the ...

I want to first off thank you for taking the time to read this and hopefully provide some help. I've watched the great videos on here and just want to ensure I'm understanding everything completely before I go ahead and purchase/install the exterior insulation. a little info on the existing house: Its' in Northern Onta...

...XPS or Mineral Wool to prevent rot in building envelopes.

...XPS panels with HFOs anywhere? If not, any idea when they will be available? If they aren't available, is my best alternative still mineral wool? We have reason to believe that sometime in 2020 there will be a switch to HFO blowing agents with a much lower Global Warming Potential (GWP), but no manufacturers of XPS ins...

...XPS rigid insulation boards I have a few questions that will help us pin down the best way forward for you - How old is the home? Is there an exterior membrane on the basement wall? And have you ever had any flooding issues, either from bulk water, or just high water tables?