Basement renovation / Green Building & Sustainable Home Renovation Information & Advice

...Basement and crawl space encapsulation: a homeowner's and pro's guide Basement and crawl space encapsulation is a comprehensive moisture management strategy designed to seal the foundation from the damp earth. Whether you are dealing with a dirt floor crawl space or an older concrete basement floor lacking a vapor barr...

Vapor barrier + air-con = damp moldy walls So here's a little known fact that most HVAC installers won't tell a potential new client for central air; Polyethylene vapor barriers in combination with air conditioning in homes can rot walls because of the condensation they may cause. This is why if you have a newer home w...

...basements © Ecohome Note: the above diagram shows an ideal and complete basement renovation beginning with breaking and removing the existing concrete floor. Most older basements have very limited head room and owners are often reluctant to lower it even more by adding insulation to the floor. It also allows for the a...

...renovation project? PR - Obviously it is important to be rigorous in monitoring costs at every stage. It’s not enough to establish a detailed budget – you need to comply with it, and track all the expenses during construction and renovations to ensure that the established budget is respected. This is where beginning wi...

...renovation, it is crucial to understand the technical limitations of waterproofing basements from the inside to ensure your new walls stay dry and mold-free. Repairing foundations & insulating from the exterior when renovating an old home © Ecohome Cinderblock, stone or cracked concrete foundation renovations: Be...

...basements and crawl spaces and how to maintain healthy indoor air quality here: How to remove radon gas from crawlspaces and basements  How to control radon gas in homes How to find high radon risk areas - radon risk map by state and province All you need to know about  maintaining safe indoor air quality Fin...

...basement insulation - which is the opposite of much of the information out there. XPS rigid foam insulation board © Ecohome Note: 1 perm and 60 ng are U.S. and Canadian equivalent rates of permeability, below that rate of permeability classifies a material as a type II vapour retarder, suitable for residential constr...

...basement flooding, and guess what? Insurance companies tend to look favorably on that! Look, we'll just say it: we're not fans of basements. While we get that in some areas, due to land cost or availability, maximizing square footage is essential for home value, but basements are quite frankly, indoor swimming pools w...

...basements are typically under-insulated or not insulated at all, and if they are, they almost always trap moisture within wall assemblies. This leads to preventable mold growth and rotting in basement walls - often caused by interstitial condensation. The following basement insulation techniques listed here are designe...

...Basement renovations demonstrating mold growth in internal stud wall - Image © Ecohome Above is a photo of a basement being repaired after flooding. The mold damage you see is from longterm moisture exposure, not the one-time flooding event. This was a typical basement wall assembly, with a stud wall directly against ...

...basement floor need? Insulating a basement is a great idea if it wasn't insulated when built, as before we began insulating foundation walls and below slabs (see slab on grade), it was generally estimated that basement heat loss accounted for about 1/3 of the total heat loss of a house. It is likely that such an abysma...