Basement reno advice - Insul/vapour barrier - other

Hi All,

I Am renovating my basement. It is pretty dry to begin with. I live in Nova Scotia, Canada. Fairly cold winters, hot summers. My outside walls are studded. I want to insulate these walls. but the insulation touches the bare concrete foundation. I vapour barried the foundation walls and will then insulate and VB again before I put the gyproc up. So this will be

2 layers of VB or in order gyproc, VB insulation and VB againnext to the foundation.

Now I am confused. I read in a forum that the first layer of VB (on the concrete foundation) can sweat, but my insulation would be dry. Should I seal the walls to prevent this. This would mean taking the VB down and sealing. Is this true? Will the VB sweat? The basement is pretty dry, but a little damp at times. Right now there is no heat at all. I will be hooking up 2 cast iron rads to heat the living area of the basement. Am I on the right track?

Another issue.

I have a sub floor, but it is water damaged in one small spot from years ago I would assume. I bought the house 15 months ago and is 65 years old. There has not been any water leakage and we have had plenty of rain storms so i think I am ok. I will repair /patch the water damaged floor. I plan on putting carpet down and I am for certain that there is no insulation under the subfloor. Can I buy an insulated type of underlay for the carpet to make up for no insulation under the subfloor.

Am I being paranoid about all of this? Am I on the right track with my walls. Will this be enough to keep my family warm in winter? I know I may need a dehumidifier, but am not sure. The foundation is in pretty good shape, but like I said it's a little moist at times, but there is no heat at all. I am hoping the cast iron rads will help with the small amounts of moisture.

Please advise

Reply to
Basement Reno
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You are describing a moisture barrier. Code used to require a moisture barrier against the concrete fwall, running the full height of the wall. Unfortunately, that led to condensation problems ...and code now requires a moisture barrier to a height of four feet ... or ground level, whichever is least.

Easiest way to deal with a full length moisture barrier is to cut large X's in it where it is not required. .

Insulation is R20 above grade, R 12 below grade.

Damp? Or humid? Heat and dehumidifiers can deal with humidity ... they cannot deal with ground water getting into the basement.

You may want to wait until after spring runoff to be sure ... don't be shy about seeking expert local advice about the soil conditions, water tables, etc in your area .. and on your specific property..

There is no shortage of dri-cores and other similiar products the box stores sell ... I am dubious about their worth -- and that's being charitable. Use a decent carpet and a ten pound pad. We routinelly put underpad and carpet directly on concrete basement floors. They're fine and very comfortable.

No ... double and triple check walls and floor to make sure you have no seepage problems. Deal with the moisture barrier as described above.

I can't speak to the effectiveness of the rads you propose to use. Consult a heating contractor or supplier.

We often install electric baseboard heaters (on wall thermostats) to provide supplementary heat. (Clients tell me they use them more in summer than in winter).

Best advice will come from someone knowledgeable in your community. Give them a few dollars ... it's worth it. You have to get the warm and dry right ... before you do anything else.

Ken

Reply to
bambam

basement insulation answers are at:

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Reply to
buffalobill

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