Recommendation for Basement Insulation (Installer in GTA?)

[pluto]

My basement is half below grade (walkout to yard) and is just freezing in the winter. I replaced the old aluminum patio door with a new highly efficient vinyl door, and installed an additional cold-air return to bring cold air from the finished area into the furnace (not the same room as the furnace) but neither seems to have helped.

I had one quote on installing spray-foam insulation floor to ceiling, which unfortunately requires ripping down and re-drywalling most of the basement (the laundry room is this cheap fake wood panneling stuff that I would like to get rid of any way, apparently its a real fire hazard) which is something I'm prepared to do if it will help.

House was built in 1978 and I am guessing the basement was finished some time ago so the insulation there now is probably minimal.

Any recommendations, either on what product to use or which company to hire (located in West GTA)? Thanks.

[winks1]

either way you slice the cake, the drywall will have to come down, once it's down, get rid of the fiberglass junk and let the contractor spray the foam.;)

[tottiwenjie]

your basement is finished or unfinished?

[klickthis]

Spray foam is the way to go, but an alternative is the extruded polystyrene insulation which you can diy and save some money.

[whodaphucru]

My home is about 5 years old and when I finished I used R22 Roxul (green stuff). The basement has been extremely warm and I rarely even open the heat registers in the winter.

Spray foam is nice but it'll cost a lot more. I used it above my garage and it was great but I am not sure the cost difference is justified for a basement. Maybe in the headers. Depending what is there now and I am assuming very little you'll get some money back if you do an eco energy audit.

[pluto]

I've been doing some more reading on this, and it seems the easiest or perhaps only way to achieve the top eco energy audit rebate level (R23 or greater) in my case is by using spray foam, partly because it has the highest R-value per inch...

It also might be possible to install spray foam without removing the drywall entirely...

http://www.foamcomfort.ca/produts-PolarFoam-7300.html

Polar Foam 6503

A semi-rigid foam which offers the same benefits as the Polar Foam 7300 except it has a higher expansion rate making it ideal for wall-fill projects. When the removal of existing walls for the purpose of insulating is not possible, Polar Foam 6503 can be injected through small holes and will expand in the wall cavity to fill every nook and cranny.

I'll have to some more research on this type of foam however...


I think the only other way to achieve R23 or higher would be to install extruded polystyrene (XPS) insulation (behind the studs?) plus bats either made of fibreglass, rock wool (Roxul), or alternatives such as Dow SafeTouch (polyester) or Bonded Logic UltraTouch (cotton / blue jeans)

Now, since my basement is currently finished with frame + drywall, pulling down the drywall AND frame to put 1-2" XPS up behind it is a LOT more work I would think... and I don't think there would be room for XPS + bats in the space between the studs as it stands now.

If I was starting from scratch that is the route I would probably go however...

[brunes]

Just FYI, as I have been researching this as well. Did you know it is fully legal and possible to spray-foam the *exterior* of the basement instead? All of the exposed concrete, right up to the wall joint, can be spray-foamed and air sealed. Once done, you can paint it with standard grey basement sealer paint, and it looks just like stucco.

Might be an option. I know I am considering it, because I have a basement that is finished, and is insulated with R-20 batts, but am looking for some extra protection without having to rip anything apart.

[chadjustine]

Hey guys,

Reviving this thread to avoid getting flammed for starting a new one.

Long story: After our eco-energy guy said our basement wasnt insulated enough, I started ripping down that old wood panelling that was covering the walls (later, drywall) and noticed that the insulation was only at R-10. The eco dude said that we should bring it up to R-23 (or greater). The walls are currently framed with 2x4's.

I was "planning" on using the regular pink insulation as that seems to be most common. From what I have noticed, the most you can get with 2*4 framing is R-14. To get up to R-22, you need to have 2*6 framing.

First off, is that actually correct?

How can you even get up to R-24 if the most you can get with insulation is R-22? I will assume the only way is spray foam?

Is there any way to get up to R-24 with the current 2*4 framing? Or will I HAVE to go to 2*6 anyway?

Thanks a ton guys and gals.

[segal]

hey guys,

Just a note, the rebate for the basement insulation requires minimum 'ADDITIONAL' insulation.

So for the maximum rebate column of 'Greater than R-23', it means you would need to add on another R-23 factor. So if your existing basement already has R-10, then to get the max rebate, you would need to upgrade it to R-33!!

Likely for most of us, upgrading it to R-23, would only qualify for the 'R-10 to R-23' minimum additional.....