SANDMAN wrote:
I'm looking at insulating the top third of my cold room. It is too cold in the winter and much too hot in the summer. I have read some websites that suggest using 2" pink rigid foam fibreglass and attaching it with construction adhesive. There is also mention of sealing the edges with canned spray foam and covering the foam with drywall. Why do the edges need spray foam? Why does the fiberglass need to be covered with drywall? I'm looking for any advice or suggestions you can give would be greatly appreciated.
Pink or blue rigid foam is not fiberglass. It is foam. It needs to be covered with drywall because it is a fire hazard and the fumes from it in case of a fire will quickly kill you. It says this right on each piece of the pink or blue foam.
When cold rooms become hot in the summer then the vent(s) in the cold room should be temporarily blocked for the summer and the door left open.
If you want to finish the cold room and turn it into a storage room then forget about gluing the foam to the walls and covering it with drywall. First the vent hole(s) need to be properly filled / blocked. Then the walls AND ceiling need to be fully framed, insulated, and a good vapour barrier needs to be properly installed. The sill plate at the bottom of the framed wall needs to be isolated from the concrete floor. To do this you could use 6mm plastic but FoamSealR Sill Gasket is better ( See link below ). Then drywall can be used to cover the framed wall but make sure it is about 1/2 inch off the floor. This new room should technically have a source of heat and ventilation so a duct and register may need to installed from the furnace plenum to vent into the cold room BUT this may be avoided if a louvered door is installed or at least a large "grate" or two be installed on the existing door. Also remove the weatherstrip around the door.
If you do not have HVAC ventilation for the room then mold may grow.
For all it's worth - it would not hurt to install Dricore flooring before the walls are put up. Then the sill plate gasket will not be needed. See link -
https://www.homedepot.ca/en/home/p.2-ft-x-2-ft-engineered-subfloor-panel-system.1000112986.htmlFoam Sill Gasket -
https://www.homedepot.ca/en/home/p.foamsealr-sill-gasket---5-12-inch-x-82-feet-x-316-inch.1000150656.html