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In the process of finishing my basement, and now its time for - Insulation !

Do you have any recommedations as to what I should be using? Any thoughts on different types and R values?
I know there are a few DIY'ers out there, so I'm interested to hear about what you used, and if you would recommend it.

Thanks!

I can't remember what R value I went with - but it was recommended for basements on the packaging as I recall.

I went with Roxul floor to ceiling. Assuming you spaced your studs to 16 inch on centre, the stuff fits in like a glove.

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I wonder how far that stuff travels since they are in town... Home Depot buys, it, Roxul shipps to their Warehouse.. and then it turns around and comes back to Milton HD. I wonder?!

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Pain is Temporary Pride is forever

That's a good question. I bought it at the HD. It never really occurred to me to even look into the possibility of buying it directly from them.

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I think a lot of contractors are using rigid foam panels, glued directly to foundation walls, then seam-taped to form a vapour barrier. Seems to be a better way to do VB. Spray foam pretty expensive, I think double or more.

Check out YouTube - AKA "Visual WikiPedia" - to get some ideas. Hilarious sometimes what you find there, but there's still a lot of good info.

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This one thing probably never goes away
I think this one thing is always supposed to stay
This one thing doesn't have to go away

^^ Good points. But I think the single most important part of a warm basement is the cold air return near to the floor.

It was the last thing I installed in mine and it was cold down there till I had going.

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Ive already got the Dricore down, so that should help....the only cold air return I have is closer to the ceiling though...

I did the foam panels in my basement, and it is expensive. It’s also a lot of work to install. It cost me like $1,200 to do a 700sqft basement. At the time they had the eco rebates which made it worth doing, but I don’t think they offer it anymore.

It is the right way to go. Moisture in a basement is always a problem, and these will never attract mold or mildew. I put Roxul overtop of them to get an R32 (again, chasing rebates). The panels alone are all you really need. I highly recommend them.

Fiberglass is the worst product you can use (although used frequently in basements). If it gets wet it will attract mold and it completely looses it’s R value. If foam panels are too pricy, then use Roxul, not pink. Roxul won’t hold moisture.

Hi: you can used R12 that's the cheapest and that's
What the builder gives you, by code on exterior walls minimum R 20
But like I said the builder gives R12 and passes inspection,
I hope this helps

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Let me know if you need a picture or two

I am about to finnish my basement, and will be ripping down the builders insulation and putting up good stuff. Is it worth keeping an throwing up in the attic or should i just make a trip to the dump?

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Hi fujizride,

If you removed all the plastic and laid it out flat in the attic then it would help a bit but to do it properly you would need to enter the attic and that would compress the existing insulation. I think a trip to the dump is the best option.

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For Home Inspection services call Andy Shaw at Halton Home Inspection Service. 905 876 4761

thx Andy

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I have also took down the pink insulation blanket and replaced it with Roxul R14 - Best thing I did for my basement. Def worth the investment. The benefits of Roxul outweigh the "Pink" by far.

Rigid foam has its benefits, but must be installed properly. A friend had an issue in the basement and when they removed the drywall and rigid foam there was mold in the seams.

Best bet is to make sure the outside of the home is sound (no leaks) and then install roxul batts rated for basement.