How To Insulate Your Basement

Prepping for Basement Insulation

The most important concern to address before insulating your basement is moisture. To ensure there’s no dampness seeping through the walls, conduct a simple test using plastic sheeting and duct tape. Tape a small piece of plastic sheeting to a bare concrete wall with an impermeable duct tape border and wait 48 hours. After sufficient time has passed, check the interior and exterior of the plastic sheet for condensation — this will determine if water is seeping through.

How to Plan for a Finished Basement

Additionally, ensure the tie rods embedded in the concrete (once used to hold the form of the home’s foundation as it was being poured) are sufficiently sealed. To do this, use a masonry hammer and center punch to tap the tie rods below the surface of foundation wall. Next, mix up a batch of hydraulic cement to fill the tie rod holes. This type of cement sets quickly, so work with it in small amounts. When properly mixed, the cement should reach a peanut butter-like consistency. Before applying the hydraulic cement, spray down the tie rod holes with water—this will prevent the concrete walls from leeching moisture from the new cement. Force the cement into the sunken tie rod holes using a margin trowel.

Steps for Installing Basement Insulation

Selecting Between Mesh and Paper Tape

To finish the drywall, there is some debate about the use of paper or mesh tape to hide the seams in the panels. The advantage of mesh tape is that it comes adhesive-backed and does not require an initial layer of joint compound before application. Paper tape, on the other hand, necessitates a layer of joint compound before being smoothed on with another layer of the compound. While there is no hard and fast professional preference among contractors, in some circumstances, paper tape is a superior choice. Paper tape allows for an easier-to-achieve seamless finish along corners and is better suited for large-scale applications. On a project smaller than 1,000 square feet, fiber mesh is easier and faster to use.