Expanded Polystyrene Foam Board Insulation For Basement Walls

Use a premade kit for this type of project.

Expanded polystyrene foam board insulation for basement walls.

Expanded polystyrene insulation more commonly referred to as eps is a closed cell insulation that has been around since the 1950 s. How to glue polystyrene insulation to a concrete wall. For new construction use rigid boards to insulate slabs and the outside of foundation walls. There are a few different kinds of foam board insulation diyers should know about.

Eps foam insulation boards are more permeable to air and moisture than xps but it doesn t retain moisture to the same extent because of it s more closed cell structure and it s breathability which lets it dry out. What is foam board insulation. Foam board insulation is a great alternative to the very common fiberglass batt insulation that is in most of our homes. Expanded polystyrene is very versatile because it can be molded and cut into different.

When this ignition barrier is supported on a stud wall the cavities of this wall may be filled with supplemental insulation. Half inch gypsum board usually provides sufficient ignition barrier check your local building code. Green builders prefer eps to xps since xps is manufactured with a blowing agent that has a high global warming potential. It has a higher r value per inch of thickness it s resistant to moisture and is easy to work with.

When using foam insulation on basement walls the building code irc requires r 5 for southern states excluding the deep south and r 10 for the rest of the us. Polystyrene foam boards commonly called foamboard are a clean lightweight convenient way to insulate bare concrete walls. Attach the tongue and groove insulation boards to the concrete wall with adhesive. For a basement remodeling project consider insulating basement walls with foam board.

Basement walls don t need to dry inward so it s ok to use foil faced rigid foam for this purpose. Eps expanded polystyrene foam insulation boards. In most basement wall situations the foam plastic insulation material will need to be covered by a fire ignition barrier. Spray foam is also an option but usually a lot more expensive than foam boards.

Rated at r4 per inch. There is almost. When you are looking for polystyrene eps insulation board think halo. For more information on this issue see joe lstiburek discusses basement insulation and vapor retarders.

Where polystyrene foam bead insulation has been installed into brick veneer walls as an insulation improvement or retrofit mold and mould odors in building wall and ceiling and even floor cavities may later be traced to leaks into the cavity especially for homes in humid climates such as areas in the u k.