Expanded Polystyrene Foam Insulation For Basement Walls

Attach the tongue and groove insulation boards to the concrete wall with adhesive.

Expanded polystyrene foam insulation for basement walls.

Expanded polystyrene foam eps is the cheapest and least used foam board product on the market. Estimated savings for r 10 insulation range from 250 in washington dc to 400 in minneapolis. Many energy experts recommend r 15 to r 20 for far northern states. Rated at r4 per inch.

For a basement remodeling project consider insulating basement walls with foam board. Expanded polystyrene insulation is similar to the foam used for packing peanuts and it s typically used for insulated concrete forms also. Half inch gypsum board usually provides sufficient ignition barrier check your local building code. On october 3 2020 by amik.

Polystyrene foam boards commonly called foamboard are a clean lightweight convenient way to insulate bare concrete walls. Basement walls don t need to dry inward so it s ok to use foil faced rigid foam for this purpose. 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. In most basement wall situations the foam plastic insulation material will need to be covered by a fire ignition barrier.

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. Expanded polystyrene foam insulation for basement walls. When this ignition barrier is supported on a stud wall the cavities of this wall may be filled with supplemental insulation. Seal vents and insulate exterior walls what is eps or expanded polystyrene choosing between eps and xps rigid placement of thermal insulation.

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. This product typically has an r value of 3 6 to 4 0 per inch of thickness. Eps expanded polystyrene foam insulation boards. Use a premade kit for this type of project.

How to glue polystyrene insulation to a concrete wall. Green builders prefer eps to xps since xps is manufactured with a blowing agent that has a high global warming potential. There are a few different kinds of foam board insulation diyers should know about. Follow with a 2x4 frame wall and insulate it with batt insulation.

This is the same stuff your disposable coffee cup and is made out of and it s used to protect fragile items in their packaging. Expanded polystyrene foam insulation for basement walls.