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John McGrath
03-22-2008, 12:38 PM
I have just inspected a New home with ICYNENE foam in the walls and attic. The basement is unfinnished and unheated. There is no insulation under the main living area floor. There is also no foam on the poured concrete basement walls. I believe that there still need to be insulation placed. Any ideas?

John

Raymond Wand
03-22-2008, 01:14 PM
It would behoove you to insulate all exterior foundation walls including the crawlspace walls and you could heat the crawlspace thus negating the need to insulate the ceiling in that area.

Cheers,

Jerry Peck
03-22-2008, 03:18 PM
Yes, there needs to be insulation on the 'underside' 'somewhere'.

Whether that be as Raymond suggested or whether it be on the underside of the floor above the basement depends on various factors.

The "thermal envelope" needs to be complete.

Markus Keller
03-23-2008, 08:57 AM
I agree with Raymond and Jerry that the insulation needs to be finished. How it is finished does depend on various factors.
You stated it's a new home, so my question goes to the contract. The answer or responsibility for what needs to be done should be found in the contract from seller/developer to buyer. If not, do you have access to the blueprints? How much insulation was part of the permitted prints?
This type of 'lack of full finish' is typical by builders to cut costs. Many buyers (and some inspectors) don't catch this type of stuff. "Oh well, it's an unfinished basement", is a common assumption by buyer's. That's how sales agents pitch it and builders design it.
Since a lot of what I do is contract related, it's one of the first places I look for answers to find responsibility

John McGrath
03-24-2008, 04:16 PM
Thanks for the reply. The buyer is negotiating for insulation now.