Thread: finishing basement walls

what
is the proper way to finish basement walls start to finish? I have been a carpenter for twenty years. I can't seem to find a straight answer on the best way to finish basement walls. Iam planning on doing my own basement in increments over the next few years and i want to avoid future problems of moisure and mold.I am going to describe what i was planning and if anybody would comment on it it would be appreciated. My basement walls are poured concrete 10 inches thick no visible dampness has everbeen indicated.i am going to fasten 1 inch foam insulation to those walls with 1inch concrete nails allseams and nail holes will be taped i was then going to build 2x4 walls against the foam and insulate with fiberglass batts followed by drywall. if anybody has comments on this as far as mold and moisture please comment

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How are you planning to control moisture that permeates up through the floor of the basement. Eliminating basement dampness is a neat trick. In my basement I concentrated on controlling it by leaving a 5-6 inch space between the foundation and the walls and running a dehumidifier all summer. Dead air space has always been problematic for me. In my view, sealing the basement off from dampness works great in theory, but in practice................

Brett,

I think you have the right idea, but I would skip using nails to secure the foam to the concrete, eliminate as many points of thermal transfer as possible. I would just glue the foam to the concrete wall and call it a day, as the studs will hold it in place should the glue fail. If the concrete walls are foamed on the exterior I would skip the fiberglass insulation as I think you are at a point of diminishing returns with heat loss.

The one thing to remember is that exposed foam inside a house is not safe. Foam creates a very toxic smoke if it catches fire and WI code requires it to be covered with a 15 minute barrier. I would not cover the whole basement with exposed foam and then as time passes cover it as walls are built.

Hope this helps,

Mike

Call me paranoid, but I see the thermal part as a no brainer, ( just add up the "R" factors ), but the moisture or posibility of same concerms me. Foam gives you the highest "R" factor for the thickness, but something that can take and release at least some moisture appeals to me. At a minimum use treated plates.