should i insulate my basement?

frank spina · 01-18-10, 10:04 AM

I heat my house with a wood coal stove in my basement. the heat rises up the stairs into the house, although the basement is still the warmes area.I was thinking of installing a couple floor vents with blowers to move the heat. the basement is block walls with about 16 inches above grond. there is no insulation in the ceiling, which would only keep the heat down any way. I was wondering if insulating the walls and the board around the edge of the floor might keep more heat in to blow upstairs. does anybody have any input? thanks, frank

Daox · 01-18-10, 10:20 AM

I'm sure it'll vary in severity depending on your climate, but I would say definitely insulate the basement if you can. Its on my to-do list... eventually.

Ryland · 01-18-10, 10:28 AM

The best way to insulate your basement is from the outside with 2" foam, go down below grade with the foam and insulate below the frost line or out from the house creating a skirt of sorts around the house (search for insulating foundations for more info) to help keep the ground around the foundation warm, 2nd best option is to insulate from the inside, the draw back of this is that you loss the mass of the walls but if your basement is as warm as you say it is then I think any insulation you can add is going to be good, you should also look at your attic, if you are losing that much heat.
is there any way to tap off the heat around the stove? or is it just radiating heat in all directions? forcing the air up in to the house is going to help, you also need to draw cold air down in to the basement somehow, if you don't let it go up then the walls of the basement are going to soak up that heat and let it heat the ground, reflective insulation is going to help alot in this area.

Piwoslaw · 01-18-10, 11:41 AM

Ryland is right that walls should be insulated from the outside. This keeps them from freezing (depends on climate, where are you located?), and keeps the thermal mass on your side.

frank spina · 01-18-10, 02:23 PM

thanks everyone for the input, at this point outside insulation isnt practical,although i understand about the thermal mass i dont really lose a lot of heat from the attic,the house is 2 storys and the stove in the basement just radiates heat warming the basement then the hot air rises up the stair way and also warms the floor of the first floor,the basement stays very warm i guess my thinking was insulate and conserve as much heat in the basement as possible then find a way to move more of the heat upstairs. in some areas the temp in the basement is around 80 near the ceiling thats why i thought about a couple vents with fans. i live in southeastern pennsylvania. moderate cold winters. thank you, frank

Xringer · 01-18-10, 07:42 PM

If you added fan driven duct-work right at your stove, to move the heat directly upstairs,
you would not be wasting so much heat into the cold basement walls.

The basement would still be heated a bit, due to leakage from the stove.
But, if you use the basement a lot, you could just insulate from the inside.

Check out this movie..

YouTube - Install Rigid Foam Insulation in Basement Video

frank spina · 01-19-10, 06:07 AM

thanks for the video , that may be the way to go. i do use a small blower and duct to move air into one room off the end of the house. and i may get a stove that is set up for attaching to duct work someday thank you ,frank

Xringer · 01-19-10, 08:08 AM

My old wood stove (which is still decorating the fireplace) has a steel cowling over it.
The squirrel cage fan in the rear can blow a pantload of hot air around and out the front.

It was always so hot, I had to set the speed control in the lower half of the speed range.

After we had fancy new carpet installed, we stopped using the stove. But, maybe someday,
it will get fired up again.. The carpet is getting pretty old and beat..

01-18-10, 10:04 AM	#1
frank spina Lurking Renovator Join Date: Jan 2010 Posts: 5 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	should i insulate my basement? I heat my house with a wood coal stove in my basement. the heat rises up the stairs into the house, although the basement is still the warmes area.I was thinking of installing a couple floor vents with blowers to move the heat. the basement is block walls with about 16 inches above grond. there is no insulation in the ceiling, which would only keep the heat down any way. I was wondering if insulating the walls and the board around the edge of the floor might keep more heat in to blow upstairs. does anybody have any input? thanks, frank

01-18-10, 10:20 AM	#2
Daox Administrator Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Germantown, WI Posts: 5,525 Thanks: 1,162 Thanked 374 Times in 305 Posts	I'm sure it'll vary in severity depending on your climate, but I would say definitely insulate the basement if you can. Its on my to-do list... eventually. __________________ Current project - To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. & To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.

01-18-10, 10:28 AM	#3
Ryland Master EcoRenovator Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Western Wisconsin. Posts: 913 Thanks: 127 Thanked 82 Times in 71 Posts	The best way to insulate your basement is from the outside with 2" foam, go down below grade with the foam and insulate below the frost line or out from the house creating a skirt of sorts around the house (search for insulating foundations for more info) to help keep the ground around the foundation warm, 2nd best option is to insulate from the inside, the draw back of this is that you loss the mass of the walls but if your basement is as warm as you say it is then I think any insulation you can add is going to be good, you should also look at your attic, if you are losing that much heat. is there any way to tap off the heat around the stove? or is it just radiating heat in all directions? forcing the air up in to the house is going to help, you also need to draw cold air down in to the basement somehow, if you don't let it go up then the walls of the basement are going to soak up that heat and let it heat the ground, reflective insulation is going to help alot in this area.

01-18-10, 11:41 AM	#4
Piwoslaw Super Moderator Join Date: May 2009 Location: Warsaw, Poland Posts: 961 Thanks: 188 Thanked 110 Times in 86 Posts	Ryland is right that walls should be insulated from the outside. This keeps them from freezing (depends on climate, where are you located?), and keeps the thermal mass on your side.

01-18-10, 02:23 PM	#5
frank spina Lurking Renovator Join Date: Jan 2010 Posts: 5 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	thanks everyone for the input, at this point outside insulation isnt practical,although i understand about the thermal mass i dont really lose a lot of heat from the attic,the house is 2 storys and the stove in the basement just radiates heat warming the basement then the hot air rises up the stair way and also warms the floor of the first floor,the basement stays very warm i guess my thinking was insulate and conserve as much heat in the basement as possible then find a way to move more of the heat upstairs. in some areas the temp in the basement is around 80 near the ceiling thats why i thought about a couple vents with fans. i live in southeastern pennsylvania. moderate cold winters. thank you, frank

01-19-10, 06:07 AM	#7
frank spina Lurking Renovator Join Date: Jan 2010 Posts: 5 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	thanks for the video , that may be the way to go. i do use a small blower and duct to move air into one room off the end of the house. and i may get a stove that is set up for attaching to duct work someday thank you ,frank

01-19-10, 08:08 AM	#8
Xringer Lex Parsimoniae Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Woburn, MA Posts: 4,918 Thanks: 114 Thanked 250 Times in 230 Posts	My old wood stove (which is still decorating the fireplace) has a steel cowling over it. The squirrel cage fan in the rear can blow a pantload of hot air around and out the front. It was always so hot, I had to set the speed control in the lower half of the speed range. After we had fancy new carpet installed, we stopped using the stove. But, maybe someday, it will get fired up again.. The carpet is getting pretty old and beat..