Air leak beneath and above sill plate

cmittle · 11-10-08, 03:35 PM

My girlfriend and I are finishing the basement in our split-foyer home. We have slowly been fixing a few things that the original contractors did poorly and started on some half walls as well. One thing We noticed the other day was that between the sill plate and the top of the concrete half-wall there is some ~1/4" foam. We could feel a decent draft coming through this area and will be going around the entire room with a hefty bead of caulk to seal this.

One other area we felt a draft was on the top side of the bottom plate. Where the stud meets the bottom plate there was a large (~3/16" gap) on several of the studs. You could feel the cold air coming through this gap as well. We used some silicone and went around the entire basement filling in these gaps as well.

Just thought that I'd mention it as something that other people finishing a basement might be able to look at for ensuring a well insulated/no draft space.

I will try to get a picture or two in the next few days.

Daox · 11-10-08, 04:27 PM

Pics would be great. Thanks for the info.

cmittle · 11-10-08, 08:23 PM

This picture is the gap between the bottom of the stud and the top of the sill plate.

This picture is the gap between the bottom of the sill plate and the concrete half wall. Also notice the 1/8" gap between plates that I could plainly see outside through that has been sealed up.

This picture shows how we've tried to seal the gap between the sill plate and the concrete half wall.

11-10-08, 03:35 PM	#1
cmittle Helper EcoRenovator Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: Sioux Falls, SD Posts: 56 Thanks: 0 Thanked 1 Time in 1 Post	Air leak beneath and above sill plate My girlfriend and I are finishing the basement in our split-foyer home. We have slowly been fixing a few things that the original contractors did poorly and started on some half walls as well. One thing We noticed the other day was that between the sill plate and the top of the concrete half-wall there is some ~1/4" foam. We could feel a decent draft coming through this area and will be going around the entire room with a hefty bead of caulk to seal this. One other area we felt a draft was on the top side of the bottom plate. Where the stud meets the bottom plate there was a large (~3/16" gap) on several of the studs. You could feel the cold air coming through this gap as well. We used some silicone and went around the entire basement filling in these gaps as well. Just thought that I'd mention it as something that other people finishing a basement might be able to look at for ensuring a well insulated/no draft space. I will try to get a picture or two in the next few days.

11-10-08, 04:27 PM	#2
Daox Administrator Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Germantown, WI Posts: 5,525 Thanks: 1,162 Thanked 374 Times in 305 Posts	Pics would be great. Thanks for the info. __________________ 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.

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11-10-08, 08:23 PM	#3
cmittle Helper EcoRenovator Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: Sioux Falls, SD Posts: 56 Thanks: 0 Thanked 1 Time in 1 Post	This picture is the gap between the bottom of the stud and the top of the sill plate. This picture is the gap between the bottom of the sill plate and the concrete half wall. Also notice the 1/8" gap between plates that I could plainly see outside through that has been sealed up. This picture shows how we've tried to seal the gap between the sill plate and the concrete half wall.