Expanded Polystyrene Foam Board Insulation For Basement Walls

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 board insulation for basement walls.

Follow with a 2x4 frame wall and. There is almost. For a basement remodeling project consider insulating basement walls with foam board. These are panels of rigid foam sold in 4 by 8 foot sheets in a variety of thicknesses from 1 4 to 2 inches it is also sold in large bundled panels joined at the ends accordion style for use as an exterior sheathing material.

Attach the tongue and groove insulation boards to the concrete wall with adhesive. Many energy experts recommend r 15 to r 20 for far northern states. How to glue polystyrene insulation to a concrete wall. For new construction use rigid boards to insulate slabs and the outside of foundation walls.

When you are looking for polystyrene eps insulation board think halo. Expanded polystyrene insulation more commonly referred to as eps is a closed cell insulation that has been around since the 1950 s. Use a premade kit for this type of project. What is foam board insulation.

There are a few different kinds of foam board insulation diyers should know about. Spray foam is also an option but usually a lot more expensive than foam boards. Polystyrene foam boards commonly called foamboard are a clean lightweight convenient way to insulate bare concrete walls. In most basement wall situations the foam plastic insulation material will need to be covered by a fire ignition barrier.

Expanded polystyrene is very versatile because it can be molded and cut into different. Rated at r4 per inch. When this ignition barrier is supported on a stud wall the cavities of this wall may be filled with supplemental insulation. Eps is made of 98 trapped air and only 2 plastic making it an efficient insulator with a small amount of raw material.

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. Half inch gypsum board usually provides sufficient ignition barrier check your local building code. 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. Foam board insulation is a great alternative to the very common fiberglass batt insulation that is in most of our homes.

Rigid foam insulation uses one of three materials.