The advantages of insulating interior walls.
Adding foam insulation to interior walls.
Foam insulation is probably the best retrofit choice in terms of avoiding wall damage.
Interior basement wall insulation has the following advantages.
Many solid walls including double brick walls see figure 7 1 have a small cavity generally less than 25 mm 1 in which is a drainage plane that collects and drains water out of the wall.
In these cases both sides of the wall are up and you want to get an expanding foam inside without tearing down 1 side or the other.
In installing the rigid foam insulation on an interior wall inspect the walls beforehand.
Foam board insulation is easy to cut with a circular saw with a masonry blade or scored with a utility knife and snapped like you would drywall.
Insulating interior walls isn.
Check for any moisture problem on the interior walls and apply a waterproof paint on the affected area to resolve this.
This process creates holes in your walls that need to be filled patched and painted.
Installers can also spray a thin layer of foam to seal leaks then fill in with less expensive insulation.
In an existing home adding insulation to the exterior of the basement walls is impractical.
Never insulate these cavities or plug their drain holes.
First the foam is sprayed into the wall in a procedure that very closely resembles the process of installing loose fill insulation.
Conserve room area relative to installing insulation on the interior.
If there s nothing in the walls read slow rise below.
Here s how to do this.
Polyicynene and polyurethane are about 1 50 per square foot including labor if the wall is open and 2 25 per square foot for existing walls.
This can be a serious advantage as it makes the foam seek out and eliminate any cracks and gaps in your walls that can cause air leaks.
Cementitious foam costs about 1 40 to 2 per square foot.
To attach the insulation you can use screws with large washers a special adhesive made for adhering foam board insulation or for smaller pieces you can seal them in with caulk or spray foam.
You want spray foam insulation in these walls but normally spray foam is sprayed as an expanding seal.
It is much less expensive to install than exterior insulation for existing buildings.
Most communities have building codes that require a minimum amount of insulation in a house s exterior walls and ceiling.
If you think the problem you encountered as you inspect the interior walls is major then seek help from a professional.
Injection foam expands to work into difficult areas that blown in insulation may ignore.