remove fiberglass insulation from basement ceiling ?
Last Post 17 Apr 2017 05:46 AM by ArtisticConcepts. 5 Replies.
Printer Friendly
Sort:
PrevPrev NextNext
You are not authorized to post a reply.
Author Messages Informative
rolanUser is Offline
New Member
New Member
Send Private Message
Posts:4

--
05 Mar 2017 06:23 PM
I'm about to have my basement finished. The house is radiant heated by pex in gypcrete under the floors. The entire basement has fiberglass stuffed between the ceiling joists, I assume for reasons of efficiency. Should I drywall right over the fiberglass or remove it before drywalling the ceiling? Would there be any problems with leaving it in place?

Attachment: IMG_6107_sm.JPG
Attachment: IMG_6108_sm.JPG
Attachment: IMG_6109_sm.JPG

ronmarUser is Offline
Basic Member
Basic Member
Send Private Message
Posts:479

--
05 Mar 2017 09:42 PM
I would leave it in place... I would also insulate all that plumbing


Dana1User is Offline
Senior Member
Senior Member
Send Private Message
Posts:6991

--
06 Mar 2017 03:32 PM
The insulation is necessary for zone isolation, to keep the warm gypcrete floor above from also overheating the basement.

Insulating the foundation walls to current IRC code min would also be a good idea- more important (but also more expensive) in energy use terms than insulating the heating system plumbing.


rolanUser is Offline
New Member
New Member
Send Private Message
Posts:4

--
06 Mar 2017 04:34 PM
The basement is not heated. I'm guessing I'll leave the fiberglass in place. Thanks. ~Rolan


Dana1User is Offline
Senior Member
Senior Member
Send Private Message
Posts:6991

--
06 Mar 2017 05:12 PM
The basement is not heated directly, but you can bet it's heated by the exposed plumbing and the standby losses of that oversized beast of a cast-iron boiler. If you insulate the foundation those distribution losses still accrue to the house rather than being fully lost. If you haven't air sealed & insulated the foundation it's probably accounting for a double-digit percentage of the fuel bill, even though you're not directly heating that space.


ArtisticConceptsUser is Offline
New Member
New Member
Send Private Message
Posts:8

--
17 Apr 2017 05:46 AM
Yeah that is heated for sure. Our old cast iron boiler, sera blanket or not, puts out so much. Trick is utilizing it!

rolan if you put some polyiso foam sheets on that foundation wall, even in lieu of insulating plumbing, you'll save quite a lot in the long term, as Dana suggested. It'll also provide a vapor barrier and dry out the air some down there and make it feel like a much more enjoyable space. In most places the polyiso is rated to be left sans sheetrock as well, though you should check with your locality.


You are not authorized to post a reply.

Active Forums 4.1
Membership Membership: Latest New User Latest: croccohvacusa New Today New Today: 0 New Yesterday New Yesterday: 0 User Count Overall: 35027
People Online People Online: Visitors Visitors: 243 Members Members: 0 Total Total: 243
Copyright 2011 by BuildCentral, Inc.   Terms Of Use  Privacy Statement