Hello, do you think it's a good idea to leave the basement foundation wall uninsulated for one year. I plan to insulate from the inside, and I'm affraid that by covering right now the foundation with insulation board I will not be able to repair small crack that appear in the foundation. Of course, I know I will pay more heating this winter for the ininsulated foundation, but it's almost 7' deep so it shouldn't be THAT bad. It's my experience that a lot of new concrete foundation cracks initially because of shrinkage or initial settling... what do you think of this idea? Alexis

Leaving it uninsulated on a higher-R building would increase the design condition heat load by quite a bit, and a heating system designed for the uninsulated peak could be grossly oversized (at a cost in efficiency & comfort) for the "after" picture. But it all depends...

If you go uninsulated, size the mechanicals for the post-insulated loads, and use auxilliary heat to stay warm during the coldest bits.

I'm curious, is there really a need to repair small cracks in a concrete wall?

no reason that I know, except if there is water coming through the cracks, which rarely happens with good drains and a good tar coat on the exterior. I'd insulate it immediately.

No reason to delay insulating the walls. If you have our drainage and waterproofing right it is a non issue. If you don't, on year is not going to help. Cheers, Eric