Expanded Polystyrene Foam Board Insulation For Basement Walls

Eps expanded polystyrene foam insulation boards.

Expanded polystyrene foam board insulation for basement walls.

Expanded polystyrene is very versatile because it can be molded and cut into different. Rated at r4 per inch. Eps is made of 98 trapped air and only 2 plastic making it an efficient insulator with a small amount of raw material. Expanded polystyrene insulation more commonly referred to as eps is a closed cell insulation that has been around since the 1950 s.

There are a few different kinds of foam board insulation diyers should know about. In most basement wall situations the foam plastic insulation material will need to be covered by a fire ignition barrier. For new construction use rigid boards to insulate slabs and the outside of foundation walls. For a basement remodeling project consider insulating basement walls with foam board.

Polystyrene foam boards commonly called foamboard are a clean lightweight convenient way to insulate bare concrete walls. There is almost. Spray foam is also an option but usually a lot more expensive than foam boards. For more information on this issue see joe lstiburek discusses basement insulation and vapor retarders.

When this ignition barrier is supported on a stud wall the cavities of this wall may be filled with supplemental insulation. Basement walls don t need to dry inward so it s ok to use foil faced rigid foam for this purpose. Foam board insulation is a great alternative to the very common fiberglass batt insulation that is in most of our homes. 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.

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. When you are looking for polystyrene eps insulation board think halo. What is foam board insulation. Green builders prefer eps to xps since xps is manufactured with a blowing agent that has a high global warming potential.

Use a premade kit for this type of project. Attach the tongue and groove insulation boards to the concrete wall with adhesive. How to glue polystyrene insulation to a concrete wall. 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.

Many energy experts recommend r 15 to r 20 for far northern states.