Basement Insulation
by Ted Antal
(Jasper, Georgia)
I live in a house that has insulation in the floor of the first floor, the basement ceiling. It is a walk-out basement so that half of the basement walls are above grade, half below. The floor is concrete and half of the basement walls are frame and half masonry. The basement walls are not insulated and I am intending to insulate them and would like to know if I should remove the basement ceiling insulation (six inches of fiberglass).
Answer from Green Energy Efficient Homes
Installing new basement ceiling insulation is much less cost effective than installing basement wall insulation. In your case, since you already have the basement ceiling insulation and are going to insulate the walls, you'll get the benefit of the wall insulation to help keep the basement warmer, while the basement ceiling insulation will help make your upstairs floors feel a little less cold to the touch (unless you're planning to keep the basement at the same temperature as the rest of the house). Therefore I don't see any reason to remove the basement ceiling insulation as part of the basement insulation project, although the standard disclaimer applies: seek the help of a qualified local professional. (You can always invite a contractor in for a quote, and ask his advice, and then do it yourself if the price isn't right!)
The only issue I see with leaving the basement ceiling insulation in may be with basement humidity; if the basement ceiling insulation includes a vapor barrier (probably right up against the subfloor of the ground floor, since vapor barriers are generally on the inside edge of the insulation) then that barrier is blocking humidity from your basement from venting up through the main floor. You'll want to keep an eye on basement humidity problems and install an energy efficient dehumidifier if humidity develops.
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