Hello An 8" thick wall of concrete has an R-Value of 1 same as a single pane window!!! Now Mike do it right from Holmes on Homes uses R6 Roxul board. However I found some 2" thick R10 foam board at Lowes. The foundation wall is only 12" high but wow is it freezing cold in the winter. Even the cement floor is a lot warmer. Therefore to save some space, I did not frame such a small area and for a continuous thermal barrier, I glued the foam board to the foundation and glued some birch plywood to the foam board then used 3-3/4" tapcon concrete screws to secure the wood and composite white trim board at the bottom for additional support and protection. Then I used some car Bondo to fill the counter sunk Phillip head concrete screws. Now the wood, foam and foundation is approx R12 !!! 12 times warmer!!!! I will also paint it. What is the best way to cap this? Should there be more insulation under the cap. See pic below:
composite trim board in case of sweating. 2 inch foam on top would not hurt either. then your plywood will be short.
I agree. Foam board the cap as well. Unless you're trying to do something special in there, Maple ply is a pretty expensive option as a wall covering.
I found some stuff for foam board at HD called PL300 foamboard construction adhesive. It won't burn or melt the board.
Project is going slow, but that is good. I found that the sill seal used is the standard seal that was purchased at Home Depot does let air infiltrate. So I got the clear hi temp caulking and sealed the sill seal on the inside and also the back top of the sill board where the bottom of the T111 is also letting air in! Air sealing is important before insulating! See red arrows in pic below. Then I got some 1/2" XPS R2.5 foam board and Azek 1x8 Trim for the shelf part. It is routable. My friend has a router table so after cutting he took it home to put a nice rounded edge on the outside edge. Shop AZEK Less Than 1-in x 8-in x 8-ft Pre-Finished PVC Board at Lowes.com Since the foam board is 1/2" thick we got more PVC trim to go right under the lip of the knee wall shelf to hide the foam board. Hope to have it done Saturday.
Nice job Don. Yep, that's the stuff. You're doing exactly what I did when I pulled apart two rooms here. Caulked/foamed wherever 2 materials meet to seal air, the did insulating. Very important.
Oh yeah, big difference. I still have more to do, but I can't tear anything else up until I'm done doing what I've already started. A new back door is on the schedule (I already have it), which will help the breezes coming in from that.
Kneewall shelf is done. We routed the top edge with a table router for a nice even rounded edge! Now I can install the pellet stove with Selkirk DT and get some heat!
Oh that darn shelf sticks out and is making the stove install a little harder!!! LOL Notice in the second pic, the outlet box in the forefront has low voltage t-stat wire that will be attached to banana jacks! The other end goes to the opposite wall in the middle of the shop that will have the Lowes Iris T-stat for Smartphone control for shop temperature. You guys know I like the DT with the vacuum clean out !!! LOL
Got the rim joists done today. Using the Rutland high temp clear silicone caulking, we caulked the upper joist that the advantec floor sheathing lies and the bottom joist that sits on the 2x6 framing. That spider web says air infiltration needs air sealing! Then cut XPS 2" foam board and glued in with the foam glue and sprayed great stuff around the edges Also started the Roxul - R23 for 2x6 Pic 1 - spider web Pic 2 - XPS the rim joist! Pic 3 - Roxul comfort batts
