I was wondering what the pros and cons are to putting insulation on the ceiling of a basement. The reason for my asking is someone has told me that it isn't wise because cold air doesn't rise anyways(I already knew that) and you would cut any heat off coming from the boiler and water heater that might warm up the kitchen floor up above. I was going to do this because the kitchen floor is very cold when the temp outside gets cold. There are drafts that seem to be in the corner of the kitchen where the insulation is lacking in the basement. I am not sure if that is wher eit is coming from but I thought it wouldn't hurt. Any thoughts or suggestions?

skiberger

If you had a heated basement w/o any ceiling then I'd say skip the insulation, but since it appears the basement is unfinished go ahead & insulated. You wont get much heat from the boiler or water heater that you would notice anyway. One thing you can look into is there is radiant electric loop heating cord that can be fastened to the underside of the subfloor to warm it. Dont know the expense but its marketed as a DYI type of installation.
Buy some spray foam and seal any air you feel at the sill plates and framing areas along the foundation in the basement or any other area where you think air would be entering. As for insulation thickness, R-19 would be the min. thickness. Install it so the paper vapor barrier is against the subfloor. No stapling this way so you will need to use the wire insulation hangers that you push up between the joists to hold the insulation in place.

jduke44

I am not sure if you can answer this but in your opinion do you think it is worth the expense of putting that insulation up there? By the way $30 to us is like gold, being we have 2 small children. There is an area of 3 feet by 3 feet at the edge of the house in the basement where there isn't insulation. I like the idea of the foam spray. Myabe I will give that a try. Thanks.

labman

I don't think insulating the ceiling is the way to go. I am over a crawl space, but my hardwood floor is nice and warm without a speck of insulation below it. Start with meticulously caulking all the joints between the foundation, plate, band joist and sub floor. It is time consuming, but good acrylic or silicon caulking is only $2-3 a tube, maybe less if you find it at Big Lots or such. Pick up a can or 2 of the foam stuff for big holes around wires and pipes. a little metal over them will leave the mice out in the cold. Then put any money you can into insulation, but not on the ceiling, but on the walls. Just staple the paper flanges to the joists at the top and let it hand down. If there are any cracks in the foundation, fill them them first. Maybe coat the whole thing with one of the cement based paints. A bag of that stuff isn't that bad either.

Since I moved my furnace into the crawl space, sealed it, and insulated it, I have had nice warm floors. I spend a lot of time down on the floor with the dogs. The floor is warm. The pipes never freeze. How much heat comes off the furnace and duct work? I don't know, but without the furnace out there, the pipes that are still out in the garage freeze up without the old furnace.

You may find the sealed, insulated basement much more usable in cold weather. As the kids grow, every square inch counts.

jduke44

Thanks Labman. Along with skiberger that's what I'll do. I only moved in in May so I am finding out al the neat little quirks about this place. The heating is not one I am looking forward to. I just had a new boiler replaced so hopefully I am one step closer to fighting heating costs.