2 Attachment(s)
Will moving the insulation help the pipes and cold floor upstairs?
I've been finishing my basement for the past year and a half. I decided to go with 1" rigid foam board glued to the concrete block, 2" of rigid foam on the rim joist, and a layer of Roxul in a 2x4 stud wall. Since I have a waste pipe running across the entire back wall, I decided to build the 2x4 wall a foot off the foundation to neatly hide the waste pipe. I also also decided to relocate the hot and cold copper pipes behind this wall. Although I knew this dead space between the framed wall and the foundation would not be as warm as the rest of the heated living space, I figured it would not come anywhere near freezing temps.
Well, nothing has happened yet, but the sub-zero temps we've been experiencing have me a little concerned about the copper pipes.
After noticing a much colder floor just above that dead space, I took some temperature readings with an infrared gun. With an outside temperature of about 0*F, the area around the copper pipes was about 48* and the rest of the basement was 64*. Something else to know is that the wall has not been sheetrocked yet and I have three small sections of the wall without insulation because that's where the access panels will go.
Once the sheetrock goes up and the plastic access panels are in place, do I need to worry about the temps dropping low enough to affect the copper pipes?
Even if the pipes are safe, I still need to do something about the cold floor right above the dead space... especially since the tiled bathroom floor was really cold near the toilet and the wife was not happy.
As of right now, I have the Roxul installed in the 2x4 wall and in the joist space right above it (see attached picture). I was thinking of taking the Roxul in the joist space and pushing it back against the rim joist. Then, I would install another piece of Roxul perpendicular to the 2x4 wall (see attached drawing). This would hopefully allow warm basement air to reach the copper pipes, but not mix with any colder air in the dead space.
Do you think moving the insulation as I described will make a difference?
Thanks,
Logan