[coathupr]

We just built a house. It has a walk out basement. The house is all done but the walkout is not complete. The open part is 50 ft long. It has 2x8 for walls, plywood on the outside with house wrap. I live in Vermont. Cold up here. Right now I do not have insulation in the basement wall because it is frosty on the inside of the wall between the studs. Is this because it is not finished and the cold is seeping in? Also I will be putting up siding up over the wall outside soon, but is it all right to insulate the wall and put sheetrock up right now before I side the outside. Do I use plastic as a bearier before the sheetrock? I do not want mold issue. Give me some suggestions on what to do? Thanks

[ballengerb1]

Your outside walls must be covered to prevent moisture from getting in so wait for siding or cover with Tyvec. Insulate with fiber glass batts and install a visqueen vapor barrier on the inside surface before drywall. I would suugest using paperless drywall or moisture resistant drywall. Mold eats the paper and basements tend to be more moist than a 1st floor living space.

[coathupr]

Do I use cement board? I never heard of paperless sheetrock. Some one told me when I get around to insulate the concrete wall, I should buy the pink foam boards and glue them on the wall and then build a wall abount one inch from foam board. Is this correct?

[ballengerb1]

Cement board like hardiebacker is used inside wet areas of a shower if you are talking about interior use in place of sheet rock. There is a cement board siding also made bt Hardiebacker that I would recommend. Paperless sheet rock is there, just ask for it. Mold actually does like to grow in drywall plaster, no food, it eats the paper so paperless is a good application. Greenboard, blueboard are moisture resistant, better but not mold proof.

[tntster]

If I'm understanding correctly, the walk out wall is a wood structure built of 2x8's, covered with plywood or some type of sheathing, and has a house wrap attached. The other three walls are concrete I'm assuming.

Yes, you will see moisture or even frost if the basement doesn't have a lot of heat and there is no insulation. Make sure you have the band board or rim joist insulated (the cavity area where the floor joists and the 2x8 wall meet. The preferred method would be to seal the house from the outside first with your exterior siding, then insulate and drywall. Although you have a house wrap, it is not a vapor barrier and water can penetrate if you choose to drywall prior to installing the siding, you risk the chance of moisture getting in the insulation and possibly creating a mold problem.

[arby808]

ballengerb1may have forgot to add that the green board may be mousture resistant on the front but the brown area on the back is not the green front is covered by a wax coating and he is mistaken about blue board because blueboard is for plaster base products and is made to suck the moisture out of the plaster so it sets faster the paperless drywall is called dense armor and is very pricey and a bit harder to finish