# Worth insulating basement?



## bmax1985 (Sep 23, 2013)

I bought a house where they had started finishing the basement. It used to have wood paneling on studs and they just hung drywall over that. One side is mudded and the other side is just drywall with no mud yet. 

I'm wondering if it's worth my time to take the drywall down, insulate, and put the drywall back? Ideally I'd be able to reuse all the drywall.

The portion that has been mudded I'm not sure about getting down in good shape though. Most of the screws would be easy enough to find but the edges may not fair well.

Located in Chicagoland. Will be using the basement once painted / made nice.
Thoughts?


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## Windows on Wash (Aug 30, 2011)

Yes.

You are loosing much more energy than you think through that uninsulated space.


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## GreenFoamFan (Jan 25, 2014)

Hey Bmax,

I would definitely recommend insulating the basement both so your finished room can be nice and comfortable and also so you can save on energy bills. Basements are an area prone to air leakage. It you insulate those walls it will keep out the drafts and keep the air you pay for from escaping out.
Closed cell spray foam works best because it stops air leakage at just one inch and it also resists moisture penetration. Our spray foam kits have a cool extra feature that works great in basements; our Anti-Microbial formula prevents mold growth.

There are two different ways you could approach the project. If you want to take the drywall down you can apply regular rise closed cell foam or if you want to leave the drywall up you can use slow rise closed cell foam to retro-fill the walls. 

Slow rise foam is very easy to use- you just drill holes at 3’ vertical intervals in the center of each stud cavity, put a clear plastic tube on the end of the nozzle of the spray foam kit and feed the foam into the wall. Here’s a video to show you how it works http://www.sprayfoamkit.com/videos-a-how-tos/slow-rise-retrofilling

Another cool bonus is that we have Chicago area pickup locations so you would have the option of picking it up instead of having it shipped.

When are you starting the project?


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## Fix'n it (Mar 12, 2012)

GreenFoamFan said:


> Hey Bmax,
> 
> I would definitely recommend insulating the basement both so your finished room can be nice and comfortable and also so you can save on energy bills. Basements are an area prone to air leakage. It you insulate those walls it will keep out the drafts and keep the air you pay for from escaping out.
> Closed cell spray foam works best because it stops air leakage at just one inch and it also resists moisture penetration. Our spray foam kits have a cool extra feature that works great in basements; our Anti-Microbial formula prevents mold growth.
> ...


chicago pick up ? i don't see an address on your site. not a good thing.


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## gma2rjc (Nov 21, 2008)

I would suggest taking the drywall down so that you can see what's behind it. Since you're not the original owner, it's possible that a previous owner put it up just for the sake of covering up other problems they didn't want to deal with (pay for). 

It also gives you the opportunity to add electrical outlets, lights, phone line, etc. And, if someone else messed up any of the electrical that's behind the drywall, you'll be able to get it done properly and not have to worry about it causing a fire. 

I wouldn't worry too much about trying to save the old drywall. it's only about $7 or less for a 4'x8'x.5" sheet (here).


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## GreenFoamFan (Jan 25, 2014)

gma2rjc has a great point about taking down the drywall. You never know what’s behind the walls unless you look and drywall is more expensive than most people realize. 

Fix’n it, sorry I failed to mention where the pickup is. We have one in Elk Grove Village and another further north, in Fox Lake. The pickup locations are warehouses, and not retail spaces, we recommend calling to order kits for pickup. That way we can confirm that they have the item you want in stock and provide you with the address. 

Are you planning a basement insulation project as well?


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