# Old house rim joist insulation



## Nealtw (Jun 22, 2017)

You are far enough away from the ground and as long as you have no leaks, I would not worry. 
Look for joists that have cracks starting at the notch where they go into the beam 








The right sized hangers are cheep insurance.


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## michaeldrehl (Mar 13, 2019)

Thanks Neal. I am worried about moisture through capillary. Or if rim joist need to dry out. I’m not very well educated on this issue.


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## Nealtw (Jun 22, 2017)

michaeldrehl said:


> Thanks Neal. I am worried about moisture through capillary. Or if rim joist need to dry out. I’m not very well educated on this issue.


Moisture wicking up would evaporate to the basement or outside in the summer before it ever got to the wood.


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

michaeldrehl said:


> Hi. I have an older home from 1895 in northern NJ. I was looking to air seal and insulate the rim joist but I am afraid I'll invite mold growth if I go the traditional route of insulating with foam and rigid foam board. The reason why is because there's no sill plate on the foundation walls. The floor joist and the rim joist rest directly on the brick wall. Please see the picture attached. The floor joist are embedded in the rim joist. I guess they were installed when screws were not used and only nails were used.
> On the outside, the brick wall is 2ft high from the concrete ground with aluminium siding on top of old granular asphalt siding on top of clapboards. Anyone have any knowledge on how to insulate or air seal this issue?
> Thank you.
> View attachment 633424


that pic = could you take one froma little further back ?


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## michaeldrehl (Mar 13, 2019)

Apologies for the late reply. I was trying to access the area. The picture below is at an angle. I have labeled the three areas. 
You can see the floor joist embedded in the rim joist and the brick foundation underneath.


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

did you have bricks between the floor joists, on top of the block foundation ?


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## michaeldrehl (Mar 13, 2019)

Fix'n it said:


> did you have bricks between the floor joists, on top of the block foundation ?


There are no cinder blocks in the foundation. The total foundation is made from bricks and it is uniform throughout the basement. The brick foundation is even through out the basement.


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

michaeldrehl said:


> There are no cinder blocks in the foundation. The total foundation is made from bricks and it is uniform throughout the basement. The brick foundation is even through out the basement.


ok. so, there were no bricks in between the joists ?


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## michaeldrehl (Mar 13, 2019)

Fix'n it said:


> ok. so, there were no bricks in between the joists ?


I don’t know know what you mean. In the picture I sent it earlier today, there’s three layers of bricks horizontally from the bottom of the foundation to the top.


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

michaeldrehl said:


> I don’t know know what you mean. In the picture I sent it earlier today, there’s three layers of bricks horizontally from the bottom of the foundation to the top.


well, i guess there isn't/wasn't. 

my house. "on top" of the foundation, "in between" the joists, there are bricks. 
why they are were put there, i can only speculate.


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## michaeldrehl (Mar 13, 2019)

So were you able to insulate the area?


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

michaeldrehl said:


> So were you able to insulate the area?


when i moved in here, i asked about it. i was told to leave it, so i did. and that is good, because those bricks are a real PITA to get out.


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