# Insulating concrete room



## BandE (Jan 18, 2011)

Not sure if this is the right place (Debating between here and Carpentry)

I have a storage area in the basement that is underneath my concrete patio. Right now it is just a cold room (winter) and since the previous owners plugged the hole/vent to the outside (used to be used as a proper cold room before then), it is just a humid mess in the summer (no water leaking off the walls though, just a humidity smell). 

I would like to turn it in to a proper storage area. 

Is it possible to frame and insulate that room? How would I go about doing so?


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## Gary in WA (Mar 11, 2009)

Does it have air circulation to it from the basement? 

How do you access it?

Is there heat nearby?

Where are you located?

Gary


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## BandE (Jan 18, 2011)

So took me a while to respond to this but I am back to thinking about "fixing" this "problem".
Basically the house we purchased has a coldroom attached to the finished basement. It is located under our back patio. It is not insulated at all and the previous owner blocked the vent with some sort of foam. I know there will be a problem in the summer. 
The entrance to the room is a simple door that is in the middle of the outside wall of our finished basement. It does not seem to be insulated at all. I had to weather strip the door this winter because the basement was getting really cold because of the draft. 
I figure I have 2 options: re-open the vent and hope that is enough to create air circulation (small hole, maybe 5 inches across) or find a way to insulate it like the rest of the basement and turn it into a non-heated storage room. 
I would rather option 2 because I feel I am losing a lot of heat because of that room. 

Oh and I am in Montreal


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## SPS-1 (Oct 21, 2008)

Insulation isn't going to make it any warmer unless you put a heater in it. But that sure seems like a waste. I think the foam in the vent is intended for winter only. Take out the foam and let it breathe now that it is warming up. Put it back in November. In the winter, you want that door sealed up tight. In the summer, you might want to crack the door open to get more airflow.


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## Gary in WA (Mar 11, 2009)

I'd use 2" rigid foam board between/under sleepers and drywall for fire Code. Same with the lid. No vapor barrier. http://www.nrc-cnrc.gc.ca/eng/ibp/irc/rr/rr199/part2.html
Follow local codes.


Gary


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