Insulate wall which is half buried
Discussion
Hi All,
Auntie has a house where the bottom 3 foot is below ground level.
She had an issue (two years ago) where water had soaked the exerior and water had made it's way thru internally soaking the interior wood cladding.
I had a look tonight and it is basically outside soil - 6inch concrete wall - 2x2 stud - 5mm Plywood - Horrid wood panel veneer. (no insulation).
It's a semi-basement, but only 3ft deep with windows at just above ground level.
It is cold during the winter, so I suggest running the studs all the way to the ceiling and putting in insulation from top to bottom, but that was a no...
So looking at options. First thought was putting silver backed 2 inch foam boards between studs and drylinig over them. Should there be a vapor barrier before drylining?
Should the vapor barrier go behind the studs?
Just wondering what would be the most practible solution that gives some improvement in insulation.
Auntie has a house where the bottom 3 foot is below ground level.
She had an issue (two years ago) where water had soaked the exerior and water had made it's way thru internally soaking the interior wood cladding.
I had a look tonight and it is basically outside soil - 6inch concrete wall - 2x2 stud - 5mm Plywood - Horrid wood panel veneer. (no insulation).
It's a semi-basement, but only 3ft deep with windows at just above ground level.
It is cold during the winter, so I suggest running the studs all the way to the ceiling and putting in insulation from top to bottom, but that was a no...
So looking at options. First thought was putting silver backed 2 inch foam boards between studs and drylinig over them. Should there be a vapor barrier before drylining?
Should the vapor barrier go behind the studs?
Just wondering what would be the most practible solution that gives some improvement in insulation.
Should have explained the water ingress issue better... Last summer (or previous) one of the automated lawn sprinker got stuck pointing directly at the window for a few weeks (possibly months) resulting in water running down the inside soaking the plywood/veneer. The wall is (now) completely dry and she replaced the windows end of last year as well.
There's no damp coming thru from the outside.
The ground level is maybe a couple of inches below the window frame. I spent a few hours to draw an accurate cross-section of the building:
The question is just about best insulation practice
There's no damp coming thru from the outside.
The ground level is maybe a couple of inches below the window frame. I spent a few hours to draw an accurate cross-section of the building:
The question is just about best insulation practice
Brother D said:
It is cold during the winter, so I suggest running the studs all the way to the ceiling and putting in insulation from top to bottom, but that was a no...
That is the easiest option; why the resistance? The picture seems to show staining from the ceiling all the way down in the corner; is that real or just an image artifact?hidetheelephants said:
That is the easiest option; why the resistance? The picture seems to show staining from the ceiling all the way down in the corner; is that real or just an image artifact?
That was where a fitted cupboard was located. As mentioned 5 times already there is NO DAMP issue!
Nowt stranger than folk, good luck with it! 
Absolutely no point in wasting time and money putting a bit of insulation in the lower half of the wall. You've given your auntie the correct answer which is to apply an appropriate insulation to the whole wall and she has told you that she doesn't want a solution but a waste of time and money and to carry on as before but with less money. 
Correct me if I'm wrong, but judging by the style of carpet is your auntie quite elderly? If so, just whack the heating up and leave as is, it'll be cheaper. Even if she isn't, investing in a dehumidifier might be the smarter solution anyway to making the room feel warmer in winter. If that's the living room of a retired person who is at home much of the time then they will be producing a fair whack of vapour. You then have a wall that is constant and low temp at the bottom half and constantly varying at the top half and with a window in it. I'd bet that taking the internal moisture level down would make the room feel a good few degrees warmer in the depth of winter.
PIR plasterboard the whole wall or don't bother wasting any money but regardless, run a dehumidifier in any property where people are inside for longer than normal periods and not having the windows open.
Correct me if I'm wrong, but judging by the style of carpet is your auntie quite elderly? If so, just whack the heating up and leave as is, it'll be cheaper. Even if she isn't, investing in a dehumidifier might be the smarter solution anyway to making the room feel warmer in winter. If that's the living room of a retired person who is at home much of the time then they will be producing a fair whack of vapour. You then have a wall that is constant and low temp at the bottom half and constantly varying at the top half and with a window in it. I'd bet that taking the internal moisture level down would make the room feel a good few degrees warmer in the depth of winter.
PIR plasterboard the whole wall or don't bother wasting any money but regardless, run a dehumidifier in any property where people are inside for longer than normal periods and not having the windows open.
DonkeyApple said:
Absolutely no point in wasting time and money putting a bit of insulation in the lower half of the wall. You've given your auntie the correct answer which is to apply an appropriate insulation to the whole wall and she has told you that she doesn't want a solution but a waste of time and money and to carry on as before but with less money.
Correct me if I'm wrong, but judging by the style of carpet is your auntie quite elderly? If so, just whack the heating up and leave as is, it'll be cheaper. Even if she isn't, investing in a dehumidifier might be the smarter solution anyway to making the room feel warmer in winter. If that's the living room of a retired person who is at home much of the time then they will be producing a fair whack of vapour. You then have a wall that is constant and low temp at the bottom half and constantly varying at the top half and with a window in it. I'd bet that taking the internal moisture level down would make the room feel a good few degrees warmer in the depth of winter.
PIR plasterboard the whole wall or don't bother wasting any money but regardless, run a dehumidifier in any property where people are inside for longer than normal periods and not having the windows open.
Finally an actual answer - yes she's a bit elderly. That makes sense, will just replace the 70s wood paneling with dry wall. Correct me if I'm wrong, but judging by the style of carpet is your auntie quite elderly? If so, just whack the heating up and leave as is, it'll be cheaper. Even if she isn't, investing in a dehumidifier might be the smarter solution anyway to making the room feel warmer in winter. If that's the living room of a retired person who is at home much of the time then they will be producing a fair whack of vapour. You then have a wall that is constant and low temp at the bottom half and constantly varying at the top half and with a window in it. I'd bet that taking the internal moisture level down would make the room feel a good few degrees warmer in the depth of winter.
PIR plasterboard the whole wall or don't bother wasting any money but regardless, run a dehumidifier in any property where people are inside for longer than normal periods and not having the windows open.
Brother D said:
Finally an actual answer - yes she's a bit elderly. That makes sense, will just replace the 70s wood paneling with dry wall.
In the meantime, stick a cheap hygrometer in the room and get a feel for the internal humidity. If it's above around 50 then running a dehumidifier in winter might be the smartest solution. Smallish, ground floor flats where the occupant is at home much of the day and all the windows closed are notorious for ending up with high humidity levels which result in higher heating costs and a greater feeling of cold. A daily Bath/shower, a spot of cooking, towels and clothing to dry and a human breathing all day produces a startling amount of moisture and with the windows closed, half the property underground and a small to modest cubic space and its all to easy for the humidity to go well over 60% in winter. A dehumidifier can be a much simpler fix for an elderly person than facing the upheaval of doing the logical thing an adding insulation to the outer walls. Brother D said:
hidetheelephants said:
That is the easiest option; why the resistance? The picture seems to show staining from the ceiling all the way down in the corner; is that real or just an image artifact?
That was where a fitted cupboard was located. As mentioned 5 times already there is NO DAMP issue!
Bit of a dampener really.
cliffords said:
Brother D said:
hidetheelephants said:
That is the easiest option; why the resistance? The picture seems to show staining from the ceiling all the way down in the corner; is that real or just an image artifact?
That was where a fitted cupboard was located. As mentioned 5 times already there is NO DAMP issue!
Bit of a dampener really.
Don't mention the damp.
The wood panelling was likely a cheap and not terribly good solution to perpetual damp from condensation on the plaster, assuming that underneath the panelling is plaster applied direct to the wall. Easy enough to recreate it cosmetically once the wall has been insulated all over, if auntie liked how it looked before the water damage.
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