Basement/shop insulation suggestions!

C.Berry

C.Berry

Bad News
Joined
Aug 10, 2008
Location
Blacksburg, Va
I'm reworking my shop in my basement it's where most my drinking and sittin on here goes down... Anywho po had some shitty insulation work done by a "friend" he said wondering what you smart folks suggest I can do to fix this mess or if I need to tear it down and start over? I'm assuming it's not as simple as just throwing 2x4 or furring strips up to hold the sagging parts but maybe I'm overthinking it! It's like this through my whole basement and I'm working on finishing the basement with electric plumbing and carpet a drop ceiling will probably be end verdict for ceiling cover but the insulation has me concerned bc it sags so much it looks like it'll fall eventually given time!
 

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As you can see the hvac is Very low no room for drop ceiling in this state! Also plumbing is lower than hvac I'm 6'4" and my head is 1" from lowest piece of pvc, it's obviously a situation where the guy didn't have the skills or didn't wanna put forth the effort but where to start?? Insulation first but what then, reroute plumbing then hvac? I'm not a contractor have done a lot of framing and Sheetrock and basic carpentry jobs but not trying to screw my house up going into somethings without a plan!
 
It sucks bc everything works properly it's just done poorly and very low and I'm tall so that don't work for me! Lol
 
Looks like to fix the duct you'd have to rework the metal main trunk line. Doable but can be time consuming and costly and looks like maybe a couple inches of benefit, if that.

I don't see any plumbing so I can't comment on that.
 
Will the insulation push up flush with the bottoms of the joists? Push it up and sheet it with 3/8" plywood? Let the plumbing and HVAC stay where it is if it works fine.
 
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Not sure all the specifics going on there, but there should be metal insulation supports holding the batts up between the floor joists.

They are 16" long 3/32" diameter metal rods.

When pushed up between floor joists they bow, and hold the insulation up.

Is the basement heated and cooled?

Is the basement vented to outside?
 
The tiger tooth I think I've heard it called won't hold the insulation up its to flimsy! And the basement is not heated or cooled which is disappointing bc I'll be making it where at least the three major rooms will be! Or possibly a wood stove depending
 
the insulation doesn't go up very far it seems that it isn't in between floor joist just laid up on bottom of em!?
 
Yeah def either has fallen and he had put tarp up bc he knew it was gonna fall or po did the tarp when it started falling!
 
trailhugger said:
Remove insulation between the basement and the heated upstairs. Focus on the perimeter walls, your building envelope is where you want to insulate.
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No, he needs the insulation for sound attenuation. He doesn't want people upstairs hearing what he's watching. :p
 
:flipoff2: you can't hear what I'm watching anyway, due to the two boys, two dogs, mini demolition pig, and a cat all raising hell above me!! Now ya see why I'm trying to cozy my shop area up!
 
And it's my hiding place from the woman when she on a rampage.
 
OK there's a lot of info missing here.
When you say "shop" what are you thinking/planning b/c there's a big difference in how you'd set it up for shop work vs living space.
This isn't a basement garage is it?

I agree w/ Cydney. Plan to just pull all that shit down form the ceiling and start over, do it right. You don't need it UNLESS you're using it someplace for sound dampening. Even better though all that plastic is preventing moisture moving. Makes me wonder how the humidity is.

Re: the pipes etc, look around and visualize where your walls, doors etc will be and figure how you can move them to the edges of walls. If your concerned w/ codes and height, in a basement you can have down to 6'6" protrusions etc for soffits and short bump-outs.
 
Just a comment on the HVAC. Looks like a mix of metal or hard board duct, & flex pipe. If your satisfied, Fine. But seems like you loosing Gobs of Flow! I may be insulated but that flex bowed & tied up, can't be moving much air.
 
The humidity... So this plastic is causing the humidity in the house? It's bad like bloody nose in morn bad I wasn't aware that could be the culprit! Ok so this is a poured concrete basement not a garage i have it framed off into 4 diff rooms at the moment. One is my shop to work on just about anything relating to my house and vehicles that can taken inside. I will have one other room for storage a room for tv lounging and last room which is the sorta hallway to every room is going to be game room for everyone fooseball, pool, whatever the kids throw into the equation!? So I want it done right as in aesthetically pleasing and functioning properly! I appreciate the advice so far I'm gonna get this damn platic down and hang this insulation right to begin with and we'll go from there. I'm open to suggestion on any of the other stuff I'm not a plumber or hvac guy but i can be deadly with a lil info on any subject! Appreciate the help I'll post pics when I get a chance to start back at it!
 
C.Berry said:
The humidity... So this plastic is causing the humidity in the house? It's bad like bloody nose in morn bad I wasn't aware that could be the culprit! Ok so this is a poured concrete basement not a garage i have it framed off into 4 diff rooms at the moment. One is my shop to work on just about anything relating to my house and vehicles that can taken inside. I will have one other room for storage a room for tv lounging and last room which is the sorta hallway to every room is going to be game room for everyone fooseball, pool, whatever the kids throw into the equation!? So I want it done right as in aesthetically pleasing and functioning properly! I appreciate the advice so far I'm gonna get this damn platic down and hang this insulation right to begin with and we'll go from there. I'm open to suggestion on any of the other stuff I'm not a plumber or hvac guy but i can be deadly with a lil info on any subject! Appreciate the help I'll post pics when I get a chance to start back at it!
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As asked before, is the basement vented to outside?

Or is it sealed and conditioned as part of the house.


You need insulation where the large temperature differences are.

If you want the basement warm when it's cold outside, you need to insulated the walls. Insulating the ceiling of the basement, that you want to be warm, is doing nothing with a heated first floor above it.

If your humidity in the house is too low this time of year and too high in the summer, then you have too many outside air leaks into the house.

The only time you insulate between two spaces that are the same desired temperature is for sound deadening.
 
I'm pretty sure it's sealed and conditioned and def is dry I guess you could all year around!
 
C.Berry said:
I'm pretty sure it's sealed and conditioned and def is dry I guess you could all year around!
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In that case ditch the insulation above, it's doing nothing.

A bigger priority would be to find and seal the air leaks in the rest of the house. This is what leads to high humidity in the summer and low humidity in the winter.

Also causes huge unnecessary load on HVAC system.
 
Unless the basement slab was put on a gravel bed w/ pipe venting, or there's a good sump pump etc, you'll always have vapor coming up through the slab.
All that plastic, if I understand it right (it covers the whole ceiling everywhere in the basement?) is going to be trapping moisture IN the basement.
Have you ever set a humidistat down there for awhile? You'd be surprised just how humid basements are.
Anyway that moisture needs a way to go somewhere, unless you're going to really seal the basement slab floor.
Personally I'd put 2" foamboard on the walls, w/ the seams taped really well, then frame in front of that. I was shocked at how much that changed the temps when I did it. That provides a vapor retarder from moisture coming through the block walls AND the insulation
 
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