Basement is unfinished... And I have turned all the vents off down there. So it stays cool, but not cold. Certainly in the 60s as the furnace is down there.

Anyway, the ceramic floors on the first level, above the basement get damn cold. While there is essentially no heat transfer between the basement and first floor, would putting an unbatted R-15 or so insulation in the ceiling of the basement help cut down in the "coldness" of the ceramic tiles? Or is this not preventable? I don't wanna piss away money for something that isn't going to help one bit.

Thoughts?

 

We have same situation but we finished our basement 3 years ago. We didn't use any insulation but boxed the duct work to get the higher ceilings (definitley worth it!). Anyways, asked a lot of people the same thing you are asking as well as the guy that did the work, who was real good at his craft. Feedback was that you'll get some difference but nothing dramatic, especially if you've got the vents turned off (ours are on since it's finished) and it's not worth the bucks.

 

Insulate, make a lot of differences.

 

The only big difference it will make if noise transfer between the basement and the first floor. The only place worth insulating down there is were the joists meet the sill at the concrete wall.

It will be a big investment for little reward

 

I'm in the same situation. Opinions here seem to vary.

I'm of the thought that it SHOULD make a differences.

The tile on my second floor is not nearly as cold as the tile on my first floor, I would think preventing the seepage of cold from the basement would help even that out.


If radiant heat installed on the ceiling of the basement makes the tile warm, I would think the cold in the basement could make it cold...

Tile gets cold because it is a good conductor... it heats up easily and cools down easily. If it can't shed heat easily, I'd think it would tend to stay closer to the temperature of the room.

In any case, insulation is not THAT expensive. On the first floor, I only have tile in the kitchen. So i'll probably insulate just that area, maybe $100 worth of insulation... 5 rolls or so.

 

Just remember if you insulate a ceiling, you can't just staple the batts in place. Use insulation hangers between joists at 24-inch intervals, under the insulation. The hangers are pointed wires that are inserted between each joist, and form a spring that holds the insulation in place.

You can also staple Tyvek (not a vapor barrier) to the bottom of the joists to keep fiberglass from wafting down on heads and other parts of the body. Do not use polyethylene plastic; that is a vapor barrier that does not belong in that position. The white Tyvek will also help reflect light in an otherwise dark basement.

 

Good tips.

<-- woulda stapled it.

 

Tile is always going to be a cold surface to the touch. Touch your stone counter tops, they will probably feel noticeably cooler than the room.

 

don't know if your basement walls are bare concrete. if they are, my uncle framed out the walls and drywalled teh entire basement.

what he did 1st was place a later of thick plastic against the wall, i guess to help keep out condensation, then he framed teh entire basement wall, and drywalled it.


i don't think he used insulation inside the wall he built, i am sure he did but can't remember

 

of course, but there are degrees of cold. heh.

 

Hmm, I've always heard that it's not a good idea because of mold problems. And that's why most builders don't do it. Along with them avoiding the added expense, of course.

BTW that's not anyone's professional opinion, that's just what my boss told me a long time ago when I asked the exact same question.