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Wet Insulation in Basement Walls Jake 08-05-2006
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Posted by Jake on August 5, 2006, 12:25 pm
I posted this in alt.home.repair already, sorry to anybody that sees it
twice, just looking for an answer.

I recently purchased a home which was new construction. The home is a
two level split. The bottom level is a lookout basement. The basement
is currently unfinished. The basement walls consist of 12 inch block
(coming up about 36 inches) with a 2x4 wall framed and insulated inside
of the block. A standard 2x6 insulated wall sits on top of the block
and continues to the ceiling. All insulation is fiberglass and
everything is covered with a heavy poly.

My question: About a week after I purchased the home, I noticed that
there is a considerable amout of moisture behind the poly in several
areas of the basement. The majority of this moisture is in the 6
inches of insulation sitting parallel to the floor, on top of the block
between the exterior wall and the wall framed inside of the block. In
some locations, it appears that the moisture has migrated down the
wall, into the insulation in the interior 2x4 wall. I am assuming that
the block wall is "cold" and that there is condensation forming and
soaking into the insulation. Is condensation enough to completely
saturate the insulation, or does this sound more like water soaking
through the block from the outside? Is this common in an unfinished
basement with no heat/air conditioning, or is this something that I
should call my builder about right away? Are there any things that I
should look for to see if the builder skipped or missed something to
lead to this?

Thanks!


Posted by TakenEvent on August 7, 2006, 5:28 pm

> I posted this in alt.home.repair already, sorry to anybody that sees it
> twice, just looking for an answer.
>
> I recently purchased a home which was new construction. The home is a
> two level split. The bottom level is a lookout basement. The basement
> is currently unfinished. The basement walls consist of 12 inch block
> (coming up about 36 inches) with a 2x4 wall framed and insulated inside
> of the block. A standard 2x6 insulated wall sits on top of the block
> and continues to the ceiling. All insulation is fiberglass and
> everything is covered with a heavy poly.
>
> My question: About a week after I purchased the home, I noticed that
> there is a considerable amout of moisture behind the poly in several
> areas of the basement. The majority of this moisture is in the 6
> inches of insulation sitting parallel to the floor, on top of the block
> between the exterior wall and the wall framed inside of the block. In
> some locations, it appears that the moisture has migrated down the
> wall, into the insulation in the interior 2x4 wall. I am assuming that
> the block wall is "cold" and that there is condensation forming and
> soaking into the insulation. Is condensation enough to completely
> saturate the insulation, or does this sound more like water soaking
> through the block from the outside? Is this common in an unfinished
> basement with no heat/air conditioning, or is this something that I
> should call my builder about right away? Are there any things that I
> should look for to see if the builder skipped or missed something to
> lead to this?
>


Your basement shouldn't be wet. Call the builder. He's probably still
obligated.




Posted by Plan Review Section on August 8, 2006, 5:07 pm
It very much sounds like condensation to me. The warm, moist air is hitting
to cool block wall and being unable to dissipate (do to the poly) is trapped
behind it; forming condensation. If it were me I would pull the poly. It
would probably stop if you were to run an a/c unit or dehumidifier.

>I posted this in alt.home.repair already, sorry to anybody that sees it
> twice, just looking for an answer.
>
> I recently purchased a home which was new construction. The home is a
> two level split. The bottom level is a lookout basement. The basement
> is currently unfinished. The basement walls consist of 12 inch block
> (coming up about 36 inches) with a 2x4 wall framed and insulated inside
> of the block. A standard 2x6 insulated wall sits on top of the block
> and continues to the ceiling. All insulation is fiberglass and
> everything is covered with a heavy poly.
>
> My question: About a week after I purchased the home, I noticed that
> there is a considerable amout of moisture behind the poly in several
> areas of the basement. The majority of this moisture is in the 6
> inches of insulation sitting parallel to the floor, on top of the block
> between the exterior wall and the wall framed inside of the block. In
> some locations, it appears that the moisture has migrated down the
> wall, into the insulation in the interior 2x4 wall. I am assuming that
> the block wall is "cold" and that there is condensation forming and
> soaking into the insulation. Is condensation enough to completely
> saturate the insulation, or does this sound more like water soaking
> through the block from the outside? Is this common in an unfinished
> basement with no heat/air conditioning, or is this something that I
> should call my builder about right away? Are there any things that I
> should look for to see if the builder skipped or missed something to
> lead to this?
>
> Thanks!
>



Posted by on August 10, 2006, 9:43 pm
One of the reasons we decided to not put insulation in our
full height basement. It may be a little harder to heat but
mold behind the drywall is probabaly less likely to grow
if there is some circulation

in moisture conditions fiberglass is second only to
urithane foam. but you dont want the fiberglass to hold
moisture for long periods of time.

everything depends on which side of the moisture barrier
is the cold side.

but just to make sure that basement studwall isnt one of those
stupid underground presure treated walls is it?

the only place that is under ground is the Block wall part I hope

maybe you can hire a contractor to spray the bottom part of the
studwall with spray urithane insulation to seal off the block wall
but that may cause a lot of moisture in the bottom plate of the wall

try to find someone that does mold abatement
they would know best


>I posted this in alt.home.repair already, sorry to anybody that sees it
> twice, just looking for an answer.
>
> I recently purchased a home which was new construction. The home is a
> two level split. The bottom level is a lookout basement. The basement
> is currently unfinished. The basement walls consist of 12 inch block
> (coming up about 36 inches) with a 2x4 wall framed and insulated inside
> of the block. A standard 2x6 insulated wall sits on top of the block
> and continues to the ceiling. All insulation is fiberglass and
> everything is covered with a heavy poly.
>
> My question: About a week after I purchased the home, I noticed that
> there is a considerable amout of moisture behind the poly in several
> areas of the basement. The majority of this moisture is in the 6
> inches of insulation sitting parallel to the floor, on top of the block
> between the exterior wall and the wall framed inside of the block. In
> some locations, it appears that the moisture has migrated down the
> wall, into the insulation in the interior 2x4 wall. I am assuming that
> the block wall is "cold" and that there is condensation forming and
> soaking into the insulation. Is condensation enough to completely
> saturate the insulation, or does this sound more like water soaking
> through the block from the outside? Is this common in an unfinished
> basement with no heat/air conditioning, or is this something that I
> should call my builder about right away? Are there any things that I
> should look for to see if the builder skipped or missed something to
> lead to this?
>
> Thanks!
>



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