Can I caulk gaps between the boards in the basement ceiling?

[User573]

Hello!

My first thread here on the forum.

In my basement, if you knock on the ceiling, chips from the insulation in the floor joists fall down. Old newspaper and cardboard (I think) have been placed to prevent this, but it has disappeared in many places.

Yesterday, I started sealing these gaps with regular construction sealant to stop this. However, today I thought that maybe I'm doing the wrong thing here and that perhaps these gaps are needed for the joists to “breathe,” and I'm now trapping moisture by sealing.

Additionally, the humidity levels in the basement were too high when I moved in, but a dehumidifier has been running constantly for a year and has kept it at 50-55%.

In the attached picture, I sealed on the right, and on the left is how it looked before.

What do you knowledgeable people on this forum say about this?

 

[Jonatan79]

Attach a vapor barrier instead, should be cheaper and faster.

 

[User573]

Staple up a vapor retarder instead, it should be cheaper and faster.

Hi and thanks for the input.

So my purpose is to prevent the shavings from falling out of the joists. Partly because it's annoying to get a shower of shavings every time you accidentally touch the ceiling and partly because I think it's best if as much of the shavings as possible stay above the boards where they are meant to be.

I imagine that if I were to staple up some type of fabric, the shavings would just fall onto it and form a lot of shavings-filled "bags" in the ceiling.

Or am I thinking wrong perhaps?

 

[namnbyte]

Would have campaigned to solve the immediate issue, but tried to raise the floors and solve it permanently in the long run. In other words, restore it to how it was originally built.

 

[Jonatan79]

Hello and thanks for the input.

So my purpose is to prevent the sawdust from falling out of the joists. Partly because it’s annoying to get a shower of sawdust every time you accidentally touch the ceiling, and partly because I think it’s best if as much sawdust as possible remains above the boards where it’s supposed to be.

I imagine that if I were to staple up some type of fabric, the sawdust would just fall onto it and create lots of sawdust-filled "bags" in the ceiling.

Or am I thinking wrong perhaps?

You can stretch it, staple it to the inner ceiling.

 

[User573]

Would have drevat to solve the acute, but tried to lift the floors and solve it permanently in the long run. I.e., restore it as it was built

Hello and thanks for the input.

With the same insulation as you dreva around windows then I assume?

By lifting the floors, do you mean tearing up the floor on the upper floor until you can see down into the basement?

 

[namnbyte]

Hi and thanks for the input.

With the same insulation that is stuffed around windows then, I assume?

By lifting the floors, do you mean tearing up the floor on the upper floor until you can see down into the basement?

Yes, exactly, available in rolls of about 20 meters, 5cm wide yellow strip. I can recommend Biltema's wooden sticks to poke it in with.

Lift the floor so you get into the joists, or do it from below from the basement if possible. Maybe a bit more of a hassle, but then the living space isn't affected at least.