We recently bought a house where we need to renovate the basement. It is finished, and they have installed floors by framing with wood and laying boards + carpet. They have also framed the walls with wood directly against the wall, using plastic and fiberglass insulation.
We are going to tear out the floor and lay tiles, so we have that under control. We thought we wouldn't need to do anything about the walls, but it really doesn't feel right to have wood directly against the wall + plastic.
They haven't had any direct problems with moisture. It has looked dry except for some places where you can sense a little moisture. It still feels okay after 50 years. However, it smells typically like a basement.
The question is whether we can tear out the walls, just paint with, say, silicate paint and leave it as it is, or if it will be very cold/expensive to heat up? Any other disadvantages to doing so? (west Sweden, on bedrock, will be heated with geothermal heat and radiators in the basement)
We are going to tear out the floor and lay tiles, so we have that under control. We thought we wouldn't need to do anything about the walls, but it really doesn't feel right to have wood directly against the wall + plastic.
They haven't had any direct problems with moisture. It has looked dry except for some places where you can sense a little moisture. It still feels okay after 50 years. However, it smells typically like a basement.
The question is whether we can tear out the walls, just paint with, say, silicate paint and leave it as it is, or if it will be very cold/expensive to heat up? Any other disadvantages to doing so? (west Sweden, on bedrock, will be heated with geothermal heat and radiators in the basement)
It is certainly not a good solution with the studded walls in that construction. Even if you don't notice it, the studs behind the plastic certainly have elevated moisture levels. This should, of course, be addressed at the same time as the floor. An alternative material for internal wall insulation can be seen at this link: https://www.xella.se/multipor_innendaemmung_wi.php.
Exactly. They definitely need to go. I'm just not entirely sure what we should do instead. Whether it would work well not to replace with anything and just paint, or if we should build up a wall in some other way. I'll check out the link, thanks!J justusandersson said:
It depends on the material used in the basement walls if you can manage without insulation. If you insulate on the inside with lecasten or lightweight concrete-like material that can withstand moisture, there are no problems.
Do you happen to know where it is easiest to get hold of multipor as a private individual in Sweden? I think I've read a lot of positive things but haven't found retailers for smaller quantities.J justusandersson said:
I actually don't know. Start with their website "xella.se". Bejer usually can import from almost all suppliers.
The floor will be ice cold, slippers on. You don't need to drain, the ground is obviously dry so the old construction hasn't caused major problems over the years. I'm in the starting blocks for a similar basement renovation, planning to install low-profile waterborne underfloor heating (approximately 3 cm insulation) in half of the basement, tiles throughout the entire basement. As much as possible, use diffusion-open materials and paints.