Since it was 20 degrees outside all day yesterday, I took some readings of the window frame before finishing the insulation seal in and around the window framing. The difference was pretty dramatic.
(Note: you also FEEL the difference dramatically with your hand but that shows up less well in a blog post.)
I’ve talked before about how I am insulating the basement walls before building back new spaces. The original basement had 2×2 furring strips bolted to the concrete, a layer of tar paper for … no particular reason … and drywall, which was damp and moldy due to lack of air circulation.
In the new basement, I’ve reduced chances for water infiltration, lined the walls with 1″ of rigid insulation (R-5), left a 1″ air gap and then plan to install batt insulation in the wall framing.
The space around the window cut still hasn’t been insulated so there is a bit of exposed concrete wall. The red dot shows the spot the infrared thermometer is reading. Check out the temperature differential between the concrete block and the insulation and wood framing next to it.
In case you can’t read the gun, the window reads as 57 degrees (modern windows are pretty effective), the wood rough framing for the window at 55.2, the concrete block basement wall is 45. 8 and the framed wall (across the insulation) is 60.8 (room temperature).
That’s a 15 degree difference between the insulated and uninsulated part of the wall. I’ll be sealing in that concrete with bits of rigid insulation and foam sealing the gaps ASAP.