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1. Your mother-in-law is moving in with your family. You need some more room, FAST. Time to finish that basement. In this task you need to decide how to insulate your basement to get it ready to drywall before your mother-in-law arrives. First you need to properly air seal the basement. Then insulate and finish the basement. Next

2. Choose the correct air sealing product and drag it into the gray boxes to match with each problem area. Once you have finished. Clickhere to check answers. Chose your supplies low expansion foam Fire caulk Next Caulk Back

3. If you have questions about why a particular air sealing method is preferred, please click on the picture of the problem area for an explanation Chose your supplies low expansion foam Fire caulk Caulk Back

4. Air Sealing Fireplaces Low expansion foam: not allowed due to fire code Fire Caulk: required by fire code Caulk: not allowed due to fire code Back

5. Air Sealing Rim Joist Low expansion foam: Expansion will help fill in gaps and will help hold blocking in place Fire caulk: Not currently required by fire code. Will not expand to fill larger gaps Caulk: Will not expand to fill larger gaps Note: make sure to air seal all 6 sides of cantilevered floors, and insulate cantilevered floor, before blocking and sealing rim joist Back

6. Air Sealing Corners Low expansion foam: the expansion of the foam will prevent proper and easy installation of drywall. Low expansion foam used in this area will be promptly removed by drywall installers. Fire caulk: not required by code Caulk: since caulk does not expand it will not get in the way of drywall installation and therefore is more likely to remain during and after drywall installation Back

7. Air Sealing Doorways Low expansion foam: Low expansion foam will expand to fill gaps, but will not warp doors or void manufacturers warranties Fire caulk: Not required by fire code. Will not expand to fill gaps Caulk: Will not expand to fill gaps Back

8. Air Sealing Bottom Plates Low expansion foam: the expansion of the foam will prevent proper and easy installation of drywall and flooring. Low expansion foam used in this area will be promptly removed by drywall or flooring installers. Fire caulk: not required by code Caulk: since caulk does not expand it will not get in the way of drywall nor flooring installation and therefore is more likely to remain during and after installation Back

9. Air Sealing Windows Low expansion foam: Low expansion foam will expand to fill gaps, but will not warp windows or void manufacturers warranties Fire caulk: Not required by fire code. Will not expand to fill gaps Caulk: Will not expand to fill gaps Back

10. Air Sealing Electrical Penetrations Low expansion foam: not allowed due to fire code Fire Caulk: required by fire code Caulk: not allowed due to fire code Back

11. Now that you have successfully air sealed your basement, it is time to install insulation. The insulation is not only required by Georgia Code, but it will also help lower your heating and cooling cost. However, insulating subterranean concrete walls is more complicated than insulating exterior stud walls, because the concrete is porous. When insulating poured concrete walls you need to protect against mold. There are three methods of insulting concrete walls. One method, insulated concrete forms (ICF) are installed during the construction process. They were not used in building your home. There are two other methods of insulating concrete walls. In this segment we are going to explore these two methods. Decide which of the two methods you would like to use. Then click on (do not try to drag) the picture which represents the successive steps in the method of your choice. Chose your supplies

12. Ummm, yeah. That doesn't really work with this application or at this stage. Please chose another option. Back

13. Good job. Another similar product for consideration is ThermalDry, but it does not seem to finish as smoothly. The boards are designed to also be radiant barriers, preventing the concrete mass walls from absorbing the heat from the basement during the heating season. However, once you have controlled the moisture issues associated with concrete walls feel free to add studs and drywall over the walls. Keeping in mind that this will mitigate the radiant barrier aspect of these products. Quiz Back

14. Now that you have chosen the 1st step in this method of insulation, choose the 2nd step. Chose your supplies Back

15. Ummm, yeah. That doesn't really work with this application or at this stage. Please chose another option. Back

16. Whoops. You just created the potential to make you and your family sick. Faced insulation on concrete walls has been shown to cause an environment highly favorable to mold. Moisture moves easily through the concrete walls, then gets trapped on the vapor barrier of the faced batt. This can cause mold to accumulate on the batt or on the wall studs. Back

17. Good job! Now you are ready to drywall. Back Quiz

18. Name: Date: 1. Which air sealing medium goes with which area Fireplaces Rim Joists Bottom plates Electrical Penetrations Corners Doors and Windows 2. Which of the following is not an approved method of insulating preexisting concrete walls? A) Thermalmax B) Unfaced batt insulation C) ThermalDry D) Faced batt insulation

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