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Basement Framing Advice

6 years ago

I’m looking for some advice on framing our basement. Our basement has a half-height wall, with about 3 1/2 ft below grade with a concrete wall and the rest is above grade. Currently there is a 2x4 wall infront of the concrete wall from when it was built. See the attached photos. This wall does have a very slight gap between it and the concrete wall in most places. It does touch in a few spots. The gap is between 1/4” - 1/8”. The wall is made from regular 2x4s with a pressure treated base. In the one photo you can see where I taped some vapor barrier to the wall. This was to test and see if any moisture was coming through the wall and if any condensation would build up. Nothing has accumulated in months. The house is 15yrs old. There was a crack in the foundation in the corner that would leak some water in the spring. It has been professionally sealed with epoxy. The other photos show the spacing in the wall with a side view and top view. So here are my questions. Do I leave the existing wall (less work) and replace the existing insulation with rockwool to be less susceptible to moisture? Would this be good enough? Or does it just create more potential for problems later on? Any vapor barrier needed? Or the other option, should I be more thorough and remove the existing wall, install EPS foam insulation, then install the 2x4 wall with pressure treated bottom, and insulate the wall? This seems to be the best option or gold standard. I’m not sure if the former would be good enough though and if it’s not worth the time.




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