If you have a basement and never had it insulated you will want to try this. You can decrease the amount of heat you lose with a bit of insulation. Wetness and bugs can also invade if you have not insulated your foundation. Here we will explain how to insulate at different stages of the home building foundation.




If you have a basement, you can excavate the walls on the outside and use fiberglass mat. You can also paint the exterior of the walls with waterproof paint or with roofing cement. If you use the mat put a drainage system to keep away puddles of water from your walls. This is recommended for areas with low soil conditions.




If you are still in the construction phase of your home you can use gravel, drain pipes, polyethylene plastic, sand and hard board insulation. Put four inches of gravel with the drain pipes to channel water away from the foundation. Lay down a layer of polyethylene sheet plastic where the foundation is going to go. On top of this sheet put hard board insulation and on top of that put down three inches of sand. You are now ready to pour the insulated concrete foundation.



If your concrete slab is already down and you want to insulate it you can use polyethylene plastic sheeting. This is to separate the moisture from the rest of the house. Attach furring strips of whatever durable material you like. Wood may not be a good choice, unless you choose cedar. Between the furring strips place hard board insulation. Attach the furring strips to the concrete slab. On top of this goes the sub floor and the rest of the house.




If you have a vented crawl space for a foundation you can do the following. Seal any holes in the upper part of the crawl space before you start doing the other sections. You can use fiberglass insulation between the joists in the floor. Make sure there is no air between the insulation and the sub floor. Cover the fiberglass insulation with polyethylene plastic sheet. Use this on top of the ground also. If you have seams in the sheets, make sure to close them. To make the plastic sheet last longer, put a small amount of sand on top of it.




Seal every hole in a vented crawl space with polyethylene plastic sheet. Install it on the walls of the space also. If rain is likely to get this area wet use foam insulation in the sheet version. If this area will not get wet, use fiberglass insulation. The foam is superior to the other type because animals and insects will not be able to make their home in it.