Hey all...
We have a 260 yr. old stone foundation farmhouse. We have our wood stove parked in an outside corner of the main floor.
The basement has had "treatment" by the local energy assessment company, i.e., holes filled and caulked, etc., but the basement ceiling has no insulation.
Do any of you folks have their basement ceilings insulated? Our basement is not freezing cold, and in some cases, due to the boiler being down there, can be fairly mild. But, I wonder if my stove pulls some of the cooler air out of the basement from the cracks in the floor and sub floor (there are many) to feed it. The stove can easily heat much of our main floor, but it's very streaky, with inconsistencies of temperature abound. I wonder if the cooler air being drawn up from the basement may contribute to this effect.
I also wonder if I insulate the basement ceiling, will it force the air pressure upstairs to come up with fresh air somewhere else, perhaps less ideal, or cause the stove to run less efficiently due to lack of air to circulate?
The rest of our house is moderately insulated, as we had the energy company blow in cellulose insulation into the walls, and I packed the attic reasonably tight with fiberglass batts.
So, what do you think? Insulate the basement, pain in the rear that it would be? With old electrical wiring, I'm a little concerned about old conduit and wires someday coming into contact with fiberglass insulation... there's years of old wires and pipes running in the ceiling.
Any thoughts are appreciated!
We have a 260 yr. old stone foundation farmhouse. We have our wood stove parked in an outside corner of the main floor.
The basement has had "treatment" by the local energy assessment company, i.e., holes filled and caulked, etc., but the basement ceiling has no insulation.
Do any of you folks have their basement ceilings insulated? Our basement is not freezing cold, and in some cases, due to the boiler being down there, can be fairly mild. But, I wonder if my stove pulls some of the cooler air out of the basement from the cracks in the floor and sub floor (there are many) to feed it. The stove can easily heat much of our main floor, but it's very streaky, with inconsistencies of temperature abound. I wonder if the cooler air being drawn up from the basement may contribute to this effect.
I also wonder if I insulate the basement ceiling, will it force the air pressure upstairs to come up with fresh air somewhere else, perhaps less ideal, or cause the stove to run less efficiently due to lack of air to circulate?
The rest of our house is moderately insulated, as we had the energy company blow in cellulose insulation into the walls, and I packed the attic reasonably tight with fiberglass batts.
So, what do you think? Insulate the basement, pain in the rear that it would be? With old electrical wiring, I'm a little concerned about old conduit and wires someday coming into contact with fiberglass insulation... there's years of old wires and pipes running in the ceiling.
Any thoughts are appreciated!