baubob24
2021-05-16 19:17:49
- #1
Hello and good evening,
I have a question about planning basement insulation.
We now want to build an external staircase onto our house (built in 1959). The height difference here from the courtyard to the front door is 90cm.
The front door is located in an extension that we built in 2019. The extension has no basement and only has a foundation 80cm deep under the front door (from courtyard level downwards). To the right, the old house has a basement (no slab present). The basement is about 130cm deep from courtyard level to basement floor. The basement walls are concrete walls without insulation etc. in the ground.
Now a large stone staircase is to be built in place of the pallets. The concrete slab in the courtyard will be removed. For this, I will set up shuttering blocks in a U shape here so as not to damage the plinth. The plinth is insulated with XPS and plastered. The actual staircase will be constructed with stone steps (not yet completely clear which).
So far, this is all clear to me. I will also pour an 80cm concrete foundation under the shuttering blocks.
Now comes my actual question. Four years ago, I excavated the entire front side of the house and insulated it with 5cm XPS, also properly plastered and painted with bitumen. The basement is not really damp and we do not have groundwater, but when the windows are closed, there is always a slight musty smell. The basement floor consists of bricks. The interior basement walls were painted long ago. The paint is now peeling off and the concrete is slightly sandy. I suspect that cement was also economized on here in the past.
Now the question remains whether I should continue the insulation under the new entrance staircase down to the house foundation or rather limit it to the 80cm foundations only. The main reason and fear I have is due to later settlement cracks and the settling of the entire staircase due to excavation of the working area. I will compact it, but I only have a small 60kg vibrating plate.
Would you take the risk and definitely insulate all the way down or would you rather advise against it and set the foundations on undisturbed soil?
Thanks in advance for your answers. I hope the text is understandable and not too complicated.
I have a question about planning basement insulation.
We now want to build an external staircase onto our house (built in 1959). The height difference here from the courtyard to the front door is 90cm.
The front door is located in an extension that we built in 2019. The extension has no basement and only has a foundation 80cm deep under the front door (from courtyard level downwards). To the right, the old house has a basement (no slab present). The basement is about 130cm deep from courtyard level to basement floor. The basement walls are concrete walls without insulation etc. in the ground.
Now a large stone staircase is to be built in place of the pallets. The concrete slab in the courtyard will be removed. For this, I will set up shuttering blocks in a U shape here so as not to damage the plinth. The plinth is insulated with XPS and plastered. The actual staircase will be constructed with stone steps (not yet completely clear which).
So far, this is all clear to me. I will also pour an 80cm concrete foundation under the shuttering blocks.
Now comes my actual question. Four years ago, I excavated the entire front side of the house and insulated it with 5cm XPS, also properly plastered and painted with bitumen. The basement is not really damp and we do not have groundwater, but when the windows are closed, there is always a slight musty smell. The basement floor consists of bricks. The interior basement walls were painted long ago. The paint is now peeling off and the concrete is slightly sandy. I suspect that cement was also economized on here in the past.
Now the question remains whether I should continue the insulation under the new entrance staircase down to the house foundation or rather limit it to the 80cm foundations only. The main reason and fear I have is due to later settlement cracks and the settling of the entire staircase due to excavation of the working area. I will compact it, but I only have a small 60kg vibrating plate.
Would you take the risk and definitely insulate all the way down or would you rather advise against it and set the foundations on undisturbed soil?
Thanks in advance for your answers. I hope the text is understandable and not too complicated.