How should the walls of a basement in new construction be insulated if the basement will be finished?
This question comes up frequently. Finishing a basement can be one of the most economical ways to add living space in a house. However, before you even consider finishing a basement, the most important consideration is to make sure the basement wall and the foundation is dry and that it is able to dry if it does get wet. So before you start to think about an approach to insulate and finish a basement wall, take steps to assure that the foundation is built to remain as dry as possible. When building a new home, you can do several things to help create a dry foundation. First, rainwater and below grade moisture should be managed with proper drainage and means for preventing the wicking (or capillary action) of moisture into concrete. Examples of best practices include using gutters and downspouts which direct rainwater away from the foundation, dampproofing and a vapor barrier applied to the foundation wall, applying a vapor barrier beneath the concrete slab (on top of a gravel drainage
