On several of your shows, you have mentioned that when insulating a basement you put the insulation so it stops 8" from the floor, then do the same with the vapour barrier. I have never heard why you recommend stopping that far from the floor. If you continue the insulation and vapour barrier all the way to the floor will this cause problems? If this has been done in a basement (in a bungalow) should I remove the insulation up to the 8" level?
Answer:
I do that so there's a bit of heat loss to the drainage tile along the exterior of the footings but more importantly, so I don't end up with excessive condensation behind the insulation along the bottom. I've just inspected too many basements with insulation and VB going all the way down and they had all kinds of mould and mildew problems. The one's I've done using my system have not experienced that.
