# Finishing Basement Question



## nickpan (May 6, 2008)

Question for you contractors/remodelers out there. Figured I'd throw this on here and see what you guys think. Moved into my current house 5 yrs ago and want to start finishing my basement. When they built the house, they framed the exterior of the basement at 4'+ on center, just enough to blow in some cellulose insulation and put up this radiant barrier. There is nothing against the concrete. Just insulation and the barrier holding it in there.

















Anybody familiar with this?

First thought is leave the insulation and frame out from there. But is that barrier going to trap moisture and create issues later on down the road? Or do I just tear it all out and start over? Never seen anything done like this before. Seems like a pointless thing to do in the first place other than to insulate the basement the quick and dirty way.

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## LostLouisianian (Oct 11, 2010)

Not a contractor but recently finished out part of my basement. Had a building inspector come over and advise before doing any work. Leave it there and frame it out on top of it.


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## BPturkeys (Sep 13, 2007)

Most of those radiant barriers are porous to allow for humidity and vapors to not get trapped. Hold a flashlight to the back side and see if you can see little holes with the light shining through. Sometimes they leave spaces around the edges, as it appears they have done with yours, that will also let humidity to escape. If so, you are good to go, leave it.


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