About 80% of Westlock's homes were built before 1991. In basement terms that means a foundation poured when the space below the floor was expected to be cold, unfinished and used for a furnace and some shelving. People now finish them, sleep in them and work in them, and the assembly was never asked to do that. Basement spray foam insulation in Westlock is retrofit work on foundations in ground that freezes deep and stays frozen.
Frost that arrives and does not leave
This is the part of the physics that separates a basement north of Edmonton from one in the foothills. There is no chinook here to push the ground back above freezing in January. Frost drives down through the soil and holds its depth for months, so the upper portion of the foundation wall sits against genuinely cold ground continuously rather than in bursts. The temperature difference across that concrete is sustained, which does two things: it loses heat steadily for the whole season instead of intermittently, and it keeps the inside face of the wall cold enough to condense interior moisture for the entire time.
The assembly that fails down here
Studs set against the concrete with batt in between and a poly sheet over the front. It was standard practice for decades and it is the single most common thing we open up in an older Westlock basement. Warm humid house air gets past the poly, because poly is never continuous once there are outlets and a stair stringer in it, reaches the cold concrete face, and condenses in a cavity nobody can see. Given a months-long cold season with no interruption, there is no drying period. The batt holds the water, the sheathing paper and the bottom plate take it, and the smell turns up long before anybody finds the cause.
Closed-cell foam sprayed directly on the concrete works differently. It adheres, so there is no cavity for air to circulate in, and at roughly two inches it is a vapour retarder in its own right, which keeps the dew point inside the foam rather than on the concrete. The studs then go in front of a wall that is already warm and already sealed.
The order that makes sense here
Water before anything. Foam is not waterproofing, and seepage, grading or a failed weeping tile has to be dealt with first or it will simply be hidden.
Then the rim joist, which is the coldest accessible surface in the house and the best single item for the effort. Then the walls, if the space is lived in or about to be. If the house is on an acreage outside natural gas service and running propane or electric heat, say so when you call, because it moves the whole sequence forward.
Who does the work
Basement spray foam insulation Westlock is work we take care of ourselves. We scope it, we quote it, we schedule it, and our own installers are the ones holding the gun.
Basement Spray Foam Insulation Westlock: Common Questions
Does deep frost really change the specification? It raises the moisture stakes rather than the R-value. The wall stays cold for months without a thaw, so an absorbent insulation against it has no window in which to dry.
We already have a finished basement. Does it have to come out? Sometimes only a section does. The honest first step is to open one bay and look at the back of the batt, because that tells us whether the rest is sound.
Is the basement or the attic the better job on an older house here? On this stock it is usually the basement, and inside the basement it is usually the rim joist first.
How much does basement spray foam insulation cost in Westlock? Walls are priced per board foot of sprayed area at the depth chosen for dew-point control, and removal of an existing finish is a separate line. On a house of this age the removal question is most of the difference between two quotes.
How do I choose a basement spray foam contractor in Westlock? Ask whether anything has to come out before spraying, and what the plan is for the thermal barrier over the foam in an occupied room.
Size the assembly with the R-value calculator, then get a free Westlock quote. More on Basement Spray Foam Insulation Alberta province-wide.