Basement & Rim Joist Insulation in York, PA

Basement and rim joist insulation stops the drafts that make first floors cold in older York homes. The rim joist and sill sit on stone, brick or block, often with gaps you can feel. In rowhomes, the front and back rims are exposed while the sides sit against party walls.

Rim joists

Closed-cell foam sealed into every rim bay is one of the best-value jobs in a Pennsylvania house. HomeGuide lists rim joists at about $2,000 to $2,500 for a typical house; a rowhome is usually much less because there is less rim.

Basement walls

Pennsylvania's code summary lists R-13 cavity or R-10 continuous for Zone 4 basement walls. Closed-cell foam bonds to uneven stone and brick. Water coming through a wall has to be handled first, since York's records include the statewide 24-hour rainfall record of 13.5 inches from Hurricane Agnes in 1972, and many old basements take on water in heavy storms.

Crawl spaces under additions

Back additions and porch rooms often sit on shallow crawl spaces. Foaming the crawl space walls and rim, with a ground vapor barrier, warms the room above.

Finished basements

If the basement is finished, we can often foam the rim joist through a drop ceiling or small access cuts. If you are finishing it now, closed-cell foam on the masonry before framing keeps the drywall side warm and dry.

We will look at your basement and send a written plan. Get a free estimate