Which insulation is best for insulating root cellar?

Asked by DaphneT (5750

) September 15th, 2013

I would like to insulate the floor/ceiling space of a house and basement addition. The addition extended a room on the first level and a foundation area was created beneath it. A wall was knocked out between the original foundation and this new room in the basement and a door put in. The room addition always has a cold floor and my brother says we can insulate it, but he is not available to help me with it and can’t tell me which insulation is best for the job.

Can I use expanded polystyrene, reflective insulation, r-19 denim, r13 fiberglass foil faced, r19 mineral wool, unfaced fiberglass, etc? Which would be best?

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3 Answers

First, what part of the country are you in? In Utah (where I last saw a root cellar) had a dirt floor, so humidity from the ground could help keep the vegetables humidified. If you are in Alaska, I’d assume that your root cellar would look different than the ones in Utah. Anyway, the Utah root cellar had concrete walls and dirt behind that. I don’t remember what the ceiling of the root cellar was made of, or if the house sat on top of it. If the house sits on top of it, the ceiling should be insulated as well. It shouldn’t have any heat going to it, and it needs air flow from the outside. The root celler I saw had an insulated door in the basement, but many enter from the outside. http://www.organicgardening.com/learn-and-grow/building-root-cellar-your-home

snowberry (27933

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