Flow Frames: Revolutionary beekeeping puts honey on tap.

Did you see this page about when should you replace windows? And what is bugging you most, is it the humidity between the panes? If so, what about only replacing those ones?

The thing about replacing windows is that unless they are single pane, rotted or just leaking air like crazy, rarely will you see a financial return making it worth the cost of replacement. To cover something you mentioned – by UV rays I’m thinking you probably mean the Low E coatings on modern windows. Those are great but not essential to have. Gas-gas filled windows are also worth the investment initially, even though the gas will pretty much have dissipated after 7 or 8 years, the savings in those years is worth it.

Please fill us in on why you think you need to replace your windows if its only a few that have humidity between the panes. And to hopefully help alleviate your anxiety about this, I would suggest you wipe the idea of full house window replacement from your mind.  Humidity between panes sucks, so maybe replace the thermals in those ones if you want, or, you could contact a company that does ‘repairs’ on those and see what that entails and if it's worth it. As mentioned in the article, we aren’t fans of putting valves in window panes as it sort of defeats the purpose, but maybe after the humidity is out you could seal the holes.

I would suggest you caulk around any leaky panes or frames maybe, but you will never get your money out of full replacement so there is no point keeping yourself awake stressing about it. Let us know a few more details if you want as to their condition and we can maybe come up with more cheap solutions. 

What part of British Columbia are you located in? BC varies quite a bit in terms of humidity and temperature. I’m just not sure if you think R24 is too much or too little. 
We prefer to treat basement walls as one singular wall rather than as an above grade and a below grade portion.

Granted, there will what some will consider a ‘bit too much’ or a ‘bit too little’ insulation depending on how much you install, given the different temperatures the wall will be exposed to from above grade to below, but those half-and-half solutions pose problems of their own. 

One thing that I would say is not a good idea though, is the idea of letting air flow behind the insulation. That can act as a bit of a convection engine and increase heat loss, it could also lead to more moisture build up. I don’t quite follow how you describe the vapor barrier playing out – that would be a vapor barrier on both sides of the stud wall, no? 

Dry inside does not mean for sure the concrete is dry, in fact if it has no membrane to protect it from the ground then for sure it is ‘wet’ to a degree. Concrete is porous and will absorb moisture from the ground which will then migrate into the wall, so we like that rigid insulation against the wall to keep the moisture out.

You have probably seen a few of the following pages but I’ll add them in case, and for anyone else reading along. 

• Preventing mold when you insulate your basement

• Building better basements: how to insulate your basement properly  

• How to Control Radon Gas in Homes