ᐅ Insulating a Basement from the Inside – Any Experiences?

Hello everyone,

Doesn’t anyone have an opinion?
Well, never mind.
In the meantime, I have decided to go with thermal plaster.
At first, I was a bit skeptical about whether thermal plaster really makes a difference.
Now I have bought thermal plaster (Baumit Thermal Plaster, which is quite affordable at about 7 euros for 40 liters (10.5 gallons)) to try it out and applied a small area (1 cm (0.4 inches) thick).
Two days later, I touched the surface with my hand, and look, it actually feels noticeably warmer. The concrete surface feels very cold in comparison.
So, I will plaster the basement walls with thermal plaster (using a 1 cm (0.4 inches) plaster guide rail).

Advantages:
- Easy to apply, works very well
- A 40-liter (10.5 gallons) bag costs about 7 euros
- A bag is very light despite containing 40 liters (10.5 gallons)
- Walls remain breathable
- You can still hang pictures on the walls without special anchors or similar
- Can be applied without machinery

Disadvantages:
- None that I know of; do you know any?

Is the thermal plaster applied directly over the entire concrete surface? Otherwise, you might get thermal bridges (condensation) between the plaster and concrete wall. In other words, the plaster will take on the temperature of the concrete.
Have you installed a heating system as well? Or do you just want to increase the temperature by using insulation? Our basement is 18°C (64°F) without heating, thanks to the external insulation. Inside, the walls are raw concrete. If everything works out for you and you manage to raise the temperature by 3-4°C (5-7°F), I might consider applying thermal plaster too.

Wastl schrieb:
Is the thermal plaster applied fully over the concrete? Otherwise, you might get thermal bridges (condensation) between the plaster and the concrete wall. In other words, the plaster will take on the temperature of the concrete?
Have you installed any heating yet? Or do you only want to raise the temperature through insulation? Our basement is 18°C (64°F) without heating, thanks to exterior insulation. Inside, the walls are bare concrete. If it works for you and you manage to increase the temperature by 3-4°C (5-7°F), I might consider applying thermal plaster as well.

First of all, thank you for the quick feedback,

- Yes, the thermal plaster is applied fully over the concrete wall.
- I consider condensation between the plaster and the concrete wall unlikely.
- No heating has been installed yet, but I plan to install underfloor heating eventually.
I want to achieve 21°C (70°F).

Best regards,
energy-core

I am not familiar with the idea of thermal plaster. I used insulation panels for my project and adhered them fully to the concrete wall. This also needs to be done airtight.