Now the question concerns the section of the exterior wall below the basement floor.
On the south side, there are about 2 meters (6.5 feet) of exterior wall, with 1.2 meters (4 feet) above ground level; the rest is underground. On the east and west sides, there is a wedge-shaped section exposed to the outside that slopes upward from 0 meters (0 feet) above ground level on the south side up to 1.2 meters (4 feet) above terrain level.
Does this section also need to be insulated? Since this situation is probably rare in typical house construction, I cannot find any information about it.
Behind this exterior wall there is no room, just soil and gravel, so this area behind the wall is naturally unheated. However, the exterior wall here represents a thermal bridge because heat from the heated basement can enter the wall and flow downward. The question is whether it makes sense to insulate the wall from the outside, while insulation from the inside is impossible due to the wall’s interior side being in contact with soil. I think this is simply an unavoidable thermal bridge.
I would like to clad the plinth with natural stone, which cannot be mounted directly on insulation boards, so I tend to skip the perimeter insulation.
Or would that be a major energy-related mistake because at least the accessible exterior area should be insulated?
Attached is a picture for better illustration.
Addendum: The interior walls of the basement are insulated with 3 cm (1.2 inches) of polystyrene foam.
Additionally, the exterior basement wall on the left side of the picture cannot be insulated under any circumstances, as there is a building above it that would have to be demolished to carry out the necessary earthworks, which is obviously not an option.
Since this wall covers a fairly large area, in my opinion, it is negligible if the foundation is not insulated; the situation is unsatisfactory in any case.
Additionally, the exterior basement wall on the left side of the picture cannot be insulated under any circumstances, as there is a building above it that would have to be demolished to carry out the necessary earthworks, which is obviously not an option.
Since this wall covers a fairly large area, in my opinion, it is negligible if the foundation is not insulated; the situation is unsatisfactory in any case.
Elina schrieb:
....or would that be an energy-related mistake because you should at least insulate the accessible exterior area? What is your planner’s opinion on this?
Best regards
My energy consultant, who defined the measures for the Efficiency House 100 standard, said that insulation is possible, but it is an old house with unavoidable thermal bridges, of which there are still plenty. If there is money left at the end of the mandatory measures, it could be addressed, but he did not include this measure in his calculations for transmission heat loss. Other areas therefore need to be better insulated.
Since there is some money available now, we are considering whether to use it for perimeter insulation or another measure. As mentioned, we still have other thermal bridges, such as a cantilevered concrete slab serving as a platform for the front door, the rear basement area in the ground, which cannot be insulated from the outside (but can be from the inside), exposed support columns that connect directly to the ground floor ceiling, and the split-level floor, which is not suitable for conventional floor insulation due to ceiling height but could be suitable for vacuum insulation panels. The energy consultant only comments vaguely, saying things like "everything can be done" or "it’s all a matter of effort," which doesn’t really help us.
Since there is some money available now, we are considering whether to use it for perimeter insulation or another measure. As mentioned, we still have other thermal bridges, such as a cantilevered concrete slab serving as a platform for the front door, the rear basement area in the ground, which cannot be insulated from the outside (but can be from the inside), exposed support columns that connect directly to the ground floor ceiling, and the split-level floor, which is not suitable for conventional floor insulation due to ceiling height but could be suitable for vacuum insulation panels. The energy consultant only comments vaguely, saying things like "everything can be done" or "it’s all a matter of effort," which doesn’t really help us.
Similar topics