Basement, Sill & Rim Joist Insulation in Scranton, PA

Basement, sill and rim joist insulation targets the line where a house sits on its foundation. In Scranton's older houses, that is usually a wood sill resting on fieldstone, brick or block. The joints between stone and wood, between sill and rim, and around every pipe and wire are full of gaps, and cold air pours in all winter. Floors above stay cold and pipes near the wall can freeze.

Closed-cell foam

Two to three inches of closed-cell foam, at R-5 to R-7 per inch per HomeGuide, seals and insulates the sill and rim in one step. It does not absorb water and keeps warm basement air off cold wood. HomeGuide lists a typical rim joist foam job at $2,000 to $2,500.

Stone walls need care

Old stone foundations often let some moisture through, and they need to dry. We usually foam the sill, rim and the top part of the wall, which loses the most heat, and leave the lower wall alone unless it is dry. If water is coming in, that gets fixed first.

Built over mines

Much of the valley sits over old mine workings. Wikipedia notes that most of Taylor is built over abandoned mines, and Dunmore's landfill was built over mines known for ground subsidence. Settling can crack foundations and open new air paths. We seal cracks at the sill line as part of the job; structural cracks need a structural repair first.

Code targets

PHRC's Pennsylvania Alternative Residential Energy Provisions list R-10 continuous or R-13 cavity insulation for basement walls in the Central zone. For existing homes it is a guide, not a requirement.

PPL rebate

PPL's rebate form lists rim joist insulation at 75% of cost up to $500 or $200, if it is spray foam or rigid foam, and basement wall insulation if it reaches at least R-15 continuous or R-19 cavity.

What a basement visit looks like

We walk the whole perimeter of the basement with a light, looking at the sill, the rim, the top of the foundation and every place a pipe, wire or vent passes through. We look for daylight, cobwebs that move in a draft, staining, damp stone and old repairs. Then we measure the rim length and the wall height and write up the plan: which areas get foam, how thick, and what we will leave alone.

Basement windows and bulkheads

Old basement windows and outside bulkhead doors are big leaks too. We can seal around window frames and insulate and weatherstrip the inner bulkhead door. If a window is broken or rotted, it needs repair or replacement first.

Fire barriers

Foam in a basement that is used as living space usually needs a thermal barrier such as drywall. We explain what applies. Get a free estimate