Attaching studs to concrete wall?

del85

Hi all,

I'm a complete novice trying to save a few quid by refurbishing a house myself. I have a question about insulating a concrete wall and was wondering if anyone could help?

I'm about to frame the concrete wall so that I can place insulation between some studs. I know that I'm supposed to ensure that my frame is approximately two inches away from the concrete to prevent moisture from rotting the studs. The joists are running in parrallel to the wall.

My problem is that there is nothing for me to attach the top-plate of the stud frame to. The first parallel joist is about 8 inches away from the concrete wall, so there is no point in me attaching the top-plate there as that would create too big a gap. Would I be better off attaching some kind of membrane to the concrete and then nailing the studs directly onto the wall instead?

I'd really appreciate any suggestions.

Del.

gsxr1

Who told you that you needed a a gap between the stud and the concrete wall?

Is it a cavity block external wall?

I would baton the wall and insulate it .

del85

Thanks for the reply.

A friend of mine's dad suggested that the gap needed to be there.


It is a cavity block wall yes. If I batoned the wall directly, would moisture be an issue down the line?

indie armada

i did my external walls here and used 30mm foam insulted plasterboard. i fixed the boards to the concrete wall with plastic mushroom fittings, scrimmed the joints and had it skimmed. did all the external walls like that and made a huge differance. i did one wall the same way your descibing with battons and ended up taking it down and re-doin it the way i mentioned above.
i found it neater, took up less space and used less materials.

ronaldo84

insulated plasterboard would be cheaper and faster

del85

I already bought the wood, so it's going up one way or another.

Would it be okay to attach battens directly to the wall?

indie armada

i would say yes, providing its not in a basement or against some sort of retaining wall where you might have an influx of moisture. i would use express anchors to fix the battens. this saves having to drill and plug them.

gsxr1

del85 wrote: »

Thanks for the reply.

A friend of mine's dad suggested that the gap needed to be there.


It is a cavity block wall yes. If I batoned the wall directly, would moisture be an issue down the line?

You should express nail the batons to the wall at 400 or 600 centers. ( you can also use steel nails but you need to handy with a hammer to save time)

You can then insulate inbetween them then with kings span. ( or rockwool )

Then get a roll of 500 gauge plastic . Staple it to the wall batons to create a draft and vapour barrier.

I would then use insulated plasterboard .

tape the joints . sand and paint.

result.

Another tip if using fiberglass insulation in a basement wall is to leave the fiberglass 6 inches of the ground in the stud. If the bacement ever floods hopefully the water would never never reach the inso and rot it.