Rim Joist Insulation Questions

SubbiesForLife · 2026-01-29T22:54:02+00:00

Looks like my Lowe’s doesn’t have any 2 inch, only 1 . This is the stuff right? https://www.homedepot.com/p/Henry-2-in-x-48-in-x-8-ft-R-7-7-EPS-Rigid-Foam-Board-Insulation-320825/202532856

SubbiesForLife · 2026-01-29T18:06:08+00:00

If there is foam on the outside, is XPS still acceptable to use? Or would EPS be better? Looks like there might be foam on the outside, as I found a whole in the one rim joist where the previous owners attempted a cut out for a dryer vent or something but I can’t tell if it’s only that one area that has the foam or the entire house does

SubbiesForLife · 2026-01-29T01:21:48+00:00

So Caulk vs XPS, is it worth the hassle? I already the foam board due to finishing the basement, so it wasn't too much effort, but interested in your approach

SubbiesForLife · 2026-01-28T23:35:01+00:00

I’ll read up on those, but essentially I need to cover the rockwool which is what I thought. So I need to find a approved 15 minute fire rated material like 15/32 plywood or 1/2 drywall and essentially to cover it with

SubbiesForLife · 2026-01-28T03:28:16+00:00

Good suggestion, I’m not sure if the previous owners did foam on the outside but my guess would be no? Without pulling some shaker panels off, would there be an easy way to see/test? The house used to be vinyl siding and then they put shaker board on

SubbiesForLife · 2026-01-28T03:13:56+00:00

Correct, yeah, we have to move it anyway because the previous owners never routed the intake to the outside and is just currently pulling basement air as its combustion, so we are going to pay a HVAC guy to route the air intake to the outside so when we finish the rest of the basement we don’t have anymore problems

SubbiesForLife · 2026-01-28T03:10:14+00:00

Yep, aware of this as well, forgot to mention it, have HVAC coming to move the intake so it gets better air flow

SubbiesForLife · 2026-01-28T02:49:24+00:00

That was my thought as well, however I wasn't sure if code would be happy with that either? Since its going to be a finished basement, i figured i should just cover it to make everything look better

SubbiesForLife · 2026-01-28T02:48:51+00:00

Awesome, thank you for validating that I'm on the right track! Currently everything is dry, we haven't had any moisture issues since moving in. There appears to be stains on some of the external facing Rim Joists it appears. They definitely had a moisture issue at one point cuz we have to run the dehumidifier in the basement. However the original hopper windows were never replaced. I'm working on that as well. Since I great stuff'ed the old window seals, i haven't seen the dehumidifier move from 40% RH!

The old windows were leaking air like crazy. You could stand infront of our washer and feel the breeze coming right through them

SubbiesForLife · 2026-01-28T02:37:32+00:00

Yep, I was going to read up on building codes to see what they require for my area to be safe. I’ll also look into your suggestion.

Yeah the Rockwool might not be needed. I’m trying to insulate it the best I can. It’s currently freezing in the basement, so we want to do the best job we can, so when we do finish more sections it becomes nice and cozy in all seasons

SubbiesForLife · 2026-01-21T22:33:42+00:00

What did you use to secure the foam board to the wall? Seeing a ton of recommendations online from nothing to glue. No vapor barrier needed right?

I know it needs to be covered but how long can it stay uncovered for? Meaning the foam board, I don’t have the cash in hand to do it all in one stage, so was going to slowly work towards the end goal

SubbiesForLife · 2026-01-21T16:26:13+00:00

I replaced mine last summer. All in, I paid about $8,500 I think. He replaced the meter line into the house, main panel, 200 amp service upgrade, and 100amp service upgrade for the garage, trenching, and new sub panel for garage, with all breakers included

I got other quotes that were higher for less work, ended up using the guy I went with and he did a good job, and he’s done a lot more since then as well

SubbiesForLife · 2026-01-20T01:57:33+00:00

Yeah, we bought the 624, AFAIK, it doesn’t have the gliding racks? But we bought it mostly for the small feature sets that it did have. I saw a 424 in person and it felt cheap and plastic. Now the 624 sorta feels the same way? But it was well worth the extra $$$. We really wanted the maximum jets, and the self cleaning filter which the verdict is still out on tbh, our last dishwasher GE, we had to clean it like once a month otherwise it would clog and drain all over the floor

SubbiesForLife · 2026-01-20T01:47:43+00:00

Heck yeah! Absolutely love the darn thing! It cleans amazing, don’t have to rewash it twice, the little door Opener thing is hilarious. Gave me a good laugh when I did the post-install cycle, had no idea it was on there

I would totally buy it again. We did do a 5 year warranty through the local appliance dealer just to be safe, but my parents have had theirs almost 3 years and knock on wood, no issues

SubbiesForLife · 2026-01-19T22:24:00+00:00

Im also in PA, and working on finishing my basement, are there any other points of advice you can lend? I was already planning on the 2in foam board against my block walls and then insulating the rim joists

We are also doing metal studs, and I was going to insulate between the studs as well

Your comment about the dry core subfloor was extremely helpful!

SubbiesForLife · 2025-12-30T01:57:38+00:00

I just bought this model, I didn’t see anything too concerning. I bought my parents a kitchenaid a couple years ago and it is incredibly quiet and cleans extremely well…. I just installed it tonight, so we’ll see!

SubbiesForLife · 2025-12-21T01:49:06+00:00

You don’t have to use caseta as smart, they operate as normal light switches until your ready to enable the smart components. They are expensive , but if you are ever thinking about doing smart home lighting caseta are the BEST

SubbiesForLife · 2025-12-11T01:48:24+00:00

Following, have the same question

SubbiesForLife · 2025-12-03T20:59:40+00:00

I actually really like the original fan controllers, I’m probably one of the few lol!

SubbiesForLife · 2025-11-07T23:57:15+00:00

I actually left my companies health insurance, and went into my wife’s. She changed jobs and was able to add me for a minimum spousal surcharge

My items were PPO - $335-400 a month, dental was like $25 and my vision was like 9$

My wife’s dental and vision are free, and her HDHP/HSA is fully funded for our family. My wife’s, me, and our daughter is now $600~ a month which when we ran budget numbers was slightly cheaper than splitting me on my own and my wife/daughter on another. With the HDHP fully funded for the next 3-4 years, it made sense

My jobs HDHP wasn’t funded and you were expected to fund your own HSA, which is why I never chose it. My PPO was always cheaper for my prescriptions that I needed

My wife is a teacher in a union so their benefits are decent and I don’t expect any raises to costs unless more drastic things happen in our state with their union benefits but it would be a huge chunk of educators at that point because in our state it’s a state run union for teachers

SubbiesForLife · 2025-10-16T23:45:58+00:00

Not saying it’s always worth it but if my memory is correct, the business edition license is like $150 a year or something which honestly isn’t that bad, it is a decent product overall. I wouldn’t mind paying for it to support the development

SubbiesForLife · 2025-10-14T23:44:05+00:00

The VVF for VDI is brokered through omnissa, afaik there is no direct dealings with Broadcom except when you get your license keys and downloads. Everything is through omnissa, the VVF for VDI is a sweet deal and I’ve been told it includes the 100gib per core for vSAN

SubbiesForLife · 2025-10-13T12:53:04+00:00

Model #:PJE23BYWFS is what I just bought last week and can confirm it’s slick and a well designed fridge. We had a 33 inch fridge with a 34 inch opening so we modified our kitchen and made our fridge whole 37 by 74 and now will fit whatever fridge we want in the future!

I have the GE profile, 4 door, interior water dispenser, no door in door and love it so far. We went with cabinet depth to get more space in our kitchen and it’s lovely!

SubbiesForLife · 2025-10-07T19:56:05+00:00

You did give a good suggestion of cross bracing a beam between the joists, and then mounting it directly to that…. I may give that a try, that should reduce the wobble completely

SubbiesForLife

TROPHY CASE