insulation & my weird foundation

[xscorex]

wellok, Im in the process of hanging insulation in my garage. well actually Im in the process of looking at the bag of insulation sitting in my garage and wondering if I will survive the heat if I try to install it. Anyway. the garage is hand built in the 70s or 80s. the guy built the foundation out of cinderblocks, so you have the slab, then a row of cinder block then you have the walls studs sitting on that. He put the walls right in the middle of the cinder block. Now the cinder block wasnt filled with anything and about every other block I can see light coming through.

there is about a 3 inch lip of cinder block all around the building where the wall starts. I hope this makes sense. Anyway. what the best way to tackle this? I thought about cutting a plank the width of the lip and using industrial adhesive to adhere it to the cinder block. I dont even know if that will work. Then go back with some caulk or something and fill in any gaps.

Now, What would be the proper way to fix this.

I seriously think Im going to have to install the air conditioner before the insulation. I almost die trying to do simple things in there with the heat & humidity the way it is

 

[elementip]

Your suggestion sounds reasonable, but I would go a step further and install galvanized flashing on top of the board. I've never tried adhesive on concrete blocks before, but I don't see why it would not work.

You may also consider cutting a bevel or tapering the board so water will run off rather than pool on a flat surface.

 

[Phil S.]

can you post some pics so that we can get a beter idea of the cituation

 

[xscorex]

Your suggestion sounds reasonable, but I would go a step further and install galvanized flashing on top of the board. I've never tried adhesive on concrete blocks before, but I don't see why it would not work.

You may also consider cutting a bevel or tapering the board so water will run off rather than pool on a flat surface.

I was thinking about just doing this on the inside, there is no lip on the outside, or if there is its very small. Now that I think about it I was wrong that it was sitting right in the middle of the cinderblocks. Basically as I look at the inside wall, you can see the top of the cinderblock hole and about a 3 inch lip of the block the walls bottom 2x4 sits on top of that. if the lights are out I can see daylight in a good number of places through the top holes of the cinderblock. I guess I could take a shovel and fill dirt into each hole. should I even worry about it? I didnt think about it but metal flashing could be used with adhesive and do the work of the wood sill I was thinking about. might be eaesier to get the hole closed up

 

[willymakeit]

Fill the void with mortar. Check to see if walls are anchored since you have voids. Then flash. Use a urethane based adhesive since it flexs more.

 

[kbs2244]

Is the light coming from the bottom row of blocks at some vertical motor joints?
The mason may have put them there as “weep holes.”
Any masonry wall absorb moisture on the outside surface that will seep through the block wall or even a brick wall.
It will flow down the inside of the wall and needs a place to drain.

Some guys just leave them open, but the should be plugged with something to keep the bugs out.
The old way was to use cotton clothes line.
Now they make a mesh just for the purpose.

Don’t fill in the block.
In your area you don’t need the insulation that low.
(If you feel you must, use foam board on the inside and panel over it.)
Put a 2x4 or 2x6 as shelf over the exposed top side of the block on the inside.

 

[xscorex]

Thanks guys, I was inspecting it yesterday and it seems as if the old timer has one wall he had already built a sill on, he just put wood down, I havent figured out how its fastened though. I need to take pics to post , but one wall is finished, he has covered it with some super thick like 2" plywood that he has tongue & grooved. then he has built a pretty sweet work table that comes off the wall and runs the length. with working drawers! unfortunately the other walls are not covered and have big shelves made out of the same plywood nailed to the framing I will have to take down. Its a shame. the shelves are really wide and sturdy. the actual shelf is crappy 1.5" mdf thats heavy & thick but the braces are huge triangles made out of the high grade thick plywood. I can only imagine what plywood like that costs today. I have never even seen it before. anyway.

I have a big bag of R 13 with "vapor resistant" backing. I think I have 100 feet of it. can I mix it up with foam? I just tore a big mess of it out of a room in the house he had used on a brick wall and Id rather reuse to save landfill and my wallet if I can.

 

[xscorex]

maybe use the foam board to seal up around the big swing doors. there really are so many holes in this place, not sure how much help this will do. Its a 24 x 24 with an open stairwell going to an upstairs with about 7.5" of clearance in the center. so thats alot of space up there that will **** up anything I do in the shop area. You think a 10,000btu air conditioner set in the wall would do the job? or do I need bigger? In the summer I have two kerosene heaters. Might try to upgrade to something else later