I work for Service Master and with the floods here in Iowa have had to tear out ALOT of basements this year. There has been quite a few that had styrofoam behind the sheetrock/paneling for insulation. Would be cheap. Also plastic.
Trish

the general recomendation on this forum is to put 1/2" or more board up first rather than framing against the concrete. It is NOT cheap at all. 1/2" blue board has an R5 value and it sold by me for $10 for a 2 X 8 sheet. It appears some sort of board or styrafoam should be used. I am wonderinf if this 1/4" stuff is acceptable?

I'm trying to understand what purpose a 1/4" of insulation would serve.

I'd tell you to frame in a traditional manner, holding the wall back a bit from the foundation. Insulate with fiberglass and then drywall. The result is much better looking wall that's flat and plumb.

based on what I have read here you never want to construct without some sort of pink or blue board up first to prevent water seepage and mold.

based on what I have read here you never want to construct without some sort of pink or blue board up first to prevent water seepage and mold.

Water should be addressed before even starting a basement finishing project. Quite frankly I don't see a thin layer of Styrofoam stopping water.

As I said, I typically hold the wall back a bit, creating an air space. If there is very minor water, there's an air space for evaporation. If it becomes a bigger problem then pieces of drywall can be neatly removed to repair the problem and then patched back in.

your procedure sounds good too me but like I said, I have seen numerous posts advising that the 'modern' way of finishing requires the pink board. However, maybe I just had a bad run of posts earlier this year with some confusion or misinformation...especially sice I am not hearing the other side of the story. Your method is certainly easier and less expensive.

see this....

http://ths.gardenweb.com/forums/load/basements/msg0109484526930.html

The minimum width XPS mentioned by Building Science for use on a basement interior is .75".

Permanently effective building methods are not a matter of voting, but of building science, which is what Building Science and the DREE are all about.

As a builder/renovator for 20 years, I am sure that if I ripped apart some of the basements I built to Code in the past I'd be appalled. My personal homes were done the same way. I never noticed a mould problem. But I also run a dehumidifier 12 months a year.

EPS is also effective, but cheaper than XPS. On a home I built last year, I used 1" XPS on the exterior, which ran about C$6 per 2'x8' sheet from a commercial yard.

Here is a link that might be useful: Basement Insulation Systems

Whoops! I meant EERE.

Here is a link that might be useful: US Dept. of Energy-- Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy

Yea, I am just torn between what is recommended today...which adds a great deal to the price and robs the room of a few inches...and....what worked for years. Perhaps if you ripped apart old homes you would provide home, perhaps not. I have never known anyone to have trouble. I too run a dehumidifier. Its never damp either.

I am trying to whats best within reason. Posts suggested the .5" board, now I find that that may be unacceptable. I was hoping the 1/4 stuff would protect from the mold etc.

Someone asked somewhere...this is to be used on the inside of an existing 20 year old poured concrete basement.