I have a home built in 1925, a "Chicago Bungalow" style, in Louisville, KY.
I have roughed in the basement, trying to take advantage of every square inch. I am planning on using it for short-term guests and also for a family room/reading area with loks of bookcases.
How much do I have to insulate the exterior basement walls? I'm leaving the ceiling open and painting it, so that isn't an issue. My family is fine with cooler temperatures and when we have guests, I could put a small space heater in the room where they'll be staying. Honestly, insulation is more expensive than I thought it would be and this thing is holding up my project. I want to do the right thing but am unsure of what that would be, within my budget.
The basement is approx. 900 sq. ft. (25' x 35'). There are 4 windows, 2' x 2.5' each. Since it is a "Chicago Bungalow" style, about 2.5 feet is above ground. The ceiling is the hardwood floor, with no subfloor and not finished, nor going to be finished (there is just too much duct work to consider working around it all). The budget is about $500 for insulation.
Best Answer
You are in the same climate zone as me. Your walls do not have to be insulated from top to bottom according to building science reports (please read their definition of basement which is totally below grade). They only suggest floor to ceiling insulation in our region given spray foam or rigid foam - in "typical" home basements.
What I have been doing the past 6-7 years with great results - including my own house - is only insulating about 1 foot below grade, using BS advice. I use rock wool. I stuff any joist areas until they meet wall level. A decent size house costs about $250. The results can be felt right away. My crews ask that this not be done until right before the drywall is put up because the basement instantly retains a ton of heat.
This is the exact reason why it is not necessary in our region to go floor to ceiling. By over insulating you are not allowing for any cool air to come in during the warmer 6-8 months out of the year. I for sure have noticed an increase in AC usage while a decrease in furnace usage in my own home.
Also by leaving your bottom half exposed you are creating a high volume area for air flow. Meaning any moisture that gets in - and there is always some - will evaporate quickly.
So we simply stagger our scrap 2x4s about 1 foot below grade (sometimes this is just the top 1-2 feet of framing), stuff rock wool against wall and then above our framing into the joists all the way to the outer wall. This is super cheap and super effective and all inspectors in our area were more than pleased with this. Again this is not for cold climates but will work in the Midwest.