Many years ago the rec. room ceiling was insulated and I don't think it should be. The room is directly under our living room, but with a slight variation. The living room is shorter than the basement room. The end of the basement runs on out about eight feet and there is a part of a deck over it. The upper part of the basement wall at that end is exposed to the outside air, not underground. Should there be any insulation in the ceiling at all or should we only have it in the part that is 'open' to the elements? I think it should be the latter but I have opposition to that view!
Answer:
I would not insulate the ceiling unless I absolutely had to. I would rather drop the ceiling in that part of the rec. room and insulate the perimeter and floor of a newly created crawl space. That crawl can then be heated and there is no danger of the cantilevered portion's floor rotting.
