Insulating Basement
 

I have a pretty normal basment. The walls/perimeter of the foundation are cinder block. I currently have no insulation in the basement. I would like to add some as our kitchen and dining room floors are tile and very cold in the winter. I have a couple of concerns.

1. Even though our basement is not finished, we use the space often and I fear that adding batt insulation to the ceiling/floor joist cavaties will only make the space seem smaller. Not to mention the fiberglass that will exist in the room.

2. We don't really want to frame in the basement just so we can insulate the area. Is there something we can do, like a ridgid foam board we could place on the walls? Or could we use R-13 inside the 2x10 floor joists to insulate but add some R-value to the space without adding it to the full 10 inch space?

Ridgid insulation requires some form of fire barrier, normally 1/2 drywall is acceptable

Insulating the floorjoists may help keep the upstairs slightly warmer but also prevent the exchange of temperatures between the main floor and the basement...the basement is going to get freezing cold in the winter (pending your climate/location).

Consider (depending on your budget) an spray foam (2-3") directly on the cinder block. There is an open cell and closed cell spray foam on the market, one of them needs fire covering (drywall) the other doesn't, I can't remember the order, but I believe it's open cell which can be left uncovered.

I assume your basement is not heated, which is why you want to insulate. Generally speaking, you can buy a long roll of insulation to insulate the walls around the perimeter that are above grade. Anything below grade is usually not insulated. This insulation is secured to the wall using nails, and the metallic side faces opposite the wall.

Insulating Basement
 

When you insulate the ceiling of the basement, you will be making the basement cooler.

Wouldn;t the insulation in th eceiling keep the warmth in the basement?
Why then do you insulate an attic if it makes the living space below cooler?

Insulation slows the exchange of heat from a warmer space to a cooler space. When you insulate the unheated attic floor above a heated second floor room, you're preventing heat loss from the heated space below. When you insulate the unheated basement ceiling below a heated first floor, you're preventing heat losss from the heated space above to the basement below. Don't think in terms of direction here, just temperature gradients. You want to put insulation around the heated parts of the house, above, below and around the sides.