I purchased a 1950s home with a semi-finished basement in Denver CO, CZ 5B. A bathroom that’s already done (so I can’t see behind those walls) an unfinished mechanical room, and some living space that has been framed and drywalled (not mudded) with exposed floor joist ceilings. We had a structural engineer come in recently to confirm the integrity of the foundation and columns/floor beams around the basement so I took off some pieces of drywall to help.

I discovered there is currently no insulation or vapor barriers installed. The floor is recently (within 20 years or so) poured concrete. Our plan was to leave the ceilings exposed to the floor joists to maintain access to piping/ductwork and to create the feel of higher ceilings. I recognize this is not as good for insulating the above space. Where the wood-framed/sheetrocked walls meet the floor joist ceiling above, there will be some gaps, so the original stone walls are not completely sealed off from the new interior. This is inevitable even if we did sheet-rock the ceilings because of the location of the mechanical room. Given I am located in Denver, CO – humidity is not a concern but I recognize that ground moisture still exists. Any recommendations on the best and easiest way to move forward.