By the time i was retireing from mason biz, we were learning the best way to insulate cellar walls, below or above grade, was to put the insulation on the outside of the wall. That way, the concrete (or block or brick0 would become a "heat sink". It didn't always look good with insulation outside of brick wall above grade. With block and concrete, we were adding some sort of finish material to hide and protect the insulation where it was above grade. In my own cellar, I had insulated inside the walls as the structure was already there and had been backfilled years before. On one wall, i had finished it off with a layer of sheet insulation and a layer of brick between the foundation wall and the open area of the inside. The rest of the walls never got finished that way as my back finally gave out and I got into the much less strenuous biz of landscaping. I only had to lift bags of fertilizer weighing 50# or move balled shrubs weighing 200# or 300#. I did observe the wall where i insulated inside and then covered insulation with brick seems to be warmer during cold weather than other walls in the cellar area. Other walls, i insulated with 1/2" sheets and drywall but those areas, altho warmer than where no insulation at all, are cooler than where i lined with brick.
Tinker
