The pony wall sits on the concrete wall of the basement, but not all homes incorporate pony walls. The use of a pony wall depends on the depth below grade of the home. The homes location and topography will also dictate whether a pony wall is required.

A full basement will be concrete walls from floor to ceiling. If the ground is sloped around the home or if the basement is not full depth, then the concrete walls may not be full height, and a pony wall is necessary to add to the height of the basement.

Installing Insulation for Pony Walls

Step 1	Step 2
Step 3	Step 4

In some cases the stepped off wall in front of the concrete is extended all the way to the ceiling, creating an extra deep cavity in the upper portion of the wall. This cavity must be completely filled with insulation in order to avoid convection currents, which can significantly reduce the effective R-value of the wall. Code does not distinguish between pony wall and exterior wall, therefore it must be insulated to the same level as the exterior walls, but can also be insulated to a higher level than the exterior wall, due to the thicker concrete wall below.