House was built in the 1950s and the basement was already finished when I moved in. When I replaced the windows a couple of years ago we looked between the drywall and foundation and it was insulation majorly degraded. Now that I have a little more $$ I want to try to insulate the basement.

Tore down a hole in the wall and the basement is framed with 2x2s and not 2x4s. How do I even go about fixing this? Afraid that when I tare down the studs it will be supporting something important upstairs. Only doing the outer walls in the basement for insulation purposes.

Yes, I am a newbie at this stuff. I already called a few companies but skilled tradespeople in my area are few so they are always busy. Have been waiting a month for a couple to even swing by to take a look and one has been by but hasn't gotten back to me with a quote in over a month. So instead of waiting in limbo forever figured I would try tackling some of it myself.

Any suggestions/tips? I was briefly a construction laborer in college but we did new construction. I know the basics of how to frame a new wall, I just don't know how to replace an existing structure. I've been searching youtube but all I can find is new construction... not how to replace the old. Or am I just overthinking it? Tear out the old and put up the new.