A Guide To Crawl Space
Insulation
by:
Jerry Blackburn
Crawl space insulation keeps your house
warmer in the winter time. Insulating under
the kitchen floor helps prevent cold feet in
the morning. An added benefit is a lower bill
for heating your home. The method and
materials used depends on the construction of
the space and if it is ventilated. Installing
insulation isn’t difficult. In most cases,
for a homeowner with a little knowledge, this
is a good DIY job. The typical space can be
insulated over a weekend.
Types of Crawl Space Insulation
Several materials can be used for
insulating your crawl space
http://www.soundproofing-tips.com/crawl-space-insulation.html
. Typical materials are fibreglass, wood
fibers, foams and paper fibers. Insulating
materials come in blanket form, in rigid
sheets or loose. The type you choose will
depend on whether you are insulating the
exterior walls or under the floor of your
home.
Regardless of the material used, the basic
concept is the same. The insulating materials
work like the blankets on your bed on a cold
night. The blankets trap air near the source
of heat and prevent the warm air from
escaping. Heat normally radiates out and away
from its source. Insulating materials prevent
this from happening.
Products are rated based on their
efficiency. More effective insulating
materials will be more expensive. The rating
is known as the R value, which stands for flow
resistance. The higher the rating, the more
energy efficient the product. You will
generally find this information on the
package. If it’s not there, ask the
salesperson.
Where to Install Crawl Space Insulation
There are generally two choices for
insulating a crawl space. You can either
insulate the exterior walls of the space or
the ceiling of the crawl space under the floor
of your home. A main consideration in deciding
is whether or not the space is ventilated. You
should only insulate the walls of an
unventilated crawl space.
In most cases, it’s better to insulate
the exterior walls. The typical material used
is fibreglass batt. This will need to be cut
to fit the wall from the top, all the way down
and extending onto the ground a few feet. You
may need to attach wood strips to the wall and
staple the insulation to the wood. Another
option is to nail into the wood at the top of
the wall and drape the insulation.
When you insulate the exterior walls, you
need to put a vapour barrier on the ground.
This will prevent moisture from seeping from
the ground into your crawl space. This
moisture can cause mildew to grow in the
space. The exterior walls should only be
insulated if the space remains dry all year.
There should be no ventilation to the outside
and any ventilation should be blocked.
If your crawl space is vented, you will
need to insulate under the floor. When you do
this, be sure to insulate any water pipes and
ducts in the space. If you don’t do this,
your pipes may freeze and burst in the winter.
Several materials can be used for this job.
You can use unfaced batts or fibreglass with a
foil vapour barrier if moisture is an issue.
Reflective materials are available and are
excellent for keeping the floor warm in the
winter.
Insulating the floor can also reduce the
noise level in your home. It acts as a
soundproofing material. This results in less
noise when the kids run across the carpet or
the tile floor.
When working with any type of materials,
safety is important. Always wear long sleeves
and pants, as fibreglass and other materials
are irritating to the skin. Wear gloves on
your hands. A dust mask and eye protection are
also needed.
