How To Insulate A Vented Crawl Space

Jul 25, 2018

If you have a home with a crawl space—or are building or buying one—you have several options on what to do with that particular foundation type. Most crawl spaces are vented to the outdoors, but over the past decade, encapsulating the crawl space (as shown below) has gained favor among builders of green and energy efficient homes. It’s often seen as the best way to eliminate the moisture problems that often result from vented crawl spaces. Hire best professionals when thinking about how to insulate a vented crawl space?

How To Insulate A Vented Crawl Space

Crawl space foundations are a popular feature in building construction throughout. They are a go-to for most households because they are cheaper than full basements but more functional than slab foundations. These spaces offer convenient locations for plumbing, electrical lines, and ductwork for heat and air conditioning systems.

Crawlspace creates a clean conditioned space under the home provides the following benefits:

  • Improves air quality throughout the home
  • Saves up to 18% in heating and cooling cost
  • Reduces mold and wood decay on floor joist
  • Reduces buckling of hardwood floors
  • Creates warmer floors in the winter
  • Reduces pest and termite pressure

When we sit down with homeowners that are looking to perform crawl space repair, many of them are frustrated by the different ideas and proposals being thrown at them via the internet and crawl space waterproofing companies. Homes up for sale will uncover crawl space problems during the home inspection process but even some home inspectors are unsure how to advise correcting crawl space issues. Even mortgage lenders and refinance companies are requiring crawl space inspections to ensure there are no hidden problems that can affect the value of the home.

How To Insulate A Vented Crawl Space

The most common crawl space we run across is a vented crawl space. A vented crawl space has been around the longest and is designed to allow air to pass from the inside to the outside of the crawl space through crawl space foundation vents. This design has been around for years and up until recently has been very effective.

Its design is to allow the crawl space to breathe.

. Vented crawl spaces typically use fiberglass batts for insulation.
. Vented crawl spaces typically contain a vapor barrier installed on the floor
. Vented crawl spaces many times will have crawl space foundation fans.
. Vented crawl spaces are more likely to have insects, rodents, mold and fungus.
. Vented crawl spaces humidity is most likely high in the summer and low in the winter.
. Vented crawl spaces lose more heat and air conditioning if ductwork is present in crawl space.
. Vented crawl spaces many times allow pipes to freeze more often.

Insulation is not something that is usually thought about among homeowners. It is typically brought to the forefront by some sort of problem such as moisture or a draft in the house. When this happens, you may turn to crawl space insulation to fix the issue.

Many people are opting for crawl space spray insulation as opposed to the standard fiberglass batts even though the spray insulation for the crawl space will be more costly. The most advantageous feature of the spray insulation is that it is sprayed allowing it to seal off the area completely so that moisture and air cannot cause you more problems. Get best professionals services when thinking on

How Effective is a Vented Crawl Space?

The biggest problem with moisture is that it can lead to rot, decay, and mold underneath your home and this is something you do not want. In addition to the health problems that mold causes, the fixes for a mold or foundation problem can get costly. Another problem which will be just as costly over time is that the air from the outside seeps into your home which means it costs more to heat your home in the winter and costs more to cool it in the summer.

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You may not notice these costs at first, but over the years they will certainly add up.Crawl space spray insulation is a polyurethane material that is sprayed right into the crawl space. The insulation attaches itself to the joists and blocks underneath your home. This seals off the area and helps to insulate your home.

Look here to know more in detail about Crawl Space Insulation Cost

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