Insulating The Floor Crawl Space

Crawl space insulation basics.

Insulating the floor crawl space.

Cut pieces of insulation just large enough to fit along the rim joist the framing material into which all the floor joists are nailed. Unless there are excessive moisture problems in the crawl space use unfaced fiberglass batts to insulate the walls. Where winter temperatures are extreme opt for insulating the walls and sealing off the crawl space entirely. A crawl space is an unfinished accessible area below the ground floor of a building.

In moderate or dry climates without the threat of sustained subfreezing temperatures insulation between floor joists makes sense. The crawl space is actually dirt floor. Crawl space insulation as a part of overall home air sealing and insulation helps maintain your entire home s energy efficiency without insulation heat and cool air are easily lost through the floor. Be sure to.

Sometimes the crawl space is insulated from the above space and left cool and sometimes they are heated or cooled as part of the home but in either case there should always be insulation separating your interior space from the outdoors or you will have a lot of energy loss which you will pay for. While this method does work in the very short term moisture eventually builds in the crawl space and grows on this highly porous surface. In those days common building practice was to insulate the floor above the crawl space and to leave the crawl space s wall vents open so any moisture buildup would vent to the outside a. That s especially true when heating ducts or pipes pass through the space.

The sill plate is the first piece of framing lumber and it runs on top of the crawl space wall. To take the chill out of a crawl space it s usually best to insulate the exterior masonry walls rather than the underside of the floor above. Stapling fiberglass batts between joists to the underside of your home s floor presents a number of problems. Proper insulation can help protect your living space from outside temperature changes and cold or hot air moving in through the bottom of a house.