I have a crawl space that needs foamboard between joists.. can I just put the whole 4x8 sheet up and call it a day? I know it won't be As efficient but it's gotta make a big difference
Would it be good to also insulate the crawl space floor? Heat doesn't only travel up - the heat expands (is that the right way to say it?) in all directions, flowing to wherever it is coldest, (so air molecules can find equal density-and-pressure?). Therefore heat will go down into the earth thru the concrete. Would you just lay down EPS or would you use that Silverboard or something similar? Would you install a plastic sheet vapor barrier? (The floors are 2' below grade. Climate zone 5. Frost line 3.5 or 4'.)
i still cant understand the seven air conditioning units although the focus of this was insulating! And here we are over here in the Pacific Northwest paying to heat the house, goes both ways
I just had my crawl space encapsulated, its a large one 1200 square feet. they cut the plastic around the wood supports and there is 6-8 inches of dirt floor exposed at those points, should I be concerned?
My crawl basement is the same like your video. I just insulted the duck works, my concrete walls are exposed, I like your idea of putting the boards and sealing the exposed area.
my house is on pier and beam , interior wood floors. It is super cold in winter, which gets down to 10 degrees. Difficult to keep rooms warm. Ground under house is just dirt. Foam is not an option. We do have skunk and racoons going under house. What insulation do you recommend, and how to critter proof it?
My thought would be - now that the crawl space has been moreless encapsulated (insulated) - leave the ducts the way they are. It will help condition the crawl space.
my basement and crawl space is very similar to this one, but this video is very confusing. the current crawlspace vent leads to my garage (basically outside) and I'm not convinced I should block it off. I suppose I could create a vent in the crawlspace wall that connects to the basement, then block off the vent to the garage?--Would it be advisable than to supply the crawlspace with conditioned air? my crawlspace currently isn't sealed and has a gravel floor, for now though.
Thanks for sharing. Some of the benefits of fiber glass insulation is its properties of being noncombustible, noncorrosive, nonabsorbent and unsupportive of mold growth. It meets all model building codes for noncombustibility, needs no fire-retardent chemicals which can promote corrosion to pipes and the glass in fibers resisits mositure build-up. Inorganic glass fibers do not mold, rot or decay. They also do not support an enviornment for vermin.
Crawl spaces are outside of the heated space. Insulating the duct work would have been the appropriate thing to do. Building code requires those foundation vents to prevent moisture from building up in the crawl space. Now that you have insulated the concrete walls, the concrete surface will stay really cold. So, with the vent plugged, there will be no fresh air... and cold walls... => Come back in five years and check out the mold behind that insulation. It will be a jungle in there.
Newer research shows sealing shuts down humidity over 70% so low moisture = no mold. For the wetness behind the insulation. Insulation is sealed on top with caulk or expanding spray foam...in the middle is air sealed with FSK tape. I have had to rip down several entire sealed crawl's insulation after 5-8 years because the 2 ply poly (white on one side black on the other) started to smell like cat pee. I had to rip down several of these that year. I never once saw signs of mold. To account for mold behind the rigid board insulation ... as long as the contractor raises the plastic to the top of the insulation THEN SEAL IT...the moisture/or mold (if any) behind the plastic will be sealed in and would not be able to get in front of the plastic. Make sure your sealed crawl contractors put plastic to the top of their insulation. www.SealedSolution.com
True ... but I have taken down closed cell foam AND rigid board foam and found bad mold behind these. I took them down because the sealing contractor within 4 years used a two ply reinforced poly ... black on one side white on another... many of these for some reason ended up giving off a cat pea smell...a strong one. So I learned that block walls will seep water vapor and taking the plastic up to 3 inches from the top of the block wall (per NC code) and sealing the Rigid board and plastic with expanding spray foam or mastic type product on top ... keeps this unstoppable mold buildup behind the plastic and insulation. This happened in ALL the homes I had to take down the insulation to get to the smelly cat pea poly and replace it.
+Matt Garrett interesting. a bit unrelated but my main supply duct contains a black insulating liner. i ripped out this liner from half of this duct work (what I could reach), because it smelled exactly like cat piss. and wasn't preventing condensation worth a darn anyway.
icawn...Bad thing is that the... that black stuff is insulation and its ripped which allows it to be cast into your duct work throughout your home. I've never repaired something like that. Don't blame ya though for ripping it out! www.SealedSolution.com
I live in the South, where termites are a large concern for any homeowner. How do the inspections get done with no visible access to the sill plates and the top 3-6" of the wall to check for signs of termites? I know there are systems that will, in effect, provide a "barrier" to termite access, but even with those, periodic inspections of the wood in the house is necessary.
Why would moisture build up when the vent is sealed if there is no moisture problem to start with .I have insulated ducts and insulation under the floor of my house and house is still chilly .Basement side of house is fine and also floors are insulated there .My house is made of 2x6 studs and built in 2004 .Sealing those vents in my crawl space side has helped somewhat .When you finish a basement is that not the same . Studs insulation and wall board and I see houses here in VA that do not heat or cool there basements and I have not seen mold .So what are you talking about joe .That house there has a cement slab floor .So basically a short basement
Moisture does come out from behind rigid board insulation ... take a paper towel on a humid day and wipe the bottom of your insulation and your paper towel gets pretty wet. That's for installers who don't bring the plastic to the top of their insulation. The walls do sweat ... but the water comes in and the air circulation evaporates it and handles it...but considerable moisture does stay behind the plastic dewed in from the concrete foundation wall. On the avg crawl that's 2.5 additional feet on a 2000 sf home that's 500 more sf of plastic at $40 cost. If its new construction a job here pays $350 for major builders...that's 15% of the profit gone. I do it...but no other contractor around me does. www.SealedSolution.com
The big picture is that the owner spent a ton of money conditioning an unconditioned crawl space and didnt address the space where the conditioned space above meets the crawl space above. I'm sure they had cold floors. Who cares about insulating the concrete walls!
The vent you sealed, was that a vent to the outside?
What if the crawl space access door is too small for the foam boards? What's the next best insulation material for crawl space with small doors?
I have a crawl space that needs foamboard between joists.. can I just put the whole 4x8 sheet up and call it a day? I know it won't be As efficient but it's gotta make a big difference
Would it be good to also insulate the crawl space floor? Heat doesn't only travel up - the heat expands (is that the right way to say it?) in all directions, flowing to wherever it is coldest, (so air molecules can find equal density-and-pressure?). Therefore heat will go down into the earth thru the concrete.
Would you just lay down EPS or would you use that Silverboard or something similar?
Would you install a plastic sheet vapor barrier?
(The floors are 2' below grade. Climate zone 5. Frost line 3.5 or 4'.)
i still cant understand the seven air conditioning units although the focus of this was insulating! And here we are over here in the Pacific Northwest paying to heat the house, goes both ways
I just had my crawl space encapsulated, its a large one 1200 square feet. they cut the plastic around the wood supports and there is 6-8 inches of dirt floor exposed at those points, should I be concerned?
My crawl basement is the same like your video. I just insulted the duck works, my concrete walls are exposed, I like your idea of putting the boards and sealing the exposed area.
my house is on pier and beam , interior wood floors. It is super cold in winter, which gets down to 10 degrees. Difficult to keep rooms warm. Ground under house is just dirt. Foam is not an option. We do have skunk and racoons going under house. What insulation do you recommend, and how to critter proof it?
My thought would be - now that the crawl space has been moreless encapsulated (insulated) - leave the ducts the way they are. It will help condition the crawl space.
my basement and crawl space is very similar to this one, but this video is very confusing. the current crawlspace vent leads to my garage (basically outside) and I'm not convinced I should block it off. I suppose I could create a vent in the crawlspace wall that connects to the basement, then block off the vent to the garage?--Would it be advisable than to supply the crawlspace with conditioned air? my crawlspace currently isn't sealed and has a gravel floor, for now though.
Thanks for sharing. Some of the benefits of fiber glass insulation is its properties of being noncombustible, noncorrosive, nonabsorbent and unsupportive of mold growth. It meets all model building codes for noncombustibility, needs no fire-retardent chemicals which can promote corrosion to pipes and the glass in fibers resisits mositure build-up. Inorganic glass fibers do not mold, rot or decay. They also do not support an enviornment for vermin.
ua-cam.com/video/Ft2ZPMRafq0/v-deo.html
Crawl spaces are outside of the heated space. Insulating the duct work would have been the appropriate thing to do. Building code requires those foundation vents to prevent moisture from building up in the crawl space. Now that you have insulated the concrete walls, the concrete surface will stay really cold. So, with the vent plugged, there will be no fresh air... and cold walls... => Come back in five years and check out the mold behind that insulation. It will be a jungle in there.
Newer research shows sealing shuts down humidity over 70% so low moisture = no mold. For the wetness behind the insulation. Insulation is sealed on top with caulk or expanding spray foam...in the middle is air sealed with FSK tape. I have had to rip down several entire sealed crawl's insulation after 5-8 years because the 2 ply poly (white on one side black on the other) started to smell like cat pee. I had to rip down several of these that year. I never once saw signs of mold.
To account for mold behind the rigid board insulation ... as long as the contractor raises the plastic to the top of the insulation THEN SEAL IT...the moisture/or mold (if any) behind the plastic will be sealed in and would not be able to get in front of the plastic. Make sure your sealed crawl contractors put plastic to the top of their insulation. www.SealedSolution.com
True ... but I have taken down closed cell foam AND rigid board foam and found bad mold behind these. I took them down because the sealing contractor within 4 years used a two ply reinforced poly ... black on one side white on another... many of these for some reason ended up giving off a cat pea smell...a strong one. So I learned that block walls will seep water vapor and taking the plastic up to 3 inches from the top of the block wall (per NC code) and sealing the Rigid board and plastic with expanding spray foam or mastic type product on top ... keeps this unstoppable mold buildup behind the plastic and insulation. This happened in ALL the homes I had to take down the insulation to get to the smelly cat pea poly and replace it.
+Matt Garrett interesting. a bit unrelated but my main supply duct contains a black insulating liner. i ripped out this liner from half of this duct work (what I could reach), because it smelled exactly like cat piss. and wasn't preventing condensation worth a darn anyway.
icawn...Bad thing is that the... that black stuff is insulation and its ripped which allows it to be cast into your duct work throughout your home. I've never repaired something like that. Don't blame ya though for ripping it out! www.SealedSolution.com
Not all crawls leak for 1 for 2 if they do you install a vapor barrier n keep the moisture out
also wondering why this vid did not show any focus on the insulating the area betwen the floor joist's, i'm sure it was a consideration however
What's it take to get you guys to come to Nebraska an do a job?
Why not wrap the ductwork too? Seems like the thing to do while you are right there working.
I live in the South, where termites are a large concern for any homeowner. How do the inspections get done with no visible access to the sill plates and the top 3-6" of the wall to check for signs of termites?
I know there are systems that will, in effect, provide a "barrier" to termite access, but even with those, periodic inspections of the wood in the house is necessary.
Exactly! They should not have insulated the top 3" of foundation wall below the sill plate, to allow for termite tunnel inspection.
are those foam boards fire retardant ? do not you need to cover any foam boards with fire retardant materials ? just wondering
Larry are you doing a show about subsistence living in Alaska now?
never seen anyone with that many heat pumps
what is the big picture ?
um I'm in a really old farm house and there's a lot of crawl space and vents... so I should probably insulate it
7 air conditioning units!!!???? What!?!?? How big is that house?
Why would moisture build up when the vent is sealed if there is no moisture problem to start with .I have insulated ducts and insulation under the floor of my house and house is still chilly .Basement side of house is fine and also floors are insulated there .My house is made of 2x6 studs and built in 2004 .Sealing those vents in my crawl space side has helped somewhat .When you finish a basement is that not the same . Studs insulation and wall board and I see houses here in VA that do not heat or cool there basements and I have not seen mold .So what are you talking about joe .That house there has a cement slab floor .So basically a short basement
Moisture does come out from behind rigid board insulation ... take a paper towel on a humid day and wipe the bottom of your insulation and your paper towel gets pretty wet. That's for installers who don't bring the plastic to the top of their insulation. The walls do sweat ... but the water comes in and the air circulation evaporates it and handles it...but considerable moisture does stay behind the plastic dewed in from the concrete foundation wall. On the avg crawl that's 2.5 additional feet on a 2000 sf home that's 500 more sf of plastic at $40 cost. If its new construction a job here pays $350 for major builders...that's 15% of the profit gone. I do it...but no other contractor around me does. www.SealedSolution.com
They went about this project in a way that I would not go. He missed the big picture. Sorry Dr.
Get the crawl space sealed before the humid days of summer turn it into a moldy, rotten mess. buff.ly/1ykpyw2
The big picture is that the owner spent a ton of money conditioning an unconditioned crawl space and didnt address the space where the conditioned space above meets the crawl space above. I'm sure they had cold floors. Who cares about insulating the concrete walls!