Adding a foam insulation in your crawl space is essential in ensuring that no energy is lost when heating or cooling your home. When the crawl space lacks insulation, the cool air or the heat is lost via the floor. Before you insulate the crawl space, you need to examine your crawl space, here is a guide will find a guide well explained by First Defense Insulation.
There two significant types of crawl spaces, and these are: unventilated and ventilated. The type of the crawl space will determine the type of home insulation method you will use. An insulation contractor will determine the best solution for your home. On the other hand, the target is to ensure that the crawl space is a thermal envelope.
Ventilated crawl space
Ventilated crawl spaces are the best because they get rid of moisture from the crawlspace. When considering insulating a ventilated crawl space, you need to think of fiberglass. The fiberglass is installed under the subfloor. When installing the insulation, ensure that the material is well secured and cover it with a vapor cover. The vapor cover protects the insulating material from moisture. And you should also make certain that you have your loft as well insulated as is possible as this will save a great deal of heat loss. Just find a local loft insulation installer near you and get them to install the best that they have, and you can then enjoy much lower heating bills.
Non ventilated crawl space
When you have a crawl space that is not ventilated, you need to insulate the crawl space walls instead of the subfloor. This type of crawl space insulation uses less insulating material, and you do not have to protect the pipes and the ducts individually.
It is critical to ensure that you have a polyurethane vapor cover over the dirt floor to stop any vapor from the ground. To protect the vapor barrier from getting damaged, you need to add sand on top of the polyurethane. After the insulation process, you need to spray the crawl space with fungicides and anti-bacteria.
Benefits of an insulated crawl space
• Stops drafts
An insulated crawl space helps stop the draft from entering the house. You must ensure that you have covered the entire crawl space and caulk the areas between them. The enclosed joints can be sprayed with Low GWP Spray Foam insulation to cover the openings. Many homeowners have turned to spray insulation as the most effective way to insulate their home.
• Prevents heat loss
Experts in crawl space insulation advise that there will be no heat loss when the crawl space is insulated. The lack of heat loss ensures that the house stays warmer for long; on the other hand, an insulated crawl space does not mean that it warms the house by itself.
• Creates a vapor barrier
Wooden floors get affected by moisture. When you have insulation between the crawl space and the floor, you finally create a vapor barrier. The barrier stops vapor from soaking the wood, and this may cause the wood to warp.
• Stops pipes from freezing
During winter, the low temperatures make pipes freeze, which eventually will break the pipes when the water in them freezes and expands. When the underfloor is well insulated, the freezing weather will penetrate to the pipes. Most pipes are usually placed on the floor where it is primarily cold and rarely inspected.
• It is cheap
When you have an unheated basement, or you dwell above an unheated garage, it is cheaper to insulate the underfloor rather than insulating the entire area. An insulated underfloor ensures that contaminated air or exhaust does not find its way to the house.
• Perfect during summer
Hot air rises; with this concept, when you insulate the crawl space, you ensure that the hot air from the ground does not seep into your home during summer. The thermal space will control the heat in the crawl space.
Final thoughts
When you have a perfectly insulated crawl space, you get the best option to save on energy bills that rise from the heating and cooling of the home. The insulated crawl space ensures that you have a healthy environment by protecting you from contaminants. If you need any professional help with your home insulation, search on Google and type in “insulation near me” to find the closest insulation service in your area.
When you cover and insulate the crawl space, you get rid of rodents that live in the empty crawl spaces. The rodents carry diseases that affect humans.