Vented Crawl Space Insulation

Insulation is not something that is usually thought about among homeowners.

Vented crawl space insulation. They should provide a minimum of 1 square foot of vent area for every 500 square feet of crawl space area. Vented crawlspaces worked great until the invention of air conditioning. When this happens you may turn to crawl space insulation to fix the issue. Department of energy recommends r 11 3 insulation under floors in warm climates and an r 25 6 to 8 in cold climates.

Fiberglass insulation batts or rolls are the most economical and easiest diy choice for insulating between the floor joist in a crawl space. A crawl space is an unfinished accessible area below the ground floor of a building. Vented crawl spaces open to the outside while an unvented crawl spaces is part of the basement finished or unfinished. R 19 fiberglass insulation vented crawl space an r 19 fiberglass batt or roll insulation is the most traditional and cost effective way to insulate your floor.

In climate zone 4 most of tennessee and southern virginia the fiberglass batt should have a paper facing on one side that is installed facing the floor of the home. It is typically brought to the forefront by some sort of problem such as moisture or a draft in the house. Use foam sealant such as great stuff to seal the joints. During hot weather the vents would be left open to allow outside air to circulate in the crawl space which would theoretically cool the rest of the house.

Best insulation for vented crawl space can help turn them into energy efficient crawl spaces when combined with air sealing and moisture control. Most crawl spaces are vented as to prevent moisture issues which is why the majority of building codes require vents in the first place. Vented crawl spaces many times allow pipes to freeze more often. Use caulk or foam sealant to seal the joint between the top.

There should be vents on all crawl space walls. No amount of ventilation will solve the problem at this point. When a family cools their home to 72 during the summer and the air outside is 85 with a 80 relative humidity it creates condensation on the floor joist the insulation and the pipes and ducts. There are two types of crawl spaces.

Fill the ends of joist bays with rectangles cut from rigid board insulation. Crawl space insulation types depend on whether you have a ventilated or unventilated crawl space.