Top 5 Ways to Insulate Your Crawl Space
A Guide on How to Insulate Your Crawl Space Affordably and Efficiently
This is how cold air can enter a crawl space and affect your home's temperature.
Crawl space foundations create additional storage while keeping your home off of the ground. Whether you live in a humid environment or experience average rainfall, this is useful in allowing proper airflow and preventing moisture build-up. However, if your crawl space is not properly sealed, encapsulated, or ventilated chances are high that your empty crawl space will become an uncontrolled, damp environment.
Mold and fungi love damp, dark crawl spaces. Once they start growing, mold and mildew spores creep through floorboards and enter ventilation or HVAC systems, allowing harmful allergens into your home. Inadequate crawl space insulation reduces indoor air quality and home energy efficiency, which can go unnoticed by many homeowners.
How to Properly Insulate Your Crawl Space To Improve Energy Efficiency
Here are five ways to control your crawl space environment:
- Eliminate the source of water with a crawl space drainage system. There are many ways to drain your crawl space and keep it dry including installing a SmartPipe System, a crawl space sump pump, and drainage matting for dirt floor crawl spaces.
- Insulate the walls of the crawl space as well as the ceiling for maximum climate control. Basement Systems, Inc. offers a variety of patented wall insulation products including SilverGlo, a 2” thick insulation with a radiant barrier and an R-value of 11. Pairing SilverGlo with our TerraBlock™ padded floor insulation will keep out all outdoor air so your crawl space can stay warm in the winter and cool in the summer.
- Only use mold-resistant, waterproof insulation such as rigid foam insulation, spray foam insulation, and cellulose instead of fiberglass.
- Seal all vents and openings in your crawl space. This prevents outdoor air from getting in and helps keep indoor air quality healthy. Additionally, you should make sure all rim joists and sills are sealed using a foam sealant.
- Install a vapor/moisture barrier (part of a full crawl space waterproofing system) to keep your basement dry and worry-free. The CleanSpace Crawl Space Vapor Barrier System will prevent your crawl space from flooding, control mold, and rot, seal away any odors, add additional storage space, and most importantly it will help prevent any unwanted drafts from entering your living space above.
Dr. Energy Saver Can Fix Any Crawl Space
A crew member installs a piece of rigid foam insulation in a crawl space.
No matter what kind of crawl space you have, insulating and sealing it will only help improve the comfort and efficiency of your entire home. A crawl space is meant to be a dry, usable space that adds value to your home, not a space for mold, mildew, and pests to live and create havoc.
These crawl space waterproofing and insulation solutions will save you time, money, and a lot of future hassle. DIY crawl space encapsulations are timely and hard to do alone. A professional crew can do it in a fraction of the time and give you the peace of mind that the job is done right the first time. Let your local Dr. Energy Saver dealer show you just how much a dry, insulated crawl space can benefit you this winter.
