I live in Minnesota (Twin Cities area), have a problem with a cold basement. Unfortunately, the heating system wasn’t zoned when the house was built (1988) and everything is finished now (including walk out basement) so that isn’t possible anymore. At one end of the finished basement, there is an opening (size of a small window) going out to a crawl space under the mudroom/laundry room (the only area where there isn’t full basement). See pics below. Cold air comes tumbling out of that opening.
Question – will I freeze the pipes (plumbing to the wash machine & laundry sink above) running through the crawl space if I stuff the opening with some fiberglass? The foundation of the crawl space (and the rest of the basement) is concrete block, with 2″ foil faced foam insulation stuck to the face (on the inside). The floor above is insulated with unfaced R-19 fiberglass bats. 6 mil poly over the dirt floor, taped at the foundation.
Finishing up project turning this area into playroom for my boys. Tired of the cold basement – this opening seems to be a big contributing factor.
Replies
Will they freeze? Maybe. Maybe not.
Are there vents in that crawl that have been left open?
Thought here in NW OH, would be to seal the vents, insulate the foundation (yours is) and take down the fibreglass from the joist area, while conditioning the crawl (often with just the warmth of uninsulated ductwork, perhaps introduce a vent to the crawl. Close off the scuttle hole (with hinged or removable panel.
You might experience a draft with even the vents sealed, because of some convection in through gaps/pipes openings, and out through that hole. Seal the gaps, should cut down on draft.
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Remodeling Contractor just outside the Glass City.
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There are no vents to the exterior in the crawl space.
Does the house have forced air HVAC? If so, aren't there ducts in those soffits I see in the ceiling?
Yes, forced air, and yes, there are ducts in the soffits. None going out to the crawl space, though. I don't particularly want to heat the space. I'm just curious whether anyone thinks it is likely to get cold enough in there to freeze a couple copper water lines if I insulate the opening and keep the insulation underneath the floor above.
>>I don't particularly want to heat the space. I'm just curious whether anyone thinks it is likely to get cold enough in there to freeze a couple copper water lines if I insulate the opening and keep the insulation underneath the floor above.Yes it is likely. (Well, yes, maybe it's likely.Condition the space - it'll make the floor warmer, stop the cold, and you won't notice a change in your heating bill.
What made the teaching of Jesus different and apparently so hard to accept then as now, was that it required a critical reassessment of the structures and values and attitudes of human society as his listeners and followers shared in it.
- Monika K. Hellwig
from Jesus: The Compassion of God (The Liturgical Press, 1983)