I have a dirt crawlspace that is covered with heavy gauge plastic and the floor above it is insulated with fiberglass, probably R20. There are two window vents that I block off in the winter to prevent cold air from blowing in.
The wood flooring above in the heated space has gaps that grow wide between the boards in the dry winter. There is an actual breeze of cold air coming up through these gaps that must be making my furnace work unnecessarily hard.
What should I do to stop the breeze and get my heating bill under control?
Thanks
Replies
Seal the underside of the floor system. This can be accomplished by replacing the FG with foam, or carefully sealing with, maybe, Tyvek stapled to the bottoms of the joists. What might be better is to insulate the perimeter of the crawlspace and heat it.
Mike Hennessy
Pittsburgh, PA
Thanks for the response. Issue is that much of the joist system is complicated with pipes and wires running across them. You suggest taking out the fiberglass and then putting that pink rigid foam in? Should the fiberglass then be re-installed behind the foam?
Not sure the tyvek thing would work with all the pipes and wires.
I'm suggesting taking out the FG and having foam blown in place by an insulation contractor. The pipes and wires don't matter then. Or else option #2 (insulate and condition the crawl space), which is what I'd probably do.
Mike HennessyPittsburgh, PA
Where are you located, how old is the house, what style is it? Are there heating supply or return ducts in the crawl.
Are you saying gaps open in the flooring itself,l between the floor boards? Is there a subfloor?
Have you pulled back any of the infloor system insulation to see if there is evidence of condensation? E.g., mildew, mold?
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The house is located in Plymouth Mass. It is a 30 year old renovated cape type design. The heat is hot water and no ducts run through the crawl space. There is a subfloor but it may not be uniform across the whole floor. I don't think there is any moisture build under the insulation.
There are plenty of "sealed Crawlspace contractors" around these days who will gladly enclose the perimeter of your foundation and tape it down to the floor poly. I seem to recall seeing a very well written essay on the topic in the on-line part of the FHB website a few weeks ago. This is definitely something you can do your self and it will allow you to leave the fiberglass insulation between the joists and hold more of the lost heat from your furnace and ductwork under the house.
I'd go ahead and seal up all your duct work and HVAC cabinet with duct mastic while your down there.
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Thanks for the response. I don't have any ductwork down there as heat is hot water.