Crawl Space Insulation
Cold floors, a damp smell, and pipes that freeze in a bad snap almost always trace back to the crawl space.
What is going on down there
A vented crawl space is, in a Maine February, an outdoor space directly underneath your living room. Cold air comes through the vents, moves through whatever batt insulation is stapled between the joists, and takes the heat out of your floor.
Worse, that air carries moisture. Fiberglass holds it. Over enough winters the batts sag away from the subfloor, go black, and end up on the ground - which is where we usually find them.
What we do
We use closed-cell here, near enough always. It is the one that blocks moisture as well as heat, and a crawl space is the single dampest place we work.
Depending on the house that means spraying the underside of the floor between the joists, or sealing the foundation walls and rim joists and bringing the crawl space inside the heated envelope. We will tell you which after we have been under there.
Rim joists are the leakiest few inches in most Maine houses. They are also the easiest thing to seal and the fastest improvement you will feel. Even if you do nothing else down there, do the rim joists.
Frozen pipes
If pipes in your crawl space freeze in a cold snap, insulating the pipe is treating the symptom. Sealing the space so it stops being outdoor air is the fix.
Get a Real Number for Your Job
(207) 452-2930Call and talk to us. If you would rather write it down, use the form and we will call you back. Mon-Fri 7am-5pm.