A clean crawl space helps keep your home free from dirt, dust, germs, and other infections. The rodents may get attracted to a damp area and hence cause various diseases that might result due to germ build-up in your crawl space. So, you can hire a professional insulation contractor to get your crawl space insulated and cleaned.
If you are looking for a reliable Los Angeles insulation contractor, then you can contact Attic Wizard. So, let us understand how a professional roofer insulates your crawl space efficiently.
Vented Crawl Space
- In a vented crawl space, you can use non-permeable material.
- If you are using fiberglass insulation, then you need to air-seal it; else it will get wet and contaminated by germs. In a vented crawl space, fiberglass batts also leak air. As a result, they retain moisture and pave the way to mold development in your crawl space, which can cause serious health issues later.
- Professional roofers use the closed-cell spray foam insulation that creates a thermal barrier when sprayed into the jost bays above your crawl space. However, spray foam can be very expensive.
- You can also use a 2-inch-thick extruded polystyrene (XPS) or foil-faced polyisocyanurate panels, which can be less expensive.
Closed Crawl Spaces
- In a closed crawl space, you should insulate the walls. You can use the same insulation options that you have used for a vented crawl space.
- Spray foam can be very beneficial if you use it to insulate the rim joists; whereas the panels can be effective and less expensive if you want to insulate the walls from the interior.
- Sometimes, professional use rigid foam to insulate the rim joists by cutting the panels into small pieces so that it fits tightly between the subfloor and the top of the foundation wall under it.
- The contractors cover the floor with a sealed layer thereby allowing a few inches of the sheeting to fold up onto the walls. This will help the insulation to get installed easily. You can also install the plastic after insulating the walls.
How to Insulate a Crawl Space with Concrete Walls
For a crawl space with concrete walls, you can glue the panels to the walls with a strong adhesive. Also, you can follow the below steps to insulate your crawl space.
- First, the professionals use a stiff brush to clean any dirt or debris from the concrete walls.
- Next, they apply a strong adhesive to the wall every six inches.
- Then, they cut the panel to height with a sharp knife. They cut it with a hand saw so that it reaches the top of the wall.
- Then the insulation is placed firmly against the wall and then applied onto the adhesive. They seal the gaps between the panels by applying expanding urethane foam.
Conclusion:
Crawl space is responsible for keeping your house warm in the winter season and cool in the summer season if insulated properly. However, sometimes it causes a lot of issues if the insulation fails to work properly.
Hence, you need to keep a close watch on the heating and cooling systems of your home to understand how they are working. If you notice a fluctuation in temperature then you can contact our professionals to inspect the crawl space insulation and get the issue resolved as soon as possible.
