# Crawl space insulation



## dianak9938 (Mar 19, 2013)

We're buying a house 2100 sq foot. It was built in 1990 and the insulation in the crawl space has almost all fallen off. We need to just clean it all out and replace it. I know to get it blown in we would have to get someone with experience to do it. I know it's better but also more expensive. Is it worth the money? Or would there be a good roll of batting we can get to do it ourselves? I'm not sure what the price difference would be between the two or what a price for a good roll of insulation would be? Any tips would be appreciated, thanks!


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## Nailbags (Feb 1, 2012)

Hmm? Iknow you can hire a contractor to do it cheaper then you can buy it. R30 batts with the facing going up to the floor. Simpson strong tie makes a rod the you put in right under the bat to hold in place. Or do the twine to keep it in. Blow in for a crawl space never seen it done or heard of it being done.


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## HomeSealed (Jan 3, 2008)

I'm also wondering about the blown in option... Perhaps you are referring to spray foam?


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## dianak9938 (Mar 19, 2013)

Thank you.. I'm not sure the person we talked to referred to it as blown in insulation.. Is that only for attics?


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## Nailbags (Feb 1, 2012)

That is for attics. I have heard of bib blown in blanket I would be skeptical of doing that for a crawl space.


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## asinsulation (Apr 11, 2011)

you could net the crawlspace and pack it in like that if you wanted blow in, but not what most would probably recommend.


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## Gary in WA (Mar 11, 2009)

I doubt you want blown-in for any crawlspace, or dense-packed when you have optimum available (and DIY friendly), *fig. 7;* http://www.buildingscience.com/documents/insights/bsi-009-new-light-in-crawlspaces/

Spring wires cause the batts to be compressed at the wire and eventually sag between wires. Twine leaves a gap for air movement above unless the batts are too thick for the cavity height. Roxul may not settle as much as f.g. over time, IMHO. The facing goes down in a cooling climate (if needed at all), up in a heating climate= "warm in winter". All air-permeable cavity insulation can be degraded by air movement in a crawlspace, have you looked into "conditioned crawls"? 1. where are you located? 2. Is the HVAC down there, or ducting?

Gary


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## dianak9938 (Mar 19, 2013)

Thank you for the info! We are in Midwest Ohio.. There is nothing at all in the crawl space. Half of the insulation down there has fallen on the ground and the heating bill has only been $60 at most in the winter..


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## dianak9938 (Mar 19, 2013)

I'm sorry, I meant the spray in expanding foam..


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## asinsulation (Apr 11, 2011)

Spray foam is great in a crawlspace application, but if your heating bill is only $60, you either like to keep it cold in there, or you won't see a return on that investment for quite some time.


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## dianak9938 (Mar 19, 2013)

Well I don't know.. We are buying the house and I am going off the gas bill the sellers provided us with. They had a 2 year copy of their payments so not sure the factors in why it was that amount. I do know they were living there though


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## Dave Sal (Dec 20, 2012)

dianak9938 said:


> Well I don't know.. We are buying the house and I am going off the gas bill the sellers provided us with. They had a 2 year copy of their payments so not sure the factors in why it was that amount. I do know they were living there though


Sixty dollars for heating for the winter? Was this per month? I'm on the "budget plan" where my annual gas usage is averaged over 12 months and my bill was around $68 per month. Closing off any crawl space vents and insulating the rim joists will make your crawl space much warmer and dryer, assuming you have a concrete floor or have a dirt floor covered with plastic sheeting taped at the seams.


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## dianak9938 (Mar 19, 2013)

I'm not sure what a therm is, but it is realistic as I had seen a few other houses while house hunting that we're similar to this one and they had put on the listing an average heating bill around 50-70.


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## Frank Rizzo 951 (Apr 28, 2013)

i am taking on the same thing in my home (built in 1978). I was thinking of just cleaning all the old loose insulation from my crawlspace and replace with bats. I don't like all the loose insulation up there and I have heard the insulation from that time period was very dangerous due to the asbestos.


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