Ultimate Guide to Spray Foam Crawl Space Insulation

Do you take the time to choose the insulation for your home? Or do you just accept any insulation without establishing whether or not it’s compatible with your home? Selecting the right insulation for your home holds as much importance as choosing your cabinets and flooring options. Here’s the ultimate guide to spray foam crawl space insulation. 

Why Should you use Spray Foam Crawl Space Insulation for Your Home?

Using spray foam insulation in your crawl space is highly beneficial. For instance, it’ll eradicate various factors that make the floor in your home cold. What’s more, you’ll make huge savings on your energy expenses. Insulating your crawl space using spray foam finishes the air seal, the final layer in your home that prevents heat flow. 

It’s important to get the right envelope for your home during the insulation process of your crawl space as it’s the one area where a high percentage of heat can be lost. What’s more, during the cold weather, an uninsulated crawl space can contribute to an extremely cold and uncomfortable floor.  

When is the Right Time to Insulate Your Crawl Space Walls?

If you are considering insulating the walls of your crawl space, you may want to know that numerous homes, especially in the US, are fitted with ductwork that surrounds the crawl space. If your home has ductwork, you can opt to use spray foam crawl space insulation. This will completely air seal your crawl space perimeter allowing the heat from your ducts to rise and heat the floor in your home when the furnace is running.

Insulating Your Crawl Space Ceiling

Is there any source of heat in your crawl space? If you don’t, you can use spray foam on your crawl space ceiling. By so doing, all the heat generated from your home will be saved in the crawl space ensuring that your floors remain warm during extremely cold temperatures. If you didn’t know, your crawl space is responsible for locking the air seal at the foundation of your home in place. 

When you decide to use spray foam crawl space insulation, you need to; spray the crawl space ceiling in cases where the heating is above the floor, and spray the crawl space walls if the heating is beneath the floor. No matter your option of choice, you’ll minimize air leakage. One thing you should know however is that by choosing the right option, you’ll make your home more comfortable to live in regardless of the weather conditions. 

Spray Foam and Fiberglass Insulation: Which is the Most Appropriate for Your Crawl Space?

If you can’t take cold floors anymore and you’re considering insulating your crawl space, you’ll have to analyze the numerous insulation types there are in the market today. Choosing the most appropriate type can be an arduous task especially if you don’t have professional guidance. But first, what’s fiberglass insulation?

Fiberglass insulation is made from plastic that’s toughened using superfine glass fibers. It’s this composition that enhances the strength of the plastic and improves its insulation capability. Fiberglass is a more conventional crawl space insulation type that you can find in attics, walls, and crawl space in homes built in the past. The popularly used fiberglass typer for the crawl space are batts and rolls or simply blankets. 

Both spray foam and fiberglass insulation can be used in the crawl space. One thing you should keep in mind is that your crawl space wall needs to be insulated using waterproof insulation capable of stopping internal air from encountering the cold surfaces in the basement area of your home. 

The reason why you should keep the internal air at bay is that it often contains excess moisture which can result in condensation, hence making your crawl space a breeding ground for mildew and mold. 

As a homeowner, you’ll do anything just to reduce your energy expenses. You can easily do so by installing new insulation or replacing your old ineffective one in your home. Some of the old homes have insufficient insulation unlike homes built recently. Insulating them will help you make major savings on your energy costs. Insulating the crawl space will help prevent cold floors as well and create a comfortable environment within your home.  

Pros of Spray Foam Crawl Space Insulation

Open-cell spray foam insulation can stretch up to 100 times from its original size to fill every cranny and nook hence barring any air movement. The main ingredients used in spray foam insulation are; organic chemical compounds and water-blown obtained from petroleum extracts. Here are the advantages of using this type of insulation.

• It’s rated fire class one and can be used in the crawl space and other open areas in your home
• It creates an air seal in your crawl space which in turn minimizes your energy bills on top of making your home comfortable to live in
• It’s eco-friendly
• It’s waterproof which means you don’t have to worry about mildew or mold infestation
• It’s not a food source which means that rodents and pests will not invade your crawl space.

Cons

• If you love to do it yourself projects spray foam insulation will be too complex for you to install. This means that you’ll have to hire a professional to execute the installation task which can be expensive.
• Some open-cell spray foam brands may have a certain odor after they’ve been applied. You’ll want to do your due diligence before choosing your preferred brand
• It’s more expensive compared to conventional crawl space insulation methods

Finally

There are various considerations you should make before finally choosing the ultimate insulation for your crawl space. The best thing is that you can seek guidance from a qualified crawl space expert. They’ll inspect your home and recommend the best insulation for your needs. There are numerous advantages of using the spray foam crawl space insulation with some of the common ones being; it expands and seals all the areas around your crawl space and hence helps you save on energy expenses. What’s more, it prevents moisture in the crawl space and prevents rodents, mold, and other contaminants from invading your home. For professional help to get the crawl space insulation service, contact Clean Attic & Crawl.