7 Well-Known Benefits of Insulating a Home’s Crawl Space

Even though it’s not always visible to us, insulation plays a significant role in improving the comfort and energy efficiency within residential environments.

On top of insulating areas above ground like the external walls, the attic, and the roof, you also have to consider the areas beneath your home. Insulating the crawl space, for example, is an important aspect of achieving proper insulation for the entire house.

Below, we share the top seven reasons why you should insulate your crawl space.

1. Energy Efficiency

Out of the many benefits of insulating a crawl space, reduced energy consumption stands out as the most popular reason why homeowners install insulation under their homes. Without insulation, the heat or chill from the outside can easily penetrate into your home’s living spaces, requiring your HVAC system to work more to keep the indoor temperature at your desired level.

Next to the attic, the crawl space is the most important part of your house to insulate since it tends to be infiltrated by drafts that can cause a significant loss of heated or cooled air inside your home. So, if you’re searching for an opportunity to save energy in your home, prioritize insulating your crawl space.

2. Better Air Quality

Many outdoor pollutants, such as dust, pollen, and vehicle fumes, enter your home through unsealed gaps and cracks on the building envelope.Air sealing, when done together with insulation, not only keeps your living spaces comfortable, but it also prevents your indoor air from being contaminated by impurities from the outdoors.

A well-insulated home offers better indoor air quality and prevents the ingress of particles and pollutants that can pose a health hazard to its occupants. Your crawl space can be especially prone to mold growth. With insulation, you reduce the formation of moisture and condensation under your home, thus also reducing the chances for mold to grow while keeping your indoor air nice and clean.

3. Sound Control

Insulating your crawl space with fibrous materials such as cellulose, fiberglass, and mineral wool can reduce both airborne and impact noises from entering or traveling around your home. Whether you don’t want to hear your loud neighbors or you want to block out any construction or traffic noises nearby, installing insulation is a guaranteed way to reduce permeating sound waves that can disrupt the peace and quiet within your household.

4. Pest Prevention

Attics, basements, and crawl spaces are common areas for pests to invade. If you’re not paying attention to the state of your crawl space, who knows what could be crawling in there and threatening the health of your family by carrying various diseases and leaving their excrement behind?

Many rodents and insects prefer narrow and humid spaces, especially one with lots of cracks for them to crawl into. This makes your crawl space a prime candidate for infestation. Insulation that’s properly and neatly installed, however, can help keep your home pest-free while reducing drafts and cold spots.

5. Improved Comfort

Temperature regulation serves the dual purpose of reducing your energy consumption and keeping your rooms cozy throughout the summer and winter months. The living spaces above your insulated crawl space can be the perfect place for your family to spend time together or for the guests to be entertained.

6. Longer-Lasting HVAC Systems

If you want to keep your HVAC system functioning for as long as possible, you definitely need to consider crawl space insulation. When an HVAC system needs to work harder to heat, cool, or ventilate a home with inadequate insulation, it can encounter problems much sooner than systems in well-insulated homes.

Heat transfer may not seem like much of a threat, but it’s definitely making your HVAC system put in more work to keep your house as cold or as warm as you want it. Have in mind that these systems are costly to install and replace, especially if it includes ductwork. Fortunately, there are a few simple ways for you to ensure that it’s kept in good condition, such as periodic inspections, regular maintenance and repair, , and of course, proper insulation around your home.

7. Helps Reduce Fire Spread and Damage

Mineral wool and fiberglass insulation are both naturally fire-resistant materials that slow down the spread of flames. They can even play a crucial part in stopping a fire from developing in the first place.

Mineral wool is especially ideal for thermal applications due to its fire-resistant qualities. Because non-organic components are used, such as recycled iron and steel byproducts, the material is non-combustible and has a very high melting temperature.

Other types of insulation that aren’t completely fireproof, such as cellulose, can still be treated with flame retardants that can help it withstand high temperatures. When installed in crawl spaces, attics, and external walls, you can have better peace of mind knowing your home is less prone to fires.

Takeaway

If you’re looking to make your home more energy efficient, safer, and more comfortable, crawl space insulation offers all that and more. And the best part is that once it’s installed, you reap all the benefits without additional work, making it a solid investment for any homeowner.

Why do you need insulation?

As time passes on and your home is faced with the weather changes that correspond to each season, you might see that there is also a change in your energy bill.  This change might not always be pleasant.

 

Therefore, it is important to have the proper insulation in your home or business so that the weather changes do not affect your lifestyle or your properties.  For instance, if in your place of residence there is no snow, there is little benefit to be achieved if your insulation is planned for heavy snowstorms.  

 

However, if your place of residence is an area with an abundance of rain or snow, it will be very important to have proper insulation just like when you live in a very hot area, it is important to properly insulate your home to prevent the cool indoor weather from escaping. 

 

What are the advantages?

 

For starters, let’s consider energy costs.  If you “just'' insulate your home without consideration as to the R value you need or the insulating material that you should use as well as dismiss the process of insulation installation that you should follow, you can still see a reduction in your energy bill.  Yet, if you follow proper procedure and you take the time to review and research what it is that you need, you will be able to see your energy bill go down up to a 50% or even more! 

 

This means, in layman’s terms, that the money and time you invest in doing proper insulation installation will reward you by paying itself! In an era of environmentally friendly homes, where we all seek to reduce our carbon footprint, it is important to start the process step by step.  And the first step is to properly insulate your home.

 

Additionally, insulation will make the indoor weather appliances more efficient and will expand their functional lifetime. The AC in the summer and the heater during the cold months of autumn and winter can work better if they do not have to compete with the outside weather sifting in through un-insulated walls or ceilings.

 

Not only that but proper insulation will also reduce noise contamination making your house a quiet and peaceful home where friends and family can enjoy life and love.

 

If you are part of the thousands of people who are turning to solar energy panels, insulation will also help you in this matter.  The energy and heat that is saved from sun cells can be used more efficiently if you insulate your home.  Furthermore, there is no need for you to compromise the benefits of green insulation for the use of something that is not environmentally friendly.

 

While it is a nice idea to be able to experience a nice and comfiortable indoor wether while the outdoor weather is less than comfortable, this cna only be achieved through proper weather insulation.

 

The amount of money that you will be able to save once your home is properly insulated depends on different factors:

 

• The amount of money you need every month to run indoor climate control appliances
• Alternative use for energy supply in your home.

 

The amount of money you need every month to run indoor climate control appliances refers to the cost in electric bills or gas consumption that you use to properly run them.  For instance, if you are prone to having an indoor climate that mimics the weather in tropics in the middle of winter just like Homer Simpson, then you will need to spend a lot of money.

 

If your house isn’t insulated, achieving this indoor temperature will cost you a high amount of money which will be reduced as you insulate your home.  Nonetheless, the possibility of reduction also allows you to aim for a higher indoor temperature.  If you do so, then the amount saved will be lower.

 

This is a common mistake amongst homeowners and house residents.  They believe that since there is going to be a money expenditure reduction, they can spend more and then find themselves disappointed when the end result is a smaller saving than what they expected.

 

When folks have to deal with a cold weather and then they insulate their homes, the resulting warmth invites them to do other stuff such as cooking and baking.  This can consume additional gas, thus reducing the amount saved by insulation.

 

Still, even with these considerations, there will be a reduction of money needed to pay for energy bills.  All of these are good results and consequently, good news.  

 

In order to achieve this, you will need to proceed with insulation, which in turn means to install it.  This also means that you will have to make an investment or pay money to have them installed.  In this area, you need to consider the following:

 

• Type of insulation you use.
• Size of your home
• Age of your home (how long has it been since it was built)
• Modifications, repairs that have to be done prior to insulation
• Removal of exhausted, old insulation
• Disposal of insulation related debris
• Preparation for insulation installation
• Expansion of the installation

 

The first thing that has to be cleared is the determination if your home (considering that it is not a newly built construction) has been insulated before.  If the previous insulation is still in place, what is its status, if it is still in working condition or if it needs to be replaced.  It might also be that it HAS to be replaced because of construction or EPA standards, as it happens with asbestos insulation.

 

If it was insulated and the insulation needs to be removed, you will also need to dispose of it.  Most insulations are prohibited to be thrown away in general trash, and they must be taken to proper disposing facilities. 

 

If your home is fairly new or it hasn’t been insulated before, then you can progress into the preparation part which includes determining what type of insulation you should use.  This is usually set by the area in which you are going to install the insulation.  While most insulation materials can work anywhere, there are contradictory guidelines as some experts consider that each area of the house has a particular insulation material and R value to be used.

 

The insulation materials can come in different presentations.  These presentations might be handy for some areas and a hindrance for others.  The determination will be done as soon as you decide which part of your home you will be insulating.  The same applies with the preparation part. 

 

It is a good idea to consider what is it that you need and then check the potential problems that are preventing you from achieving this.  For instance, if your goal is to save money during the cold months of autumn and winter, then you need to check the walls and the ceiling of your home for previous or non-existent insulation.

 

If needed, you should insulate both the ceiling and the exterior walls of your home.  It is true that hot air travels from hot areas to cold ones.  And it is true that hot air tends to rise and cold air lingers at bottom.  In a home with no insulation, hot air will travel to the outside where it is colder.  And it will rise to the ceiling and escape through the uninsulated area leaving the inside of the house cold.

 

Should I insulate ALL my house?

 

While it depends on what it is that you want to achieve, it might be a good idea to plan and consider insulating your entire house.  

 

However, it is an expensive and time consuming endeavor.  Even if you are hiring professionals to help you achieve this goal, it will be uncomfortable and a hassle, so it might work in your best interest to work your home in segments.

 

While exterior walls can be divided into rooms, the ceiling is a different matter.  This is the part of the house that can’t and should not be divided.  Insulation installation and removal should be done with consideration of the ceiling or attic as one single room.

 

Experienced and conservative insulation professionals advice that, in terms of insulation materials, there are different materials and qualities and in the overall scheme, they all work fine.  However, as a rule of thumb, good insulators will have a wool-like structure meaning that they will trap small pockets of air.

 

Additionally, they comment that any person who seeks to have a properly insulated home should not rely solely on the insulation itself but also in decorative elements such as heavy curtains from fabrics such as cotton, hemp and even plastic with fabric.  Indeed is common sense to wear heavy clothing during the cold weather and the opposite; light clothing during the hot weather.

 

Still it is with mentioning that while you insulate your entire home, it will always be a good idea and good measure to have proper garments. 

 

Think of your home as a box containing several smaller boxes that constitute the different rooms in your house.  Now, insulation will cover the outside of the big box so that the external weather does not affect the inside boxes nor the people inside them.

 

It is important to cover all the box on the outside.  If you fail to do that, something that is called “Thermal Bridges” can happen.  This is when you walk from one warm room to another warm room and there is a cold spot, usually in the corridor or in a middle room whose temperature is significantly lower than those warm rooms.

 

This usually happens when there are parts of the big box that haven’t been insulated adequately.  Thermal bridges are not only a problem because of the difference in temperature or the flow that they will imprint to the hot air; but because they are at a significantly lower temperature, they will clash with the hot air and create moisture.

 

Moisture becomes mold and mildew. Most homes have wall paper and modern day trends have also decorated walls with fabrics that have an underlying addition of styrofoam. 

 

Styrofoam as it is used in cushions and tapestries is prone to host mold and mildew.  These are problems when you have elderly people, children and humans with health conditions such as asthma.

 

This is another very important aspect of keeping your home properly insulated during weather changes.

PACIFIC INSULATION SUPPLY REACHES INDIANAPOLIS

Todd Bryson 

(424) 343-6530              FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

tbryson@pacificinsulationsupply.com

 

PACIFIC INSULATION SUPPLY REACHES INDIANAPOLIS

 

Pacific Insulation Supply Provides Insulation Products and Supplies for Homeowner and Contractors

 

Indianapolis, In.  July 31st, 2020.  Today Pacific Insulation Supply announced they would start services for Indianapolis’ residents and contractors.  Starting August 1st, Indianapolis residents and contractors can turn for all their insulation supplies need with prime quality products at very competitive prices. 

 

Since its origins in the middle of the continental United States, Pacific Insulation Supply has made a sound point of offering quality products and going that extra step by offering a delivery service; all this at very competitive prices.  They deal with only the best and most popular brands and products of the type.  Pacific Insulation Supply’s agents are well versed and so they provide valuable help and guidance to their clients, regardless if they are experienced or not. 

 

In the words of their CEO. “We aim to provide only the best in insulation products and supplies for the homeowner and the contractor.  There is no building that does not deserve the very best”. The company informs that they plan to continue the expansion of their service areas until they comfortably reach all the United States territory, both continental as well as overseas.  

 

With the coming cold season, now is the perfect time for homeowners to check on the condition and performance of the insulation that your home has.  It is a perfect time to change, correct or replace insulation and lower the energy and heating up bills. 

 

Since 2013 Pacific Insulation Supply has proven to be the best, and most affordable source for insulation supply sin the US continental territory. Their goal is to provide all homeowners and contractors with the best in the latest technology in insulation supplies,  at affordable prices.  

 

For more information or to contact Pacific Insulation Supply, contact them at (424) 343-6530, or visit them at their website: http://pacificmaterialsupply.com/

How to install Vapor Barriers on your Wall Insulation

Wall insulation is the second most important insulation to have in your home.  The wall area is the second most common and important leak for indoor weather and ambiance conditioning any household has.  As a result, it is the second most important energy bill leak for any family economy. 

Sadly, wall insulation still seems to be somewhat volunteer.  Not as frequently carried out as ceiling or basement insulation and, even though both ceiling and basement insulation are of high importance in the proper maintenance and sustaining of an adequate home, wall insulation is and should be placed high in the ranking of important things to do.

Unlike ceilings, there are definite installations in the walls that need to be properly isolated before setting up the insulation.  Most walls have electrical wiring, and a few of those will also have water and sewage installations.  These should be considered as well.

Besides, if your home has central heating or AC, the walls are some of the most common locations to place tubes and vents.  You also need to take these and windows into consideration. 

Before you start installing a Vapor Barrier

Every room has at least four walls.  On average, at least one of these walls will see to the outside of the house or will have a wall that is exposed to weather conditions.  These are the walls that should be insulated first. 

While insulation is not a complicated process, it can turn into a messy one depending on what type of finish you have in your walls, if you need to demolish it or just take it apart.  If you need to replace or remove existing insulation and vapor barriers, and so on.

In addition, you need to take the time to do it slowly.  Rushing into the process of insulating a wall can only cause problems in the long run, not only in terms of faulty insulation and escaping indoor weather but also in terms of energy bill expenses and potential short circuits and floodings.  Since electricity and water do not mix well, an electric shock is also a possibility.

Needless is to state that in those cases, flooding and short circuits, the cost to fix the problem usually ranges in the several hundred. If you factor in the problems that can arise from this such as fire hazards, electrical shocks, and harm to your health, then the potential damage is extraordinary and so is the amount it could cost to fix them.

So before you start, consider all these tidbits.  Then make a decision as to which wall will you be working on first.  Once that decision has been made:

• Remove all small decorations such as paintings, picture frames, and the like from the room.
• Move all the sizeable furniture pieces, the ones that can’t be easily transferred to another room on the opposite side of the wall where work will be carried out. 
• If there are carpets in the room and these are removable, remove them. or roll them up against the pile of furniture that will be located in the room. 

Determine if what you need to do is replace the insulation, add insulation to the existing one, or install insulation from scratch.  The process is the same, especially in homes where the layout of masonry has been done and even people are already living in it.

The process of installing a vapor barrier

The process is quite standard and, provided you do take the process slowly, it’s going to be easier than insulating your ceiling or the basement.

Installing the insulation is quite simple, you need to follow the same basic principles that you did for the ceiling: 

1. Prepare all you will need ahead of time. What tools, disposal receptacles, etc.
2. Trim pieces of the insulation material that will make it easy for you to handle and manage.
3. Remember to have handy the tuck tape and the poly film that you will be using for the vapor barrier.
4. Install the insulation in the hard-to-get-places first, then proceed to the ones that are easy to reach.
5. You might want to consider using a bit of the tuck tape to lay across the insulation to ensure that it will not fall off the wall.  This usually is not necessary since because the insulation is supposed to fit snuggly inside the allocated space.  However, the width might be off specs of an and that could cause the insulation material to slip off it’s assigned place.
6. Spread the poly sheet from one end to the other.  Do not try to set it up all in place at once but spread it and then start fixing it from one end and work towards the other end.   
7. Using a hammer stapler, and caulk fix the poly sheet to the wooden frame of the wall.  Work slowly and make sure that the poly sheet’s edge is firmly adhered to the wooden frame.  
8. Once that is done, it is time to use the tuck tape to cover the staples that have perforated the poly sheet.  It is important not to trim the tuck tape into small bits doing so will compromise its efficiency.  It is better to use the tuck tape in one single strip. Therefore, when you use the hammer stapler, try your best to set them all in a single line, do not zigzag.
9. Once this is all done, then you can refinish the wall and return the room to the way it was.

For wholesale Pricing on insulation. Call or text (424) 343-6530 . We can deliver direct to your site. Call Us Now (424)343-6530 or Message Us Now for bulk pricing.

or visit Wholesale Insulation Supplier Homewoner Guide

Insulating an unvented attic

Are you insulating an unvented attic?

Per Johns Manville.........

Proper Installation Proper installation occurs directly under a sloped roof deck over an unvented attic space where no soffit, eave, gable, or ridge vents are installed in the roof.1 Also, in an unvented attic, the eaves and roof deck are air-sealed, rather than the attic floor. Insulation is then installed up to the bottom of the roof deck. When securing the batts to the roof deck it is critical that the batts be held firmly up against the roof, with minimal compression of each batt and minimal gaps between batts.

For this application, the roof framing is typically truss construction, with 2x4 or 2x6 truss top chords. Unfaced fiberglass batts are required with 24” full width product to cover the framing member. Typical thicknesses and R-values for this application are: • R-30 – 10¼” • R-38 – 13” • R-49 – 13 1/2”

Benefits of JM Fiberglass Batt Installation for Unvented Attics

• No special training required • Familiar materials and installation practices • Fewer installation steps than other air permeable insulation options • QII installation easily achieved This time-tested method is currently used for underfloor and commercial roof insulation installations with the addition of a different spacing pattern for straps.

 

https://www.jm.com/content/dam/jm/global/en/building-insulation/Files/BI%20Toolbox/BID-359-High-Performance-Unvented-Attic-Install.pdf

Climate Pro Blow in Insulation Coverage Chart

B7600-ClimatePro-Cavity-Wall-Data-Sheet

Climate Pro Blow In Insulation

Adding Insulation to Existing Insulation in the Attic

The first and most important way for an indoor heat is to escape through the walls and ceiling.  The attic is probably the most important escape route for the heat or cool air in your home.  Most attics are insulated, but the state of the insulation, whether it remains effective, is anyone’s guess. Mainly because of just not knowing or the house is old.

As a result, many folks think there is no actual need to supervise or check the status of the attic insulation.  It will add new insulation to the existing one with no additional work, skill or change.

Insulation specialists that are Pro over-laying Insulation

For some insulation specialists there is no actual need to change or replace the existing insulation, it will suffice to add new insulation to the existing one in an attempt to increase the R value.

These insulation specialists consider that the already existing layout of insulation in your attic is perfect to guide you in setting up the new insulation so that there are no installation mistakes and you do not have to pay additional to either correct them or change them.

For them, you should seek for insulation that is complementary to the insulation that is already installed.  Their assumption is that, for insulation that has been in place for a long while, the R value will decrease but will not disappear.  So that any new insulation’s R value can easily be added to the existing considering that the existing’s R value will be at least 1/3 of the original R value.

Therefore, if the existing’s R value originally was of 3, then it will become 1 that can be added to a new R value of 9 so your total R value in terms of insulation will be of 10. 

Some homeowners and insulation specialists claim that this has worked adequately for them without incidents or damage to the structure of their homes.  Others claim that this is not only false but a serious hazard in terms of potential fires and structural damage, regardless of the lack of insulation and the constant financial leak that this comprehends.

This practice technically does save time and money as there is little room for mistakes as the already installed insulation, even if it is in a poor condition, it will serve as a guideline or installation map.  It is important to consider if this route is the best route for you, your needs and your home. 

The Cons of overlaying

The cons on this approach are both the natural and logical decay of the already installed insulation.  It should be noted that are times change and tech it could be that the materials and complements used in the insulation that was used in your home are not banned or forbidden for many reasons including being a hazard to your life and health.

There is a chance for the new insulation to become faulty and misbehave as the previous insulation continues to decay.  The fixture of the previous insulation can become unattached and cause both insulations to dislodge.  This could happen also with the fixture of the new insulation over the old one.

Therefore, in a worst-case scenario and without considering the evidently possible electrical and fire problems, you could end up having to pay for the entire process twice with an additional plus as the old insulation decays further or needs to be detached from the new one and removed.

If you so choose to follow this path, then the best way for you to do so is to approach your local or trusted insulation specialist and have him do a quick checkup so he can recommend the best course of action and the ideal insulation complement for the existing insulation in your home.

There are a few more tidbits to consider, but those will be enumerated at the end of the post as they are the same for both currents.

Proceeding with adding more insulation to an already insulated attic

Now that we’ve run through in gigantic leaps the benefits and disadvantages of adding new insulation to an existing insulation in your home’s attic, let’s start with a little more in-depth information.

The first thing to do is to decide how much more insulation would satisfy your needs and requirements.  This is not done by any other than checking the insulation in the attic itself.  The insulation should be level to the floor joists in the attic.  If you can easily differentiate it or you notice depressed or concave areas in the insulation inside the attic; then you need to add more insulation. 

One common mistake is believing that despite there are no concave places and that the floor joists aren’t easily noticeable in the attic, that there still will be a benefit from adding more insulation as to create hermetical chambers in your home.  This is not possible and in most cases it’s an expense that will yield no benefits. 

The insulation in your attic is enough if you:

• Can’t see the floor joists
• Check the state of the insulation around the rafter vents and the eaves
• The layout of the insulation should be leveled.

How much insulation is enough?

Insulation levels are graded for informational purposes as R values.  These numbers provide information as to the insulation materials ability to resist the heat flow. High numbers mean that the R value is high and therefore the materials ability is also high.

There are standards for attic insulation currently is for R-38 which means that the insulation is anywhere between 10-14 inches.  This will depend on the insulation type which is the material in which the insulation is manufactured.

Therefore, in additional to estimating the amount of insulation you will need in your attic, you should also consider the kind of insulation that you will be seeking to install. Mainly because there is no forced reason to have the exact same material, kind, shape, form or R value installed new on your attic when there is already insulation installed.  

This gives you a new freedom as there is no need to use the same fiberglass batts or blankets, for instance, you can select complementing insulation presentations.  For more information on this, just contact us. 

Some helpful Tips for overlaying existing insulation

Nonetheless, there are a couple of guidelines you should be aware of when planning and setting up the installation of additional insulation:  

• If you are planning on using loose fill or foam insulation, then it is important to make sure that the already existing insulation does NOT have backing, that would no paper nor foil backing.  It MUST be unfaced. 
• The new insulation must NOT be faced either.  

As a note, it might be a good idea to have a professional install these types of insulation as they are, by themselves a two-person job. 

Ok, so there is NO need to remove the old insulation, right?

It depends on a variety of factors.  If everything is perfect and there are no negative elements to consider, then there should be need to remove the existing insulation in order to add more. 

If you are planning to install additional insulation  over existing one to cut costs and maximize the benefit, then you could take this approach just making sure that, as we have said before, you make sure that there are no problems with either the attic, the services that are installed or run through it nor the insulation itself. 

To get a quote on wholesale insualtion contact www.pacificinsulationsupply Call or text (424) 343-6530 . We can deliver direct to your site. Call Us Now (424)343-6530 or Message Us Now for bulk pricing.