Crawl spaces are often easily forgotten about and even avoided as they can be dirty, cramped, and even full of bugs and other critters. However, when it comes to your building or home insulation, crawlspace insulation is essential. At KC Spray Foam & Coatings, LLC, our expert commercial and house insulation technicians understand how essential proper crawlspace insulation is in keeping your home or building efficient and comfortable. We are proud to provide our customers with quality crawlspace spray foam insulation services.
The Importance of Crawl Space Insulation
Adding proper crawl space insulation is one of the most effective ways to improve your home or commercial building’s energy efficiency. A poorly insulated or uninsulated crawl space will allow cold air in the winter and warm, humid air in the summer to enter your home or building, forcing your HVAC system to work harder, costing you more in utility bills. Installing spray foam insulation to your crawl space is one of the best places to add spray foam and will yield the most noticeable, instant results.
In addition, adding crawl space insulation will help prevent moisture from being drawn up into your home or building, reducing the chances of mold, mildew, or fungi growth.
Why Use Spray Foam Insulation in a Crawl Space?
Crawl spaces have historically been difficult to insulate until spray foam insulation came along. The traditional thought has been to insulate the floor of a crawl space with fiberglass insulation and then to vent the crawl space area. The idea was to give moisture, mold, and radon a way to vent out. However, using this method allows moisture to enter the house through fiberglass insulation and creates a perfect environment for mold growth.
Building science and years of testing has now taught us differently. The best crawl space insulation practice is to insulate the exterior walls of the crawl space and to install a 6 mil vapor barrier plastic on the floor, sealing the edges, and overlap with spray foam insulation. This is what is called a conditioned crawl space, essentially turning into a conditioned space.