Any tips on insulating a crawl space?Its a fairly large area so..?
Question:Also...which type of insulation should i use?
Answers:
Fiberglass insulation, either in rolls or batts. The rolls are one continuous piece, batts are pre-cut to 4' or 8' pieces. Thickness will depend upon your climate and how much insulation you want. R11 should be fine in southern regions, R30 for the north. You can use more or less depending upon how much you want to spend, but keep in mind your time and labor will be the same for either thickness.
The insulation should have a vapor barrier on it ("kraft faced"). The vapor barrier must be installed up against the subfloor. The vapor barrier always goes against the heated area.
You can hold the insulation up with insulation supports. These are stiff wires that are cut to fit between the floor joists. They look like coat hanger wire, but they are tempered to make them stiff.
There are other ways to hold the insulation up, but stapling is usually not an option as the paper must go up. It is nearly impossible to get to the paper to staple without tearing up the insulation.
Your crawlspace should already have plastic sheeting on the ground. It may be covered with a thin layer of gravel. If it is missing, you will need to add that as well.
If you can get in there use R-13 insulation with the paper backing It has excess paper you can staple up to the joist. that is the long strips of cotton candy stuff. I am assuming it's under a house. Then cover it up with plastic sheeting. Where two sheets of plastic meet, use tape (tuck tape). Finally to keep pest, squirrels, cats, from crawling under, and digging into the insulation, put moth balls under the house (no joke).
you can use reg. pink insulation, their are thin steal rods that hold them up in place, Place a vapor barrier down,get a roll of plastic, lay down throughout crawl space. Leave appr, one to two feet uncoverd, around foundation, this will keep floor joist and flooring dry, you should also have temp, vents. they will open in summer and close in winter.Hope this was helpful.
r-19 fiber glass batts is the best for most climates. place insulation between floor joist paper toward living space. make sure batts are snug side to side and touching floor deck. do not compress insulation . use wire insulation supports every 2 ft. to hold in place.
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