INDICATORS OF A PROBLEM UNDER THE HOME

SAVING ON ENERGY BILLS

With the recent snow advisories and suddenly dropping temperatures, all of us are starting our winter preparations. Snow tires, salt for driveways and putting up window insulation kits. One of the most common complaints we receive from our customers calling in this time of year is about cold drafts coming in through their floorboards. 

"I'm not sure where it is coming from, but the floors in our bedroom are at least 5 degrees colder than the rest of the house." 

"If I close the vents will it help keep the floors warmer?" 

"My electric bill is outrageous!" 

During these inspections, our inspectors commonly find wet, sagging or missing under the floor insulation. When standard fiberglass insulation gets wet, As moisture collects in the crawlspace and within the fiberglass, it begins to sag and fall.  Once the insulation is no longer tight against the rafters, all of that winter area seeps directly from under the home and in through your floor boards. This renders the insulation pointless. This leads to cold drafts throughout the home, moisture and mold in the wood foundation, and high heating bills. Even with batting firmly in place, wood allows for a fair amount of heat transfer. (In this thermal bridging wood allows cold air to move through it). 

In order to avoid this, John's Waterproofing recommends and installs spray foam insulation. When applied to the floor boards and the rim joists, the spray foam insulation provides a vapor retarder and an air tight insulator that will also expand behind (and around) the small gaps of the wood framing and eliminate this thermal bridging. Fiberglass insulation does not stop airflow through it. Spray foam insulation does not allow for air movement and will not suck up the cold air from the crawlspace up into your floors. When applied to the rim joist, Spray foam provides an effective air barrier to prevent air leaks from seeping into your home and helps to better regulate home temperatures and efficiency. 

When spray foam insulation is added to our crawlspace encapsulation system, the homeowners are able to quickly see and feel the difference in their homes. Spray foam insulation results in lower utility bills, more regulated temperatures in the home, and it further protects from moisture entering your living space. This spray foam insulation does not need to e replaced like standard fiberglass insulation and also provides a great R-value (that is how they measure the insulating ability of spray foam).