Insulation, Radiant and Vapor Barriers - Crawl Space Question

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chaccof
11-07-06, 05:28 PM
I hope this is the right place for this -

I have a 36 x 34 foot unheated crawl space below my home. Total height is approximately 40 inches. There is a plastic barrier on the ground that has been in place since the home was built 15 years ago. I have recently discovered some small, isolated areas of mold on the framing. I've had a couple of companies come in to give me estimates on "drying out" the crawl space. Estimates range from $500 to replace the exiting barrier on the ground and "unstick" my vents to $4600 to use a 10 mil barrier on the ground with a 6 mil barrier on the side walls, overlapped 12 to 20 inches with a dehumidifier. I'm completely confused - any thoughts?

Thanks,

Chacco F
Richmond, VA

Ed Imeduc
11-07-06, 05:36 PM
Yes you want the 6 mil poly on the ground . Over lap it 2 ft and tape all seams. 2" to 3 " insulation on the walls up to the joist. A R19 block in each joist space on the sill plate all around the home
If you dount have duct there you can use a dehumidifier.

Go read http://aboutsavingheat.com/crawlspace.html

http://www.advancedenergy.org/buildings/knowledge_library/crawl_spaces/

http://www.eere.energy.gov/buildings/info/documents/pdfs/29238.pdf

This is for sure a DIY job
chaccof
11-07-06, 05:42 PM
Yes you want the 6 mil poly on the ground . Over lap it 2 ft and tape all seams. 2" to 3 " insulation on the walls up to the joist. A R19 block in each joist space on the sill plate all around the home
If you dount have duct there you can use a dehumidifier.

Go read http://aboutsavingheat.com/crawlspace.html

http://www.advancedenergy.org/buildings/knowledge_library/crawl_spaces/

http://www.eere.energy.gov/buildings/info/documents/pdfs/29238.pdf

This is for sure a DIY job

Ed -

Thanks for the quick response. Not sure I understand what you mean by "If you don't have duct there you can use a dehumidifier.."? All the duct work for my down stairs furnace are in the crawl space (they probably need replacing too but that's another story).

Regards,

Chacco F
Richmond, VA

Ed Imeduc
11-07-06, 10:18 PM
New or old furnace. Take and cut a small register in the heat duct down there . We do on all jobs in the crawl space.

;)