Spray Foam Crawl Space Floor
Closed cell spray foam can eliminate this threat to comfort and energy efficiency.
Spray foam crawl space floor. Because the air flow is completely blocked this eliminates one of the ways pollen gets into your home. Open cell spray foam insulation can expand up to 100 times its original size to fill every nook and cranny creating an air barrier that seals an area stopping air movement. In crawl spaces there are two ways to add spray foam insulation under a house crews can either insulate the crawl space walls or the underside of the floor of the house.
Photo courtesy of justin nickelsen from nickelsen home inspections llc. When crawl space ninja uses spray foam in the crawl space it is to seal large holes and restrict air movement from the crawl space to the living space. Spray foam may be a good alternative for the parts of your home that are above grade but it is not a superior product for a crawl space regardless of the salesman s insistence that it is an air barrier or that it is a moisture barrier.
We don t like any type of insulation in the sub floor when wall or foundation insulation can be installed and your crawl space is encapsulated. Because it expands to fill gaps and cracks spray foam is best used to air seal and insulate the rim joist that extends around the house at the top of the foundation. Another advantage with spray foam is that it stays in place.
This means no more drafts under your home and no more cold floors. This is where most energy wasting air leakage takes place in a crawl space or basement. Spray foam comes in two flavors open cell and closed cell and provides both parts of the building envelope the insulation and the air barrier.
Moisture gets easily trapped between the foam and the wall and a moist foundation wall generally leads to mold growth and wood rot. A crawl space under a house helps protect against certain pests but a crawl space with abundant moisture can invite problems including mold wood rot and vermin. While spray foam insulation is one of the most effective insulation materials in other rooms of the home it is a bad idea in a wet or damp crawl space.
If you have a vented crawl space then sub floor insulation is still recommended. What determines which area to insulate depends on whether there is duct work or a furnace in the crawl space. It won t move compress or lose its insulation value like fiberglass batts.