by Rex Coker

Created on: November 25, 2009   Last Updated: November 26, 2009

Let's face it. No one likes to be in the close quarters of a confined crawl space under their house. It is necessary though if you need to insulate your homes flooring from underneath. It will save you a lot of money in the long term doing this for the home.

Replacing old vents with temperature activated vents, will allow the best circulation for keeping underneath the house dry, year round. Putting a moisture barrier on the ground through out the crawl space will help your insulation stay dry year round.

With the moisture barrier in place, it will also help you stay dry while putting insulation in place. No crawling through the mud and other materials that were left while the home was under construction. You should remove all materials before taking on the task of putting a moisture barrier in, before you insulate the floors underneath.

It will prevent termite damage and provide a safety barrier to your floor joist. It will prevent mold and other harmful bacteria from manifesting on the wood structure underneath your home.

According to how much room you have in your crawl space beneath your home, you will need to cut the long sections of insulation into lengths that you can maneuver into place by yourself. You can use flexible wire cut to your joist length, or you can use a staple gun to fasten the insulation in place. Either way is fine.

The easiest way is to use the flex wire. It is strong and it holds the insulation in place while you fit it between the joist. It makes the job easier to do, and also makes the job go much faster.

INSULATING IN A TIGHT CRAWL SPACE:

1) It is best to have two people when doing this job. One person under the house, and one outside to cut and hand the insulation to the installer. It makes the job go much faster than one man trying to do both.

2) Cut the lengths in eight foot sections, and stack them in different areas underneath your homes crawl space. It will save you a lot of time crawling back to the crawl space door to retrieve the next section of insulation. Do the same with the wire holders. Put a small amount close to the stacks of insulation to be installed.

3) Make sure the paper side of the insulation is on the side you can see while installing.

4) It is best to start in the tightest section underneath your home. The work will be hideous and time consuming, but will go much faster once you get to more open areas where you can go much faster.

5) Make sure the insulation does not sag down. If it does, add another piece of wire to hold the section in place.

6) Feed the insulation between low hanging plumbing and electrical wiring where the floor joist come close together. You may have to piece the insulation in place in some circumstances to make a good fit.

CONCLUSION:

The job of installing insulation in the crawl space beneath your home is not a hard job to do. The hardest part of the process is dealing with the insects and being on your back most of the time within the tight confines. If you are not comfortable going into such places, it would be advisable to hire a professional to do the job. Still it is a job that you could do yourself and save yourself a lot of money doing so.

Learn more about this author, Rex Coker.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.