Crawl Space Foundation Walls in Chester, VA

The insulation in this crawl space beginning to pull apart and fall to the floor. Fiberglass insulation is not meant to hold moisture, and it loses its value when it becomes damp. Water droplets displace the air in the spaces between the glass fibers, reducing the material's thermal abilities. The wet insulation fibers pull apart and the added weight of moisture causes it to sag and even fall to the crawl space floor, rendering it useless.

Most crawl spaces in our area, like this Chester, VA home have fiberglass insulation between the floor joists. However, this is not an effective solution in our area due to high humidity and warm temperatures over half of the year resulting in high relative humidity, falling insulation, and microbial growth. So instead, the foundation walls were insulated using closed-cell spray foam which acts as an air barrier and vapor retarder, while the home was sealed from the earth’s moisture with CleanSpace, a heavy-duty vapor barrier. The foundation vents were sealed with Foamax foam board and covered over with closed-cell spray foam. Not only does all this protect the crawl space from moisture, with the addition of a dehumidifier it helps control the relative humidity, improves air quality, and reduces energy bills.