Hey guys. Obviously I’m a Newb but… I was inspecting a crawlspace earlier today and the floor joists above my head were insulated but the foundation walls around me were not. I was just reading on Nachi’s website yesterday about how the ceiling in basement shouldn’t be insulated and I was wondering if this also applied to crawlspaces obviously it needs a vapor barrier but I wasn’t sure about the insulation. Should I write up that it does not need insulation in the floor joists and they should remove it ? Should I recommend that they insulate the foundation walls ? Thanks guys !!!
The floor should be insulated as the crawlspace is an unconditioned space. No need to insulate the walls other than at the rim joists.
Wow thank you so much
The girder that is resting on the pier seems to be shimmed up with something unusual. The girder is raised from the pier and it appears that the load is being transmitted to the pier through a “domed” shim. Or, is it the angle? Suspect, at best, yet, dependant on the age of the home (it does not look new) you might comment- Even though this is an unconventional way to shim a girder is has stood for _______ time with out appreciable damage or settling and most likely will in the future. Consideration for an engineer to eyeball that connection.
Also, I would peel back enough of a corner of the insulation and check for moisture, in random places, between the foil facing on the insulation and the floorboards. I inspected a 6.9 Million dollar house with the identical situation and Moocho mold in between the subfloor and the moisture barrier.
Check for adequate ventilation, as well. Many do not have it and/or it is unbalanced.
If you can, recommend they turn the crawl space into a conditioned space remove the ceiling insulation block the vents, insulate the walls, put vapor barrier on the ground/floor and get a supply source and leave an opening from the basement. Vented crawl spaces are usually a good source of cold air and moisture. Treat it like a mini basement.