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Home»Crawl Space Repair»Photo Gallery»Solving Cold Floors and High Energy Bills in Toano, VA

Crawl Space Repair Photo Album: Solving Cold Floors and High Energy Bills in Toano, VA

This client recently moved into their new home in Toano, VA, and had received several energy bills since the move. They were finding that even though the new home was smaller, their energy bills were much higher, reaching $300 at their peak. They had also noticed that the floors were always cold, the first floor of the home was cooler than the second, they never felt comfortable. They even had their HVAC system evaluated and found it was working properly. They then reached out to our team for help identifying the cause of their high energy bills and uncomfortable home.

Moisture Infiltration

Staining and dampness on the porous cinderblock walls indicated that water and moisture were seeping through the walls and into the crawl space.

Falling Insulation

Falling insulation is a result of fiberglass absorbing moisture. The moisture causes the material to delaminate, the fibers pull away from one another, and fall. This also holds moisture against the floor joists, and with high humidity and warm temperatures we see mold and mildew growth.

Unsealed Vapor Barrier

The current vapor barrier is unsealed and displaced. This allows moisture to rise from the earth and into the crawl space, impacting the environment and raising the relative humidity. Often 6mil vapor barriers like this are just laid on the ground, the seams are unsealed, and the liner is held in pace with U-shaped stakes which only add holes to the system.

Vapor Barrier and Sealed Vents

After cleaning out the crawl space, a 20-mil CleanSpace vapor barrier is installed. This is a heavy-duty liner that is attached to the foundation walls 6-8 inches above outside grade, wrapped and sealed around all piers, and sealed at all seams. Then, all vents, the sill plate, rim and band, and all penetrations to the outside are sealed.

Closed-Cell Spray Foam and Dehumidifier

Closed-cell spray foam insulation is applied to the foundation walls leaving a 2-inch viewing strip at the top of the foundation wall for termite inspectors, per Virginia Building Code. Now that we're keeping as much air as possible out of the crawl space, we need to control the relative humidity. This is achieved by installing the Sanidry Sedona Dehumidifier. This unit will pull excess moisture from the air, filter the air, and circulate dry air throughout the crawl space.

Friction-fit door

A friction-fit interior crawl space door is installed to achieve a continuous R-10 of insulation on the foundation walls. This also provides insulation and air sealing behind the exterior crawl space door.