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Sealed Crawl Spaces
Sealed Crawl Spaces are becoming the Norm in
Crawl Space Design
By: Mark J. Donovan
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A sealed crawl space provides advantages over a traditional unsealed crawl
space. A sealed crawl space is comparable to a basement in that it is a
reasonably dry and warm space that can be used for storing temperature
sensitive items. A sealed crawl space also provides warmer overhead floors
and prevents the risk of freezing pipes during winter months. Finally, a
sealed crawl space will have fewer moisture problems in comparison to a
ventilated crawl space.
For about 50 years building codes have required crawl spaces to be unsealed
to enable moist air to escape from the crawl space.
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Moisture enters the crawl space via the earth floor. Moisture literally
permeates up through the damp earth floor into the crawl space area.
Crawl space vent systems, however, have never really performed an adequate job
of dissipating moisture laden air from crawl spaces. Often they create more of
a moisture problem. For example, during summer months crawl space vents let
warm, moist air into the crawl space rather than remove it.
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If you would prefer to seal your crawl space you need to incorporate three
elements into it. First you need to install a vapor barrier (aka vapor retarder)
on the earth floor of the crawl space. Second, you need to add some insulation.
Finally, a minimal amount of heat needs to be introduced into the space. Note
that these three elements are typically found in basements which normally do not
require ventilation.
To create an unventilated crawl space begin by installing a vapor barrier on the
floor of the crawl space.
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Use a 6 mil sheet of polyethylene plastic for the vapor barrier and make
sure you tape any seams with duct tape. In addition, make sure the plastic
laps up the sides of the crawl space walls by about 12 inches. Use duct
tape to attach the plastic sheathing to the crawl space walls to seal the
moisture barrier. Lastly, apply a couple of inches of sand over the vapor
barrier to allow you to walk/crawl around the crawl space without the
threat of damaging the vapor barrier. Alternatively you can also install
crushed stone over the sand.
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Next, install insulation in the crawl space. More specifically install batt or
rigid foam insulation on the exterior walls of the crawl space and in-between
the floor joists near the band joists.
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Next provide some low level heat to the crawl space area. In some cases you may
be able to open an existing basement door or window to the crawl space area to
provide adequate heat.
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In other cases you may need to provide a separate heat zone or small
heating system to the crawl space. Check with a local HVAC contractor to
see what might work best for your crawl space.
Lastly, seal the existing crawl space vents and insulate the doorway
entrance.
By introducing these three key elements to a crawl space and sealing, the
existing crawl space vents, your sealed crawl space should be warm and dry
year round.
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Photo by Mark Donovan |
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