October 13, 2025 • 14 mins
Ever wondered why your floors are cold despite having insulation in your crawl space? The secret lies in understanding exactly where and how to insulate properly. Most builders miss critical spots, leaving your home vulnerable to energy loss, moisture problems, and pest infiltration.
Crawl space insulation isn't just about stuffing fiberglass between floor joists. As Michael explains in this eye-opening episode, there are six specific areas that require attention in a ventilated crawl space: rim joists, sill plates, subfloor penetrations, the subfloor itself, ductwork, and water pipes. Each area demands different techniques and materials to create an effective thermal and moisture barrier.
The rim joist—that wooden frame around the perimeter of your floor system—represents what building scientists call a "critical seal." Yet most homes have this area either completely uninsulated or poorly insulated with compressed fiberglass. Michael walks through the superior foam board and spray foam method that creates a true thermal break. Similarly, the often-overlooked subfloor penetrations from electrical, plumbing, and HVAC installations create significant pathways for air leakage that must be properly sealed before insulation is installed.
Perhaps most surprising is Michael's breakdown of common insulation mistakes, like compressing R19 insulation into smaller cavities (reducing its performance to R13) or creating moisture traps by installing vapor barriers in the wrong locations. These practical insights come from decades of crawl space experience and will help you make informed decisions about your home's insulation strategy.
Whether you're a DIY homeowner looking to improve energy efficiency or simply trying to understand your options before hiring a professional, this episode provides clear, actionable guidance for properly insulating a vented crawl space. Subscribe to our channel for more expert advice on creating healthier, more efficient homes from the ground up.
Check out Michael's book, "Crawl Space Repair Myths-Busted" now available on Amazon!
Schedule a consultation: https://buymeacoffee.com/csninja/extras
Need help: https://crawlspaceninja.com or https://supply.crawlspaceninja.com
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Michael Church, crawl Space Ninjas.
Today I want to talk about thesix places to insulate in a
ventilated crawl space.
Maybe you're not in favor ofencapsulating your crawl space.
You want to go the other route.
What are six good places toinsulate that crawl space?
Stay tuned.
So, if you're new to CrawlSpace Ninja, we talk about
(00:28):
everything related to basements,crawl spaces, indoor air
quality and, obviously,insulation.
We hope you'll subscribe to ourchannel, ring that
notifications bell and follow uson Facebook.
Here are the topics we're goingto cover.
What does the Department ofEnergy say about insulating an
open or vented crawl space?
Remember, this is for open orvented crawl space.
Remember, this is for open orvented crawl spaces.
This isn't for crawl spaceswith de-hues or sealed vents.
(00:51):
So this is if you have yourhome is built to where you have
multiple vents, maybe they'reopening in the winter or closing
in the summer, or opening inthe summer, closing in the
winter if they're louvered orvented like that.
This is what that topic isabout.
So what are the ways that youshould insulate a vented
crawlspace?
But first of all, what does theDOE say about insulating
(01:14):
crawlspace?
We're going to talk about rimjoist insulation, sill plate
insulation, subfloor air sealingand subfloor insulation, duct
insulation and air sealing, aswell as pipe insulation.
So let's see what the Departmentof Energy says about insulating
a crawl space.
And first of all, they don'tknow how to spell crawl space.
(01:36):
They make it one word, crawlspace is actually two words.
But how you insulate a crawlspace depends on whether it's
ventilated or unventilated.
Most building codes requirevents to aid in removing
moisture from the crawl space.
I find that statement to behilarious because if you live in
the South, where it's humid allthe time, it doesn't remove
(01:57):
moisture.
But I'm just reading what theDepartment of Energy says.
Energy says.
However, many buildingprofessionals like Michael
Church of Crawl Space Ninja nowrecognize that building an
unventilated crawl space orclosing vents after the crawl
space dries out followingconstruction is the best option
in homes using proper moisturecontrol and exterior drainage
(02:18):
techniques.
Again, in the South, if youbuild a house with a vented
crawl space, it never dries out.
Okay, humid, hot summers, ductwork, all that kind of stuff,
but I don't know when this waswritten.
But we've done.
We've already proven thatencapsulated crawl spaces are
(02:39):
the way to control moisture.
But that's not what this videois about.
Your R value depends on whereyou live, but ranges anywhere
between R13 to R30 in thesubfloor.
So if you're down in the tip ofFlorida, your subfloor
insulation would be R13.
If you're way up in Michigan orin the Great Lakes or Maine
(03:02):
places like that, then yoursubfloor insulation could be R30
or higher.
Keep that in mind.
I'll put a link to theDepartment of Energy's website
so you guys can check out what Rvalue you need.
Let's look at rim joistinsulation.
Buildingsciencecom has claimedthat insulating the rim joist is
what's called a critical seal.
(03:22):
Now your builder whether youhave a basement or a crawl space
did not most likely insulatethe rim joist or if they did,
they probably just shovedfiberglass insulation or rock
wool or something in the rimjoist in order to insulate.
That's okay to create a thermalbarrier.
But it would be better if youused a foam board and spray foam
combination and we've gotaccess to those.
(03:45):
We even pre-cut the foam boardfor you on our DIY store and
I'll put a link to that below.
But if you just go get some R10foam board, cut it to size and
then use a you know onecomponent spray foam with a gun
and seal around that, that iswhat I'm talking about when I
say insulate the rim joists.
I've done many, many videosabout rim joist insulation.
(04:06):
If you go to YouTube and typein Crawl, space, ninja, rim
joist insulation, you can learnthe whys and even see how we've
done it and different thingslike that.
So I'm not going to cover thatin this video, but that would be
a critical step in insulatingyour home is to insulate the
crawl space, rim joists.
And again, if you've got abasement maybe it's unfinished
(04:27):
and you can see up in the rimjoists or a garage I would
recommend you insulate those rimjoists as well.
The sill plate insulation Okay,so this is not one that's talked
about all that much and wenormally do not insulate the
sill plate because of thetermite gaps here in the south
and things like that.
But if you're in an area whereyou don't have termites or you
(04:47):
have to deal with termite gaps,you might consider insulating
the sill plate.
The sill plate is basically thepiece of pressure-treated wood
that sits directly on the blockor the concrete foundation or,
if you've got a brick foundation, stone foundation, whatever, so
it's that piece of wood thatsits directly on that foundation
wall and between the wood andthe foundation wall, depending
(05:09):
on how they constructed yourhome.
There may be a piece of foaminsulation already there.
There may be a piece of metalthere which is an old 60s and
70s termite gap.
That obviously doesn't workbecause they don't use that
anymore.
But I would only recommend youinsulate the sill plate if
you've got a lot of gaps.
If you've got a huge gap, likeif it's dark in your crawl space
(05:32):
and you can see light to theoutside, you may consider
insulating that, not necessarilyfor a thermal break, but it
could keep out some cold air.
But for me it's more aboutkeeping out the pests.
Okay, so you know little bugsand house centipedes and things
like that.
You want to keep those thingsout.
(05:53):
Even roaches can get in thereand infiltrate your crawl space
snakes, depending on how big itis.
So anyway, that's why I wouldrecommend doing it Now.
Be careful not to cover the sillplate.
Don't cover that piece ofpressure treated wood.
If you're in a termite area,okay, because your termite, your
pest control company could voidyour warranty.
I would recommend, if you'redoing it yourself, just get a
(06:15):
caulk gun and some caulk andjust put a bead of caulk and
just make it real thin, justenough, like I said, to keep the
pests out.
They make some spray foam forpests and different things like
that, but spray foam can be alittle bit more difficult to do.
Neatly, I think caulk is easierand then if for some reason you
mess up, the caulk can justcome right off.
(06:35):
It strips off easier than sprayfoam does.
So that's what I would do is becareful not to cover the sill
plate to avoid your termitewarranty.
But it may not even benecessary unless you've got like
daylight that you can seethrough.
All right.
So air seal the subfloor Now.
In order to do that, mostlikely you're going to have to
remove the old insulation or atleast move it.
(06:57):
As far as I know, buildingpractice does not require air
sealing of the subfloor at all,and to me it's just dumb.
It should be air sealed.
If they put in an electricaloutlet or cut in an HVAC boot or
plumbing, you know, I don'tknow if you've ever noticed, but
they'll drill four holes andthen finally find exactly where
(07:18):
the electrical outlet issupposed to go, so they don't
plug those other three holesright.
So get in there, pull theinsulation, move it out of the
way.
Especially, follow the wires,follow the plumbing, make sure
you're air sealing thosesubfloor gaps and if you come
across a big one like maybe yougot a jacuzzi tub or perhaps an
island where your ventilationfor your stove or your cooktop
(07:43):
is make sure you seal those.
Well.
Now be careful if you've gotsome form of pipe that perhaps
your furnace is down there andyour gas line is going up
through the subfloor, make sureyou use a fireproof caulk to air
seal around those.
You don't want to spray sprayfoam or even use a non fireproof
caulk and that fireproof sprayfoam not working.
(08:03):
If you read it, it's actually asmoke barrier.
It's not a fire barrier.
So don't use that stuff at all.
Make sure it's it's approvedfireproof caulking okay, for
those areas where you've got aheated exhaust okay.
And also, I don't recommend airsealing the entire subfloor.
I've done a lot of videos aboutthat as well.
I'm not talking about going inthere and getting two component
(08:26):
spray foam and air sealing allof the subfloors.
I'm just talking about airsealing the major gaps and
things like that.
You can even use caulk if youwant, if it's easier for you to
use some kind of caulk versus aspray foam.
Just make sure you hit the biggaps and take care of that as
well.
Then, after you do the rim joistinsulation and you check the
(08:47):
seal plate make sure you don'thave daylight shining through
and you air seal the subfloor,then you want to install your
R-value subfloor insulation.
Okay, it could be rock wool.
I'm not here to talk about thetype.
I've even heard of peoplecutting up foam board and
shoving it up in there Again.
Whatever you decide to do, justmake sure your R value is to
(09:10):
code.
So do this after you do thoseother three things.
If using a craft face now craftface means that it's got paper
on it If using a craft faceinsulation, paper goes to the
subfloor or to the living space.
So when you're looking up andyou're in the crawl space and
you're looking up, you will seefiberglass, so the paper goes up
(09:30):
.
That's the way they recommend.
Make sure that you never coverthe insulation with any kind of
vapor barrier.
Or you turn it around and thenthe craft, or you staple it to
try to hold it and you cancreate moisture problems between
vapor barrier or the craft andthe subfloor if there's a major
air gap.
Keep in mind if you have avented crawl space, chances are
(09:53):
you're going to have to dealwith more moisture, more
humidity, so you don't want totrap moisture between a vapor
barrier.
Because I've had people ask meshould I staple plastic on the
bottom part of the subfloor orthe joists to hold up the
insulation?
No, I don't recommend you dothat at all.
You want the vapor barrier onthe ground only, okay, and the
(10:16):
wrapping pillars if you're goingto encapsulate and all that.
You do want the insulation totouch the subfloor if at all
possible and make sure thatyou're not smashing the
insulation.
So these hangers that they useto hold up the rock, wool or the
fiberglass, make sure you don'tlike smash that up against that
.
Remember, r19, for example, isis six inches thick.
(10:37):
So if you smash the insulationto four inches, you're you're
about an r13, okay.
So you want that insulation asthick as possible to give you
the maximum R value, okay.
So make sure you don't smashthe fiberglass.
I've seen people take R19 andput it in a two by four wall,
thinking that I'm going to haveR19.
(10:57):
No, you smashed it to an R13.
All right, and then you've gotthat fiberglass pushing against
your drywall and can actuallycause issues as well.
So the air inside of thefiberglass is also what helps to
insulate, ok, so don't smash itin there if you can keep from
it.
You also want to insulate andair seal your ductwork.
Now, depending on whether yourductwork is up above, inside the
(11:21):
joist, or hanging below thejoist would depend on when you
do this part.
Okay, so if the duct work is upin the joist, all right.
If they cut through the joistor they've got duct works
running in between the joist,then you want to make sure you
air seal and insulate those ductwork prior to putting your
(11:41):
subfloor insulation in there.
But if yours is hanging downbelow the floor joist, then you
can do it after if you like,although you may still decide to
insulate those ductwork beforeputting the fiberglass up,
because it's just a lot easierto work around ductwork when
there's no fiberglass in the way.
But huge, huge overlookedproblem is leaking ductwork.
(12:06):
Now, if you've got flex duct,there's a pretty good chance
you're probably not leaking thatmuch.
But if you've got an older homeor perhaps your builder used
the hard duct, the metal piping,then you're probably leaking
air like a sieve down there.
So 25 plus percent of your airis being lost in that
unconditioned crawl space.
That's why you want to makesure you air seal that duct work
(12:26):
as best you can.
Or if your duct work's in anattic, you want to do the same
thing.
Make sure you're getting theair from the furnace to the
register where it's supposed togo, and not losing that air
inside the crawl space.
Last thing I want to talk aboutinsulate pipes.
If you've got a vented crawlspace and you're in a really
cold climate.
About insulate pipes if you gota vented crawl space and you're
in a really cold climate, yougotta deal with frozen pipes.
(12:47):
Now if your crawl space isencapsulated and you're keeping
all of the cold air out, youdon't have to worry about this.
Okay, or maybe you go and youclose the vents just in the
winter and then open them in thesummer.
I see people do that all thetime too.
But whatever you do, make sureyou're protecting the pipes.
They've got some good standardpipe insulation and things like
(13:08):
that, and in extreme cases youmay need a low voltage pipe
heating cable.
So if you plan on doing that,if you get pretty cold or you
have, like we do here inTennessee, one every five years,
it'll get the teens or thenegatives.
You can't find that low voltagepipe stuff anywhere.
So if you're going to do it,plan ahead, go ahead and get it
now, while it's available, andthen go down there and wrap
(13:31):
those pipes and it just plugs in.
What you do is, on those really, really cold nights, you just
go down there and plug it in andyou don't leave it running all
the time.
I don't recommend you leavethat stuff plugged in all the
time.
And also remember that a ventedcrawl space allows air to enter
, so you must insulate thesepipes to protect them from the
outside air.
If you have an encapsulatedcrawl space, I would not worry
(13:53):
about insulating your pipes, butif your crawl space is open and
vented, you want to make sureyou do this as well.
I'm Michael Church Crawl SpaceNinja.
Hope you liked this video downbelow and let us know if you
have any questions or commentsdown below.
Also, hope you make it a happyand blessed day and we'll see
you later.
Sorry, I had a bug flying in myface.
Michael Church, crawl Space Ninjas.
Today I want to talk about thesix places to insulate in a
ventilated crawl space.
Maybe you're not in favor ofencapsulating your crawl space.
You want to go the other route.
What are six good places toinsulate that crawl space?
Stay tuned.
So, if you're new to CrawlSpace Ninja, we talk about
(00:28):
everything related to basements,crawl spaces, indoor air
quality and, obviously,insulation.
We hope you'll subscribe to ourchannel, ring that
notifications bell and follow uson Facebook.
Here are the topics we're goingto cover.
What does the Department ofEnergy say about insulating an
open or vented crawl space?
Remember, this is for open orvented crawl space.
Remember, this is for open orvented crawl spaces.
This isn't for crawl spaceswith de-hues or sealed vents.
(00:51):
So this is if you have yourhome is built to where you have
multiple vents, maybe they'reopening in the winter or closing
in the summer, or opening inthe summer, closing in the
winter if they're louvered orvented like that.
This is what that topic isabout.
So what are the ways that youshould insulate a vented
crawlspace?
But first of all, what does theDOE say about insulating
(01:14):
crawlspace?
We're going to talk about rimjoist insulation, sill plate
insulation, subfloor air sealingand subfloor insulation, duct
insulation and air sealing, aswell as pipe insulation.
So let's see what the Departmentof Energy says about insulating
a crawl space.
And first of all, they don'tknow how to spell crawl space.
(01:36):
They make it one word, crawlspace is actually two words.
But how you insulate a crawlspace depends on whether it's
ventilated or unventilated.
Most building codes requirevents to aid in removing
moisture from the crawl space.
I find that statement to behilarious because if you live in
the South, where it's humid allthe time, it doesn't remove
(01:57):
moisture.
But I'm just reading what theDepartment of Energy says.
Energy says.
However, many buildingprofessionals like Michael
Church of Crawl Space Ninja nowrecognize that building an
unventilated crawl space orclosing vents after the crawl
space dries out followingconstruction is the best option
in homes using proper moisturecontrol and exterior drainage
(02:18):
techniques.
Again, in the South, if youbuild a house with a vented
crawl space, it never dries out.
Okay, humid, hot summers, ductwork, all that kind of stuff,
but I don't know when this waswritten.
But we've done.
We've already proven thatencapsulated crawl spaces are
(02:39):
the way to control moisture.
But that's not what this videois about.
Your R value depends on whereyou live, but ranges anywhere
between R13 to R30 in thesubfloor.
So if you're down in the tip ofFlorida, your subfloor
insulation would be R13.
If you're way up in Michigan orin the Great Lakes or Maine
(03:02):
places like that, then yoursubfloor insulation could be R30
or higher.
Keep that in mind.
I'll put a link to theDepartment of Energy's website
so you guys can check out what Rvalue you need.
Let's look at rim joistinsulation.
Buildingsciencecom has claimedthat insulating the rim joist is
what's called a critical seal.
(03:22):
Now your builder whether youhave a basement or a crawl space
did not most likely insulatethe rim joist or if they did,
they probably just shovedfiberglass insulation or rock
wool or something in the rimjoist in order to insulate.
That's okay to create a thermalbarrier.
But it would be better if youused a foam board and spray foam
combination and we've gotaccess to those.
(03:45):
We even pre-cut the foam boardfor you on our DIY store and
I'll put a link to that below.
But if you just go get some R10foam board, cut it to size and
then use a you know onecomponent spray foam with a gun
and seal around that, that iswhat I'm talking about when I
say insulate the rim joists.
I've done many, many videosabout rim joist insulation.
(04:06):
If you go to YouTube and typein Crawl, space, ninja, rim
joist insulation, you can learnthe whys and even see how we've
done it and different thingslike that.
So I'm not going to cover thatin this video, but that would be
a critical step in insulatingyour home is to insulate the
crawl space, rim joists.
And again, if you've got abasement maybe it's unfinished
(04:27):
and you can see up in the rimjoists or a garage I would
recommend you insulate those rimjoists as well.
The sill plate insulation Okay,so this is not one that's talked
about all that much and wenormally do not insulate the
sill plate because of thetermite gaps here in the south
and things like that.
But if you're in an area whereyou don't have termites or you
(04:47):
have to deal with termite gaps,you might consider insulating
the sill plate.
The sill plate is basically thepiece of pressure-treated wood
that sits directly on the blockor the concrete foundation or,
if you've got a brick foundation, stone foundation, whatever, so
it's that piece of wood thatsits directly on that foundation
wall and between the wood andthe foundation wall, depending
(05:09):
on how they constructed yourhome.
There may be a piece of foaminsulation already there.
There may be a piece of metalthere which is an old 60s and
70s termite gap.
That obviously doesn't workbecause they don't use that
anymore.
But I would only recommend youinsulate the sill plate if
you've got a lot of gaps.
If you've got a huge gap, likeif it's dark in your crawl space
(05:32):
and you can see light to theoutside, you may consider
insulating that, not necessarilyfor a thermal break, but it
could keep out some cold air.
But for me it's more aboutkeeping out the pests.
Okay, so you know little bugsand house centipedes and things
like that.
You want to keep those thingsout.
(05:53):
Even roaches can get in thereand infiltrate your crawl space
snakes, depending on how big itis.
So anyway, that's why I wouldrecommend doing it Now.
Be careful not to cover the sillplate.
Don't cover that piece ofpressure treated wood.
If you're in a termite area,okay, because your termite, your
pest control company could voidyour warranty.
I would recommend, if you'redoing it yourself, just get a
(06:15):
caulk gun and some caulk andjust put a bead of caulk and
just make it real thin, justenough, like I said, to keep the
pests out.
They make some spray foam forpests and different things like
that, but spray foam can be alittle bit more difficult to do.
Neatly, I think caulk is easierand then if for some reason you
mess up, the caulk can justcome right off.
(06:35):
It strips off easier than sprayfoam does.
So that's what I would do is becareful not to cover the sill
plate to avoid your termitewarranty.
But it may not even benecessary unless you've got like
daylight that you can seethrough.
All right.
So air seal the subfloor Now.
In order to do that, mostlikely you're going to have to
remove the old insulation or atleast move it.
(06:57):
As far as I know, buildingpractice does not require air
sealing of the subfloor at all,and to me it's just dumb.
It should be air sealed.
If they put in an electricaloutlet or cut in an HVAC boot or
plumbing, you know, I don'tknow if you've ever noticed, but
they'll drill four holes andthen finally find exactly where
(07:18):
the electrical outlet issupposed to go, so they don't
plug those other three holesright.
So get in there, pull theinsulation, move it out of the
way.
Especially, follow the wires,follow the plumbing, make sure
you're air sealing thosesubfloor gaps and if you come
across a big one like maybe yougot a jacuzzi tub or perhaps an
island where your ventilationfor your stove or your cooktop
(07:43):
is make sure you seal those.
Well.
Now be careful if you've gotsome form of pipe that perhaps
your furnace is down there andyour gas line is going up
through the subfloor, make sureyou use a fireproof caulk to air
seal around those.
You don't want to spray sprayfoam or even use a non fireproof
caulk and that fireproof sprayfoam not working.
(08:03):
If you read it, it's actually asmoke barrier.
It's not a fire barrier.
So don't use that stuff at all.
Make sure it's it's approvedfireproof caulking okay, for
those areas where you've got aheated exhaust okay.
And also, I don't recommend airsealing the entire subfloor.
I've done a lot of videos aboutthat as well.
I'm not talking about going inthere and getting two component
(08:26):
spray foam and air sealing allof the subfloors.
I'm just talking about airsealing the major gaps and
things like that.
You can even use caulk if youwant, if it's easier for you to
use some kind of caulk versus aspray foam.
Just make sure you hit the biggaps and take care of that as
well.
Then, after you do the rim joistinsulation and you check the
(08:47):
seal plate make sure you don'thave daylight shining through
and you air seal the subfloor,then you want to install your
R-value subfloor insulation.
Okay, it could be rock wool.
I'm not here to talk about thetype.
I've even heard of peoplecutting up foam board and
shoving it up in there Again.
Whatever you decide to do, justmake sure your R value is to
(09:10):
code.
So do this after you do thoseother three things.
If using a craft face now craftface means that it's got paper
on it If using a craft faceinsulation, paper goes to the
subfloor or to the living space.
So when you're looking up andyou're in the crawl space and
you're looking up, you will seefiberglass, so the paper goes up
(09:30):
.
That's the way they recommend.
Make sure that you never coverthe insulation with any kind of
vapor barrier.
Or you turn it around and thenthe craft, or you staple it to
try to hold it and you cancreate moisture problems between
vapor barrier or the craft andthe subfloor if there's a major
air gap.
Keep in mind if you have avented crawl space, chances are
(09:53):
you're going to have to dealwith more moisture, more
humidity, so you don't want totrap moisture between a vapor
barrier.
Because I've had people ask meshould I staple plastic on the
bottom part of the subfloor orthe joists to hold up the
insulation?
No, I don't recommend you dothat at all.
You want the vapor barrier onthe ground only, okay, and the
(10:16):
wrapping pillars if you're goingto encapsulate and all that.
You do want the insulation totouch the subfloor if at all
possible and make sure thatyou're not smashing the
insulation.
So these hangers that they useto hold up the rock, wool or the
fiberglass, make sure you don'tlike smash that up against that
.
Remember, r19, for example, isis six inches thick.
(10:37):
So if you smash the insulationto four inches, you're you're
about an r13, okay.
So you want that insulation asthick as possible to give you
the maximum R value, okay.
So make sure you don't smashthe fiberglass.
I've seen people take R19 andput it in a two by four wall,
thinking that I'm going to haveR19.
(10:57):
No, you smashed it to an R13.
All right, and then you've gotthat fiberglass pushing against
your drywall and can actuallycause issues as well.
So the air inside of thefiberglass is also what helps to
insulate, ok, so don't smash itin there if you can keep from
it.
You also want to insulate andair seal your ductwork.
Now, depending on whether yourductwork is up above, inside the
(11:21):
joist, or hanging below thejoist would depend on when you
do this part.
Okay, so if the duct work is upin the joist, all right.
If they cut through the joistor they've got duct works
running in between the joist,then you want to make sure you
air seal and insulate those ductwork prior to putting your
(11:41):
subfloor insulation in there.
But if yours is hanging downbelow the floor joist, then you
can do it after if you like,although you may still decide to
insulate those ductwork beforeputting the fiberglass up,
because it's just a lot easierto work around ductwork when
there's no fiberglass in the way.
But huge, huge overlookedproblem is leaking ductwork.
(12:06):
Now, if you've got flex duct,there's a pretty good chance
you're probably not leaking thatmuch.
But if you've got an older homeor perhaps your builder used
the hard duct, the metal piping,then you're probably leaking
air like a sieve down there.
So 25 plus percent of your airis being lost in that
unconditioned crawl space.
That's why you want to makesure you air seal that duct work
(12:26):
as best you can.
Or if your duct work's in anattic, you want to do the same
thing.
Make sure you're getting theair from the furnace to the
register where it's supposed togo, and not losing that air
inside the crawl space.
Last thing I want to talk aboutinsulate pipes.
If you've got a vented crawlspace and you're in a really
cold climate.
About insulate pipes if you gota vented crawl space and you're
in a really cold climate, yougotta deal with frozen pipes.
(12:47):
Now if your crawl space isencapsulated and you're keeping
all of the cold air out, youdon't have to worry about this.
Okay, or maybe you go and youclose the vents just in the
winter and then open them in thesummer.
I see people do that all thetime too.
But whatever you do, make sureyou're protecting the pipes.
They've got some good standardpipe insulation and things like
(13:08):
that, and in extreme cases youmay need a low voltage pipe
heating cable.
So if you plan on doing that,if you get pretty cold or you
have, like we do here inTennessee, one every five years,
it'll get the teens or thenegatives.
You can't find that low voltagepipe stuff anywhere.
So if you're going to do it,plan ahead, go ahead and get it
now, while it's available, andthen go down there and wrap
(13:31):
those pipes and it just plugs in.
What you do is, on those really, really cold nights, you just
go down there and plug it in andyou don't leave it running all
the time.
I don't recommend you leavethat stuff plugged in all the
time.
And also remember that a ventedcrawl space allows air to enter
, so you must insulate thesepipes to protect them from the
outside air.
If you have an encapsulatedcrawl space, I would not worry
(13:53):
about insulating your pipes, butif your crawl space is open and
vented, you want to make sureyou do this as well.
I'm Michael Church Crawl SpaceNinja.
Hope you liked this video downbelow and let us know if you
have any questions or commentsdown below.
Also, hope you make it a happyand blessed day and we'll see
you later.
Sorry, I had a bug flying in myface.
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