Does Your One Level House Have Cold Floors? Here is a Way to Prevent it.

Do you find yourself always having cold feet? Can’t walk on your tile floors without slippers because the floor is bitter cold. Having a crawl space that is well insulated will help keep your house warmer in the winter time. Insulating under the kitchen floor helps prevent cold feet in the morning. Most importantly it will give you a big savings on your heating bill. The type of materials that will be used depends on the construction of the space and if the space is well ventilated. If you are a fairly decent handyman this is an easy do-it-yourself project. This would only take up one weekend of your time and provide you a lifelong savings in your heating bill.

There are several different kinds of crawl space insulation. These types are fiberglass, wood fibers, foams and paper fibers. Insulating materials come in a blanket form, in rigid sheets or loose form. Depending on whether you are insulating the walls or under the floors will dictate which of those you will chose.

The basic concept is still the same regardless of the material used. Like a blanket on a bed it traps air near the source of heat and prevent the warm air from escaping. Insulating materials prevent heat from radiating out and away from the source. Like anything else the more effective the product the more expensive it is. The higher the rating for the material the more energy efficient product you will get.

It is a good idea to insulate the exterior walls. In most cases batt fiberglass is used. This will be needed to cut to fit the wall from top to bottom. IT would be a good idea to attach wood strips to the wall and staple the insulation to the wood.

Make sure you put a vapor barrier on the ground when insulating the walls. Reason for this is to prevent moisture from seeping from the ground into the crawl space. The reason why this is important is to keep mildew from growing in the space.

As always safety should be a concern when working with materials. It would be a good idea to wear long sleeves and pants because fiberglass and other materials are irritating to the skin. Gloves would be a good idea along with a dust mask and eye protection

C.J.Gannon is a Retired Contractor and now writes for several construction companies to educate buyers on the process of Spray Foam Insulation .