Making a Home More Comfortable in Lenox, MA

Challenge

This homeowner in Lenox, MA gave us a call to come see what we could do about the issues at her home. The problem was that no matter what she did, she couldn't get the house to be the right temperature. It was either too hot or too cold. When one of our building science experts got there the first thing he noticed was that under the entire house, there was a HUGE crawlspace! 

Crawlspaces are very hostile environments. In the winter, they can make the rooms above them very cold and dry. In the summer, they make the rooms above very hot and humid. Also, rodents, insects, and other animals like to nest in them. With these factors, you can see why this area of the home has to be addressed to accomplish what she wanted to accomplish.

Solution

To fix this area of the home the first thing we have to do is remove all the debris that may be in the crawlspace. After that we level out the dirt as much as we can. Next we lay down our dimple mat. This gives the humidity a place to collect and evaporate without causing a humidity problem in the basement. Then we lay down our terra-block insulation, it gives some much needed R-value. Then, we put our silverglo 2 inch insulation board on the walls to prevent outside temperatures from impacting the inside temperature. After we do that, we now have to start laying down our cleanspace 20mil thick vapor barrier. This will stop anything from getting through and impacting the areas above. Last thing to do is to spray the rim joist to completely seal up the crawlspace. Now the crawlspace will no longer impact how this house is heated and cooled!