Insulating Your Basement Crawl Space

Insulating your basement and attic areas will reduce the infiltration of outside air, thus giving your air-conditioning unit optimal results while cutting fuel costs. Stopping up any holes in your outside walls with spackle or caulking. Many basements are made of brick or cement. If this is the case, you may need to build a 2×4 or 2×6 wood frame to hold your fiberglass insulation. You will want to place the studs, or beams, 16 inches apart. As this is the building standard, you will now have no problem buying fiberglass batts at a perfect fit. If you already have a wooden frame, measure the distance between the studs and calculate the total area you wish to insulate.

You can find fiberglass insulation, or batts, at any home improvement store. I bought R-19 Insulation on sale at Lowes for $40 for 87 sq.ft.. When making your purchase, be sure to note the number of square feet, the r-value (high values insulate more but may be inappropriate for certain applications – note the product labeling for more details), the width of the pieces and the thickness of the pieces, as some are meant for 2×6 studs and other 2×4. Compressing batts will lower their r-value a few points; batts insulate best by keeping their volume. While in the store, buy a utility knife, a staple gun with staples, a 6 mil plastic sheet, a dust mask, gloves and protective goggles if you do not already have this equipment.

With your batts home and your safety equipment on and a long sleeved shirt and pants, you are ready to install. With the utility knife, cut the batts to the desired length. Place the first batt between the studs with the paper side facing the inside wall. Pull open the paper tab and with the staple gun attach it to the 2×4 stud on either side. When you are done installing the batts, with your utility knife, make small cuts up and down the paper (about 1 inch long). This will allow the batts to breath, avoiding any damage due to moisture build up. To create a vapor barrier, staple a 6 mil plastic throw sheet up on top of the batts.

This process can be seen on the Positive Home Solutions series, Basic Home Repair DVD, which you may be able to check out at your local library.