Conventional Crawlspaces
As noted by building science guru Joe Lstiburek, traditional crawlspaces expose a home to serious moisture and mold problems that cost builders and homeowners significant resources to repair. The solution is to create a sealed, conditioned crawlspace with a vapor barrier protecting the underfloor space from ground moisture and with the insulated thermal boundary moved from the framed floor to the wall perimeter. Although many builders still shy away from this type of application, South Carolina builder Todd Usher is sold on them. He puts conditioned and sealed crawlspaces in all of his houses that don’t have full basements. They provide better humidity control, reduce heating and cooling costs, protect hardwood floors above from warping, and give clients extra clean storage space, he says.
To help builders more
readily incorporate closed crawlspaces into their homes, the Home Innovation
Research Labs, in partnership with the Southern Forest Products Association, offers
free educational materials that address the benefits and key steps for
improving existing closed crawlspace design and construction practices, and
transitioning from traditional slab-on-grade or conventional vented crawlspace
construction.
