Crawl Space Tip One: Add Insulation to the Upper Surface of a Crawl Space
If your home has a crawl space, then the floors are often extremely cold in the winter. Crawl spaces are designed to give homeowners and technicians a way to access plumbing fixtures, venting systems and electrical wiring. While this is a fantastic way to make repairs to defective items, it leads to higher heating bills throughout the winter. You can add caulking to the spaces around water pipes and vents to reduce drafts in a home, but a better way to prevent cold floors is by adding insulation batting to the upper surface of the crawl space. You will notice right away that a home’s floors are warmer along with a reduction in monthly heating bills.
Winter Crawl Space Tip Two: Wrap Water Pipes and Connectors with Insulation Tape.
Despite adding insulation batting to the upper surface of a crawl space, your home’s water pipes are still at risk in the winter. Cold temperatures can lead to water freezing in a home’s pipes, leading to a crack that releases hundreds of gallons of water. It is also a good idea to wrap water pipes and connectors with self-sticking insulating tape. While wrapping insulating tape around plumbing fixtures, check the devices for holes or corrosion that indicates it requires replacement before it is protected. If there are faucets in the crawl space, then cover the fixtures with specially made foam insulation devices.
Winter Crawl Space Tip Three: Prevent Invasions of Insects and Rodents
A crawl space offers a warm place for rodents and insects to live in the winter, and these creatures will enter a home through crevices and holes. Make sure to cover large holes with mesh wire or thick wood. Remove debris such as leaves or straw from the crawl space because these materials are perfect places for vermin to nest and breed. To keep animals from entering the crawl space, you need to have a durable barrier system around your home. To prevent damage to the barrier, choose materials that rodents and insects cannot chew through in order to have a safe place to live. Remain diligent about removing decayed vegetation from around this barrier to make it more difficult for vermin to invade.
Winter Crawl Space Tip Four: Make Sure That a Crawl Space has Ventilation
While placing a barrier around a home’s crawl space is essential, the space still requires ventilation to avoid a buildup of moisture. Moisture under your home can lead to problems such as rotting wood, rusty water pipes and dangerous mold. When you have the barrier placed around the crawl space, it requires ventilation systems with narrow slats. This permits moisture to escape but prevents insects and rodents from entering. When adding ventilation panels, make sure that at least one is made to open and is large enough for you or a technician to enter to make repairs to the plumbing fixtures or wiring.