Crawl Space Facts & Guide for Homeowners
by Tim Wilkerson
20+ CRawl Space Facts
An uninsulated crawl space can account for up to 20% of your home’s heating cost.
Insulating the crawl space floor joist does little good (cold air is sucked right up through it – due to what the US E.P.A. has coined “The Stack Effect”).
A 1,000 sq. ft. dirt/stone crawl space can let in up to 15 gallons of water in the form of water vapor each day.
The World Health Organization blames crawl spaces for a myriad of health problems.
There are three modes of heat transfer: conduction, convection, and radiation (radiant heat).
Radiant heat transfer is the primary mode of heat loss in your home.
Gold, silver, and aluminum reflect radiant heat.
Aluminum foil has been used throughout Europe to reduce Energy Cost for decades.
Excessive moisture can cause serious structural damage to your home’s Foundation.
Mold can cause illnesses in humans ranging from headaches and fatigue to brain damage and death.
Moisture always moves from wet to dry.
Heat transfer always occurs from hot to cold.
Mold is not harmful unless its spores become airborne.
Mold cannot grow/reproduce/release its spores into the air if humidity levels are bellow 50%, or there is sufficient moisture at its food source, such as wet wood.
Mold needs moisture, food (organic material), and oxygen to survive.
That musty odor you smell is the gases that molds release into the air as they feed and grow – not the mold spores, a common misconception.
Like mold, dust mites need moisture to survive.
Dust mites do not drink water; they absorb it from the air.
An 8 in. thick concrete foundation wall has less than 1-R. value (almost no insulating value).
Warm air holds more moisture than cold air.
The dew point is equal to the temperature at which air can no longer hold its moisture; thus, condensation or water droplets are formed (i.e., sweating pipes in a damp crawl space).
Radon gas is the number two cause of lung cancer, second only to smoking.
As much as 50% of the air you breathe in your home comes from your crawl space.