When you consider the areas of your home that you spend the most time in and around, your crawl space isn’t even going to make the bottom of the list. We generally only involve ourselves with the crawl spaces in our homes for a few simple reasons: storage, fixing a problem or checking for unwanted inhabitants. Aside from tinkering around in your crawl space for a few minutes at a time, there’s not much else left to be desired when it comes to utilizing this portion of your home.
One mistake homeowners often make when it comes to their crawlspace, however, is not insulating it because they don’t see the value in insulating a space that they never use. While the logic of this might make sense in your head, the reality is that crawlspaces, like any other part of your home, need to be subject to insulation installation in West Lorne, ON. Read ahead to learn why.
Unmitigated airflow and ventilation
Aside from being a potential storage area in your home, your crawlspace plays another very important role in the architecture of your living space—it provides ventilation and helps to facilitate airflow in spaces that might not otherwise see an air exchange, which can lead to problems down the line.
And, because your crawl space is ventilated to allow airflow, that means it’s also set up to allow in cooler air come fall and winter. If you’re not properly insulating your crawlspace, but are at the same time heating your home against cooler outdoor temperatures, what you might not realize is the heat loss that’s occurring through the non-insulated portion of your crawlspace!
It’s easy to forget that your crawlspace is another ventilated part of your home, but when you find yourself digging around in it for a specific box and feel a chilly draft of air, you’ll quickly remember the purpose of insulating it!
Protection from moisture
In homes where airflow is restricted in the crawlspace, whether due to poor design or simply an older home design that didn’t incorporate proper ventilation, insulation installation in West Lorne, ON is crucial. Again, the purpose is to protect the crawl space, but not just from temperatures—from moisture as well.
Condensation occurs when cool air meets warm air, leaving behind moisture particles that cling to whatever surface is nearby—you may be familiar with this when you leave a cool beverage in the sun on a warm day. The same condensation happens in your crawl space if your temperature fluctuates due to poor insulation—colder outdoor temperatures can collide with warmer indoor temperatures and create moisture in your home. This eventually leads to condensation, which in turn invites mold and mildew into your crawl space. While proper ventilation solves this problem, proper insulation can also mitigate the temperature exchange.
If you’ve overlooked your crawlspace when it comes to insulation installation in West Lorne, ON, you might want to think again—failing to do so and ignoring this easy-to-forget part of your home is a quick way to subject yourself to problems that are easily avoided!