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Found 34 results for the keyword(s) ‘Crawl Space’

  • Article

    Crawl Space Moisture Barriers

    Hi Jon and Crew... I am in the process of putting down vapour barrier in my crawl space (what a chore). Two questions: 1) Should I bring in sand or similar material to level out the dirt floor? It has heaves due to natural pitch of the land of up to three feet in various areas. I am thinking that...
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    OVERVIEW: Frozen pipes: Tracing, thawing, preventing.

    As weather patterns change we are getting longer colder periods than traditionally in many areas of the country -- and with that, more and more complaints of water pipes freezing. Finding the frozen point can be difficult, thawing it can be problematic but if you have done those two, go one step ...
  • Article

    DO I NEED TO MOISTURE PROOF THE BASEMENT WALL BEFORE INSULATING?

    If there is no water leakage problem, but the basement walls are a bit damp, you must cover the walls before insulating. Waterproofing coatings are not really necessary for moisture proofing. Polyethylene plastic sheets or horizontal strips of building paper are sufficient. These should be hung o...
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    MYTH: AN AIR SPACE BETWEEN THE INSULATION AND THE WALL PREVENTS CONDENSATION.

    Often promoted in southern Ontario, this theory has never, to my knowledge, been proven by any government agency or independent researcher in the insulation field. On the contrary, the unanimous opinion seems to be that it will cause, not prevent, condensation.  Even efforts to drain condensation...
  • Article

    BASEMENT: INTERIOR OR EXTERIOR INSULATION?

    It is always better to insulate on the outside of basements and crawl spaces, but usually more expensive and more trouble. Brick or field stone foundations must not be insulated on the inside for much more than one foot below ground level. The poor quality of the mortar in these foundations dete...
  • Article

    BASEMENT: BATTS OR RIDIG FOAM BOARDS?

    Fiberglass batts, mineral wool batts and all kinds of rigid foam boards are commonly used to insulate basements both inside and outside. One of the critical rules when insulating basements on the inside is that there must be no air space between the insulation and the wall. (see no air space beh...
  • Article

    Skirts on Mobile Homes & Frost Heaving

    Bruce from Thunder Bay writes: I own a mobile home that is 12' x 64' and I have to replace the skirting around the base and which product is best to use. You always talk about regular homes but not mobile homes and we need help too. In the area that I live in there is a very high water table and...
  • Article

    HOW DO I INSULATE A SHALLOW BASEMENT?

    A basement that has more than 50 per cent of its height sticking out of the ground is not really a basement. The walls should be treated as ordinary, above-ground walls. The foundations should be treated as slab-on-grade to avoid frost problems. Interior/exterior insulation combinations can be u...
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    MYTH: INSULATING HOT WATER LINES IN HEATED BASEMENTS WILL SAVE MONEY.

    Insulating hot water lines that run through a heated basement or crawl space sounds logical, but in fact it will same you little or no money. The infrequency of their use lets them cool off whether they are insulated or not, and the heat is converted to useful room heat anyway. The exception is ...
  • Article

    Insulating a Cold Room under a cottage

    Gary from Thunder Bay, Ontario, wants to dig a relatively small storage space under his cottage, through the crawl space, although he plans to make it about 8 feet deep, and wants to know just how to insulate it to keep the contents from freezing.Aside from putting about 4 inches of foam insulati...
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