LESLIE: Bonnie in North Dakota needs some help keeping a crawlspace warm. Tell us about what’s going on.
BONNIE: I was just wondering how you insulate a crawlspace when the floor joists go one direction and then your water lines go another direction.
TOM: Very carefully. (all chuckle) You know, it’s not so hard to do. I mean that’s very common that the water lines are going to go perpendicular to the floor joist. Typically, you want to use unfaced batt insulation; so unfaced fiberglass. You’re going to carefully – I would use the precut pieces; they’re easier to handle. And you’re going to squeeze those up in between the floor joists. You’re going to support them in place with wire hangers and whenever you come to a place where there are pipes in the way, just sort of work the insulation around it. But remember, don’t jam the insulation in; don’t compress it, because insulation has to be fluffy to work properly.
BONNIE: OK.
TOM: And then after you get the insulation in, make sure you put a vapor barrier down across the crawlspace floor to reduce the amount of humidity in the crawlspace. That will help keep the insulation drier and make it even more effective.
LESLIE: Mm-hmm. Because once it gets moist it cuts the r value.
BONNIE OK. OK, great. Thank you.
TOM: You’re welcome, Bonnie. Thanks so much for calling us at 888-MONEY-PIT.
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