crawl space insulation

[David K. Lee]

Inspected a house tonight with a crawl space. It was 4 ft. high. There were drain lines and water lines in it. Also the main water shutoff. It was a bi-level and the door to get in was in the floor under the hall steps. It had vents all around. My question is there was no insulation in the floor joists. I thought all crawl spaces required insulation on the floor joists. The walls were insulated.

[jkogel]

Originally Posted by dlee2

Inspected a house tonight with a crawl space. It was 4 ft. high. There were drain lines and water lines in it. Also the main water shutoff. It was a bi-level and the door to get in was in the floor under the hall steps. It had vents all around. My question is there was no insulation in the floor joists. I thought all crawl spaces required insulation on the floor joists. The walls were insulated.

Assuming this was a fairly new home in Kentucky, I'd expect to see a heat source and a way to close and insulate the vents. It sounds like a Conditioned Crawlspace.

John Kogel
www.allsafehome.ca

[Russell J. Hensel]

From what you say, I have to agree this is almost treated like interior space. Have no idea the rules in kentucky...come to think of it, we don't even have crawlspaces here...

[Douglas Cossar]

Originally Posted by dlee2

Inspected a house tonight with a crawl space. It was 4 ft. high. There were drain lines and water lines in it. Also the main water shutoff. It was a bi-level and the door to get in was in the floor under the hall steps. It had vents all around. My question is there was no insulation in the floor joists. I thought all crawl spaces required insulation on the floor joists. The walls were insulated.

As others have said I don't know your local requirements, however, we , in the great white north would consider it to be a conditioned space. Insulation on the foundation walls would make it so, in spite of the vents, assmeing the vents could be closed in the winter.

Also : Insulation in crawl spaces and basements has not always been "required". Depends on the age of the house.

Cheers

[David Sorge]

You won't find insulation in a crawl space in Florida either. Most crawl space homes here were built in the early 1900's.

[Jeffery L. Haynes]

I think its not there simply because Ky does not have a GC licensing requirement which in turns means you can pretty much build the way you want without consequences.

(they do have electrical, hvac & plumbing requirements)

Was this an older home?

[Larry D. Kage]

Originally Posted by dlee2

Inspected a house tonight with a crawl space. It was 4 ft. high. There were drain lines and water lines in it. Also the main water shutoff. It was a bi-level and the door to get in was in the floor under the hall steps. It had vents all around. My question is there was no insulation in the floor joists. I thought all crawl spaces required insulation on the floor joists. The walls were insulated.

I would much prefer crawlspace perimeter wall insulation. Run a heat duct or two down there and let the heat rise up through the floor...toastie tootsies.

[Joe Funderburk, CMI]

A conditioned crawl space would not have foundation vents. It sounds like what I would call a "split level" home and I would hazard a guess that the insulation you saw on the walls was a lower level living space interior wall.

I would say this, but would not make it a significant issue if its an older home:

"No insulation was provided for the sub-floor. Insulating the sub-floor to today's minimum standard of R-19 is recommended for thermal efficiency."