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Why Insulate Your Crawl Space?
An uninsulated crawl space can make heating and cooling your home's living spaces slower, less effective, and more expensive. And it will also increase your overall energy use - and thus, your carbon footprint.
At Pure Eco, we have helped numerous homeowners in Los Angeles and surrounding areas upgrade their energy efficiency and improve their indoor air quality through installation of high quality crawl space insulation. We know how to properly insulate both ventilated and unventilated crawl spaces, creating an effective thermal envelope "under" your home.
Contact Pure Eco Inc. today by calling (877) 870-7998 for a free, no-obligation consultation and a quick, accurate quote.
There are a lot of good reasons why people in Los Angeles and Southern California invest in crawl space insulation, and each homeowner's top priority may differ. But the truth is that, insulating your crawl space brings multiple important benefits to everyone who has it done.
The first benefit you'll notice is a warmer floor. You won't have to wake up early in the morning and walk across cold floor boards or tiles anymore. There are better ways, after all, to wake up in the morning than by "floor shock."
And the increased comfort will also be felt through warmer indoor air in the cold season and cooler indoor air during the hot L.A. summer months.
Second, your indoor air quality will improve. Allergens, mold spores, bacteria, dust, and all manner of irritants can get into your living space air from the crawl space. This is the air you and your family have to breathe regularly, and poor indoor air quality can cause a host of respiratory problems, allergies, aggravation of asthma, and other health conditions.
Third, insulating (and sealing) your crawl space can help keep insects and rodents from getting into your home - or even into your crawl space to begin with!
Fourth, if you have plumbing pipes running through your crawl space, insulating it (and them) can prevent them from freezing during a rare cold snap. And it will also prevent the water in those pipes from getting too cold - which would mean you spend more energy to heat it later or you get chilly hands at the faucet.
Fifth, you may have uninsulated air ducts in your crawl space. This can also be energy inefficient, and insulating your crawl space (walls and ceiling both) is generally a better way to solve the problem than by insulating the ducts themselves, since the latter approach can be rather expensive and without the broader-based benefits of a fully insulated crawl space.
Sixth, there is yet one more way that insulation in your crawl space can help your home - by preventing undue moisture accumulation. When your home's air is too moist, it can cause mold or mildew to grow and lead to damaged drywall and wood structures as water condenses on walls and wood trim. Some of that excess moisture may be coming from your crawl space, and insulation, sealing, and a vapor barrier can stop it. (This also reduces your need to use energy to run a dehumidifier.)
What Kind of Insulation Is Best for Crawl Spaces?
The most popular form of insulation to use in crawl spaces, as elsewhere in the house, is fiberglass batts insulation. This would be installed between exposed rafters on the crawl space ceiling.
However, cellulose is also a common insulation material, which can also come in batts rolls and be installed the same way.
It is possible to put loose fill insulation in your crawl space, but that would require plywood or another structure to be installed and used to hold it in and up. For this reason, loose fill is not as popular with crawl spaces.
Finally, we mention that rigid foam board insulation can also be used in crawl spaces. The cost would be higher than with batts, but this method certainly gives you a high R-value and greatly reduces drafts and moisture accumulation.
Pure Eco's Crawl Space Insulating Process
At Pure Eco, we offer several specific services related to crawl spaces: installation of new insulation, air sealing, and rodent proofing. Often, these services are combined for a full crawl space overhaul.
As there are different types of crawl spaces and they are in very different conditions, the exact needs of your crawl space may not be the same as everyone else's (and many houses, of course, may not even have a crawl space - but may need insulation in an unfinished basement.)
But despite the differences from job to job, we can give you a good overall picture of a "prototypical" Pure Eco crawl space insulation project, step by step.
Inspecting the Crawl Space
The first order of business is to investigate your crawl space and see how it is built and how much square footage of insulation it will require. We will see if your crawl space is already ventilated or not - or if it needs new vents and additional ventilation.
We will see what condition it is in, and be able to give you a tighter estimate than the initial over the phone estimate.
Clean Up and Prep Work
Next, as commence that project, we will need to begin by cleaning up and preparing the crawl space for the insulation. First, it may be necessary to eliminate standing or pooling water (and to prevent reentry by extending downspouts further away from the house or suggesting that "wrongly sloped" land near your foundation be re-graded.)
You might also want to consider adding a sump pump and/or waterproofing your concrete. We can help you ensure your crawl space is fully clean and prepped before we put the insulation in.
Sealing for air and to keep out rodents and insects is another key component of the prep work. This may mean plugging holes in the crawl space walls/ceiling with caulk, plywood, concrete patching, or another appropriate product. It may also mean sealing vent covers or openings, sealing rim joists and sills, and sealing around hatchways and other access points.
Installing the Insulation
After cleaning up the area and completing air sealing (and if necessary eliminating mold and replacing rotted wood or making other repairs), it's time to put the insulation in.
If you have no pipes or ducts in your crawl space, it's possible to simply insulate the ceiling. But if you do have these items in your crawl space, it's important to insulate the walls as well.
In fact, it's always beneficial to insulate the walls since this prevents moist outdoor air from getting in and condensing on the cool concrete.
We always install every insulation type in strict accord with all manufacturer's instructions. And we make sure it is firmly secured and fills in inter-joist/stud spaces. But due to the high odds of moisture and condensation build-up in a crawl space, even (though to a lesser degree) after ventilating it - you'll also need a vapor barrier.
The Vapor Barrier
To protect your insulation from moisture and the sagging that moisture build-up can lead to, we can install a vapor barrier over your new crawl space insulation.
We can also install a polyurethane vapor barrier on your crawl space floor, and then cover it with sand, to add yet further anti-moisture protection.
We strongly recommend you add a vapor barrier over all new insulation since otherwise fiberglass insulation can get soggy, dirty, and heavy over the years in a crawl space. And without a protection, it could offer a cozy home to rodents and insects. The vapor barrier is what protects your investment in your new insulation and makes it work at its highest possible level.
Thus, vapor barriers are a routine part of fiberglass insulation projects for crawl spaces. A different type of insulation might be able to do without a vapor barrier, but even with a vapor barrier, fiberglass is the more affordable option.
Why Choose Pure Eco to Insulate and Upgrade Your Crawl Space?
At Pure Eco, we realize how competitive the market is in Los Angeles and Southern California when it comes to all manner of contractor services, including crawl space and home insulation. We work hard to be the best in the business and to keep each and every customer 100% satisfied with our services.
Check out our online reviews at Yelp and elsewhere, and you'll quickly see that they are overwhelmingly positive. We have an exceptionally high customer satisfaction rate, and we get a large proportion of our business by referral from past customers. Those are clear signs we are meeting out number one goal - to bring L.A. Area residents maximized energy efficiency and second to none customer service.
Pure Eco is 100% licensed, bonded, and insured. We always put safety first (both yours and ours) while on the job. We never take unnecessary risks but work in a step by step, streamlined manner that constantly guards against any and all safety hazards.
At Pure Eco, we distinguish ourselves from our competitors by more than just our expertise and our affordable prices. We also select the highest quality of insulation products. And we work on your schedule and maintain a high work ethic, so that you can count on us to be there and to finish the job in a reasonable amount of time.
Finally, we give our customers free, no-obligation quotes that are accurate and that include all costs. We don't hit you with last-minute "surprise fees." It's true that an on-site inspection may be needed to get an extremely precise estimate, but we can give an accurate estimate even over the phone.
Don't Forget Your Crawl Space When Your Upgrade Your Home's Energy Efficiency
Unfortunately, the crawl space is the often forgotten component of a full energy efficiency upgrade. Attics come quickly to mind for many, and sealing around windows and doors is seldom overlooked; while installing more energy efficient heating/cooling units is common enough as well.
But it's easy to forget about that space just below your floor. But the fact is, a poorly insulated or uninsulated crawl space can greatly hamper your energy efficiency goals. Cool air especially is prone to seep through the floor and into the crawl space, then escape out the sides of the house. That makes it more expensive to cool your home in the hot season - and it can contribute to overworking your AC unit.
The impact of a well ventilated, well insulated crawl space can be great. It will save you money but also reduce your energy consumption, which means less carbon dioxide, sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxide, and other chemicals and gases escaping into the atmosphere during power plant energy production.
Thus, while insulating your attic will improve your indoor air quality, it indirectly improves the quality of Earth's outdoor air as well!
Keeping respiratory irritants, rodents, insects, mold spores, and high-moisture air out of your living spaces is no small "side benefit." Indeed, an insulated crawl space has many benefits that go beyond even the energy savings, the environmental benefits, and the increased comfort.
By including crawl space insulation in your overall home insulation and energy efficiency improvement plans, you maximize the positive impacts of your investment. And every time you walk on those now-warm floor boards in the early morning hours, you'll be reminded of all the good your insulated crawl space is doing!
Contact Us Today to Get Started on Your Crawl Space Insulation Upgrade!
At Pure Eco Inc., we have the knowledge, tools, experience, and motivation to insulate crawl spaces in the L.A. Area and beyond, bringing homeowners greater comfort and cost savings and helping the environment at the same time.
Contact us today by calling (877) 870-7998 and we will give you a free energy efficiency consultation, with particular reference to your crawl space, and can also give you a no-obligation over the phone quick quote!
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Awards
Christopher G.
I already had my main attic done last year by a different company that did not do what they said they would and ended up damaging my ceiling. Decided to go with a different company this time around for a smaller attic of an addition that isn’t directly connected to the main attic.
The attic had no insulation at all (built in the 1930s). It needed debris vacuumed out, rodent proofing, and R-38 batt insulation.
After getting quotes from several folks, decided to go with Pure Eco. Quick turnaround, reasonably priced, good professional crew lead by Martin, and clear communication through my assigned contact Jasmine. Discussion and quote was based on photos I took. Contract and payment was handled all through e-doc services. And they made sure to give me an overview of the work done before leaving. The difference in temperature was a noticeable improvement that night.
Highly recommend.
Mark F.
Our home needed some serious insulation and duct work done. It was awful and quite old (the insulation shrunk to approximately 3″). We called three companies for a quote, and we only saw two. We decided to go with them, before seeing the third, because of the amazing deal they offered and because they would be able to do it immediately. Ben was our sales guy and he was more than helpful and extremely knowledgeable. He made sure to inform us that they are licensed, bonded, and have workers’ compensation insurance, which kept me at ease.
The following day was the installation. Ben told us that they would be there from 8AM – 7PM (latest). They arrived on time, and completed the job by 3PM!!! I was shocked and thoroughly pleased. William, the supervisor of our job, was extremely friendly, and his crew was very professional. They cleaned up their mess; it looked as clean as when they arrived.
I highly recommend them and think that anyone that uses them will do so as well. Hi
Mery Beth W
I am a firm believer in referrals from friends when it comes to anything for my home and this company was a good referral for sure. My husband and I love Pure Eco and would definitely recommend them to everyone.
They have very professional installers and managers. Everything went smoothly from the scheduling to the end of the job. They use new machines and trucks (I tend to judge a book by it’s cover, unfortunately).
We had them replace our duct system and they installed Radiant barrier. They came in and did their job and left with no mess behind. Definitely give them a try!
Mery Beth W.
Ron S.
We recently bought a house in Canyon Country and the garage was completely exposed and got extremely hot this time of year. When it was 90 degrees outside, the garage was well over 100 degrees. I got quotes from about a half dozen companies but was the most impressed with Pure Eco, especially their representative Sara. She was very helpful and she worked with me on the quote and gave me a lot of of great suggestions as to the best way to get our garage as cool as possible while staying within our limited budget. She recommended insulating the ceiling and front gable and then putting in radiant barrier. Her team came out and did the job in one afternoon and cleaned up afterwards. And now our garage is a LOT cooler. I can definitely recommend Pure Eco.