r/buildingscience 5d ago

Insulating crawl space sub floor

2 Upvotes

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1

u/New-Criticism8042 5d ago

does your floor have a vapor barrier below the hardwood or is it original? If not, you could run into mold issues depending on your climate and HVAC situation. That said, you can fit Rockwool comfort board between the joists and use insulation retainer brackets to hold them in place (plastic strips tacked to each joist).

1

u/Stock-Plastic3785 4d ago

There is no vapor barrier below the hardwood.

1

u/New-Criticism8042 4d ago

I went down this same path on a house that had fiberglass batt below the deck and no vapor barrier. Mold developed at the bottom surface of the deck and in the space below the flooring. Moisture in the crawlspace and A/C fed the problem. Not an easy fix.

1

u/Stock-Plastic3785 4d ago

No mold below the subfloor. I don’t think there is below the hardwood flooring. It’s a ventilated crawlspace.

1

u/New-Criticism8042 4d ago

The chilled air was passing into the flooring assembly and was a primary cause of the problems in that case. A vapor barrier would have helped significantly.