Freezing Crawl Space Insulated in Rockaway Park, Queens

Friday, November 13th, 2015 by Sarah Gozick

Challenge

In the summer, this Rockaway Park, Queens family used their sunroom daily. It was warm, comfortable, and a great place to host parties. However, every winter it was too cold to use. The sunroom was drafty, cold, and no one ever wanted to go in it. It was a waste of space and cost money in heating bills. Desperate to keep using their sunroom year round, the family called Quality 1st Basement Systems to come and insulate their crawl space. Crawl space specialist Jeff Nero found a cold, damp crawl space that already had insulation. However, the insulation was poor quality and wasn't working. Jeff knew just the products to use to keep the crawl space warm.

Solution

In order to keep the crawl space warm, the installation team laid TerraBlock crawl space insulation on the crawl space floor. TerraBlock is made out of a rigid foam that keeps cold air from coming up through the ground. With TerraBlock crawl space insulation, water seepage will not come through the ground, so the crawl space will stay dry and safe. Quality 1st Basement Systems encapsulated the crawl space with CleanSpace vapor barrier. CleanSpace creates a barrier between the dirt floor and the crawl space. It keeps out musty odors, moisture, water vapor, and pests. On the crawl space wall, they installed SilverGlo crawl space insulation. SilverGlo is better than fiberglass. Fiberglass only insulates at the ceiling but SilverGlo insulates at the wall, preventing cold air from coming in through the cinderblock foundation. SilverGlo uses graphite to reflect heat, trapping it in the crawl space. It is made out of inorganic waterproof materials, so it will never grow mold or mildew.

These are the best products for the job because they are easy to install and insulate well. The old insulation was damp and did not keep the crawl space dry. The waterproof products installed by Quality 1st Basement Systems will stay dry and warm. Now the family is saving money on their energy bills and can use the sunroom again! This winter they plan to host holiday parties in their beautiful sunroom.