Hi there
We have a home built in the 60s in Colorado. It is a rectangular 1100 sqft single story home, with a vented crawlspace (one vent in each corner). Our home is generally very well insulated, except for the floor. It is a wood floor, and gets very cold in the winter. So we're considering insulating it. Since we are "rookies" at home improvement... we'd appreciate any advice we could get.
Bare with us if these seem like silly questions...
First, the house has baseboard heat, and the boiler is down there in the crawlspace. Does this pose a problem? Are there fire hazards when installing insulation nearby a boiler? Obviously we'd try to keep the insulation away from the boiler, but if you have any additional thoughts/comments let us know.
Second question... There are nails through the floor that poke out about 1/4 to 1/2 of an inch into the crawlspace. When installing insulation, I know we're supposed to put the vapor barrier facing up toward the inside of the house. Are the nails going to cause problems? Does the facing need to be flat up against the floor, or can we leave it "hovering" below the floor giving room for those nails?? I assume we don't want to push the insulation up against the floor in such a way that we poke holes in the facing... Do we need to cut off the nails before we start? Or hammer them down so that they are flush with the floor?
Finally, there are some areas where pipes and such are in the way and we won't be able to apply the insulation there. Or perhaps we have to compress the insulation to make it fit between the floor and the pipes. If there are a few such gaps or imperfect areas of the insulation, how much does this affect the overall efficiency of the insulation? I just want to make sure that this doesn't make the whole project moot... Surely it still helps to put in the insulation even if there are a few uninsulated areas?
Thank you in advance!!
Emma
We have a home built in the 60s in Colorado. It is a rectangular 1100 sqft single story home, with a vented crawlspace (one vent in each corner). Our home is generally very well insulated, except for the floor. It is a wood floor, and gets very cold in the winter. So we're considering insulating it. Since we are "rookies" at home improvement... we'd appreciate any advice we could get.
Bare with us if these seem like silly questions...First, the house has baseboard heat, and the boiler is down there in the crawlspace. Does this pose a problem? Are there fire hazards when installing insulation nearby a boiler? Obviously we'd try to keep the insulation away from the boiler, but if you have any additional thoughts/comments let us know.
Second question... There are nails through the floor that poke out about 1/4 to 1/2 of an inch into the crawlspace. When installing insulation, I know we're supposed to put the vapor barrier facing up toward the inside of the house. Are the nails going to cause problems? Does the facing need to be flat up against the floor, or can we leave it "hovering" below the floor giving room for those nails?? I assume we don't want to push the insulation up against the floor in such a way that we poke holes in the facing... Do we need to cut off the nails before we start? Or hammer them down so that they are flush with the floor?
Finally, there are some areas where pipes and such are in the way and we won't be able to apply the insulation there. Or perhaps we have to compress the insulation to make it fit between the floor and the pipes. If there are a few such gaps or imperfect areas of the insulation, how much does this affect the overall efficiency of the insulation? I just want to make sure that this doesn't make the whole project moot... Surely it still helps to put in the insulation even if there are a few uninsulated areas?
Thank you in advance!!
Emma
