Q. You recently discussed sealing a crawl space. On the walls, do you use faced, unfaced or encapsulated bats? How do you fasten to walls? On the concrete floor, I couldn’t find anyone who knew what encapsulated fiber type vapor barrier was. Can I use plastic sheeting to seal out radon or what do you recommend? Furnace is in crawl space.
T. Smith, Morris
A. Insulation comes in many forms including loose fibers, foams and boards. The kind of insulation that comes in a roll or blanket can be faced, which means one side of the material is covered with a flat sheet of plastic, paper or foil. The insulation also can come encapsulated, which means that it is completely encased with some kind of covering. Neil Peck of S.N. Peck Builder Inc., of Chicago, suggests that a rigid insulation board be used for the walls of a crawl space. This board should probably be one or more inches thick and can be glued to the walls, he said.
In most cases, there’s no need to insulate the concrete floor of the crawl space because it is deep enough to be below the freeze line. On the question of radon, experts advise homeowners to get their property tested. Homeowners may conduct their own home tests or hire a trained professional who is licensed to test for this invisible and odorless pollutant. If high levels of radon are found, contractors who specialize in radon mediation can develop a plan to improve indoor air quality. For more information, call the Illinois Emergency Management Agency Division of Nuclear Safety’s radon program office at 800-325-1245.
———-
Have a question about home repair or maintenance? Send a brief note to Home Remedies, Your Place, baiduhai, 435 N. Michigan Ave., Chicago IL 60611, or e-mail [email protected].
Be sure to include your name, address and daytime phone number. Questions of general interest will be answered in future columns.