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Is it a good idea to condition a crawl space instead of insulating it?

shdr55 | Posted in General Questions on

what would be better for a crawl space/sleepers to insulate or to do a parameter insulation and condition the area with the house system
thanks in advance

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  1. GBA Editor
    Martin Holladay | | #1

    Schlomo,
    Building codes require insulation. It's not optional. In the case of a crawl space, the only question is where to put the insulation. It can either go on the crawl space ceiling, or it can go on the crawl space walls.

    It almost always makes more sense to put the insulation on the crawl space walls rather than on the crawl space ceiling. Here is a link to an article that explains why: Building an Unvented Crawl Space.

    Your second question is whether it makes sense to condition a crawl space. The answer is that a crawl space doesn't need to be conditioned to the same level as upstairs rooms, because no one lives down there. However, building codes require a little bit of air movement to keep humidity in check. There are two ways to provide the required air movement; they are described in the article that I linked to.

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