Cabin insulation
locodiablo
| Posted in Energy Efficiency and Durability on
Building a cabin, will be using a post and beam foundation, 2×12 joist and 2 feet above grade. What is the best practice for insulating the floor? Cabin is located Pennsylvania and will be seasonal.
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Replies
locodiablo,
Cover the bottom of the joists, and inside the rim-joists, with a layer of foam, and cover that with a layer of plywood to protect it. Place batts in the joist cavities. Make sure you air-seal penetrations in the subfloor.
Start with this article:
https://www.southmountain.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/19-Small-Home-Harmony-Article-PDF.pdf
I wouldn't go nuts on insulation for a seasonal cabin. Fill the joist with fluffy and call it a day. For air sealing, make sure to tape the seams of the subfloor with a quality sheathing tape. Do this before the finished floor goes in to avoid damaging the tape.
You do have to keep critters out of the insulation though, so either a layer of plywood or hardware cloth under the joists is a must. I've used galvanized metal lathe for this before, harder to handle but available in a pinch.
For any cottage, the most important thing to get right is your critter barrier. Make sure this is continuous across any cross section of the house. For odd gaps and spaces combination of spray foam with stainless wool pushed into works great.
Akos,
I agree, and yet how many questions do we see about winterizing cottages, or rooms originally designed to be three season? It might be best to go that extra mile now and be done - whatever the future plans turn out to be.