Insulation Ceiling For Warmth

4 years ago

Hey all,

My house is a bungalow style. There is a side entrance with a bathroom on the same level.

The room below is my crawl space which we use as storage, there is also a sump pump in that room. The room below is insulated on the 3 outer wall however the ceiling is not. The floor in there is concrete.

I live in Northern Ontario, Canada. The floor in the entrance and the bathroom are always cold and the bathroom is usually 2-3 degrees colder than the rest of the house.

I want to insulate the ceiling in the crawl space, which should help out with the cold floor above. Should I also put a vapour barrier?

Hope someone can help me out.

Thanks in advance!

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Comments (5)

res2architect
4 years ago
It's not that simple.

How are well are the bathroom and entry walls and ceilings insulated, do they have exterior glass and how are they heated?

How well are the crawl space walls insulated and is it ventilated to the outside?

If the crawl space isn't ventilated, is any heat from the main floor distributed to the crawl space?

Are there water pipes or mechanical equipment in the crawl space?
Steve H thanked res2architect
Steve H
Original Author
4 years ago
The entry and bathroom walls are 2by6 construction. We have lived here for 4 years and the house was built in 1993 so I don't know the exact R value in the walls but I'm assuming it was built to code back then.

There is a door with glass in the entrance and a window in the bathroom.

We heat the house with natural gas (forced air).

The crawl space walls are 2 by 4 construction. They are all insulated (as well as the rim joists) and covered by a vapour barrier. Once again, not sure of the R value in the walls.

There is no ventilation to the outside in the crawl space. There must be some heat coming from the door in the basement living area as the temperature never drops below 10 degrees Celsius in there.

Yes, there are some water pipes in the crawl space which head off into the aforementioned bathroom.
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worthy
4 years ago
As it is now, the crawlspace is part of your home's conditioned space. Otherwise it wouldn't be so warm. And with storage, plumbing and a sump pump in it, you might want to keep it that way. In that case, beef up the wall and sill/rim insulation to at least R20 continuous. And forget insulation on the crawl ceiling. (The current Code requires supply and returns to heated crawls, as well.)

If you don't mind a very cold storage space, consider completely sealing the crawl from the rest of the basement and the living space above while being sure to heat the water pipes with heated electrical tape. (And pray for no power outages!) The sump pump won't be able to pump ice, which could be a consideration as well,
res2architect
4 years ago
How tall is the crawl space and what is the 4th wall?

How far below the exterior grade is the floor of the crawl space and how much of the crawl space exterior walls is wood framing and how much is foundation?

How is the foundation insulated?
David Cary
4 years ago
last modified: 4 years ago
At some point insulating a wall that is exposed to dirt is not nearly as important as insulating walls exposed to air. Dirt far below the surface is fairly warm. Doesn't hurt to overinsulate it but it doesn't do all that much.

I know it is unlikely but could there be insulation on the outside of the crawl space walls?

Is the crawl only under the entrance and bathroom? And the rest is conditioned basement?

Where is your duct work?