Will the engineered hardwood be nailed to the 1/2” subfloor?

If it is, the 'pex' may start to look like bullseyes.

Was the batt insulation stuffed into place or set in place?

mark, no we will have to use floating or glue only as there are pex below.

I would have put a 10 or 6 mil vapor barrier on top of the soil.

Yes.. i wish i did that. as you can see its pex pipe and plate all nailed on joist i wish i can take all out and put vappur barrier

i was hoping there will be a way to protect without major reconstruction

@Mark Bischak, Architect what do you mean by bulles eyes?

batt was stuffed in there not sure if i understand the difference between set and stuff

Stuffed gives poor insualtion value since it is compacted .Yes you needed a vapour barrier and I am not sure how effective this floor heating system will be in that situation

@Patricia Colwell Consulting how about condensation issue? would it cause mold and condensation without barrier?

Of course .

Bullseyes, as in targets for nails to hit; but you are not using nails, so that is good in that aspect.

It is the air the insulation entraps that gives it the insulation value. The batts must maintain their fluff to maintain their insulation value.

If this were my responsibility going forward, I'd carefully remove the fasteners. I'd remove the insulation. I'd put in a 10mil vapor barrier. Then replace everything. Worth the bit of difficulty. Even if I had to buy a cat's paw or other nail puller.

@Mark Bischak, Architect @Patricia Colwell Consulting

What would be my best option?

spray foam would not need vapour barrier between soil and insulation and also between foam and pex pipe?

where do I need vapour barrier? Soil-)

vapor barrier-) batt insulation-) vapourbarrier-) pex?

or can we omit vapour barrier between pex and insulation?

@dan1888 you mean reconstuct everything here?

as you can see there is this joist would vapour barrier be effective when you cant completely seal it?

( we used to have spray foam insulation and removed them thinking we could staple up the pex but because of double joist it was really hard to put pex pipe between joist and ended up doing staple down wish never removed that spray foam insulation to begin with)

The location of vapor barriers in construction has always baffled me, hearing conflicting philosophies. Hire a local insulation expert that can visit the site and see the conditions.

I would think it would be beneficial to somehow block the moisture from the ground before it reaches the structure.

Moisture must be blocked between the ground and the structure or you will end up with mold, 100% guaranteed.

@dan1888@Mark Bischak, Architect @millworkman

asked the contrator and he said there is some foam insulation and put batt insulation.. would this help at all?

NO.

I just noticed the image posted immediately above my last comment, SCARY!!!!

Get a local insulation sub-contractor involved in your project before your contractor commits any more crimes.

So its about 2 foot above ground does it make any difference?

No, actually probably even more important to have a moisture barrier.

@millworkman why would it be more an issue? i thought underground would be more humid?

i contacted insulation trade and they say no vapour barrier required with spray insulation

This downloadable guide from Building Science Corp shows details for all types of spray foam installations.

If the spray foam is outside, it should be protected from insects and other burrowing creatures.

Thanks @worthy I will have spray foam insulator to see what they say..