installation

I have a older house here and thinking about blowing in some type or installation under a open floor with only dirt under it and nothing more—lil cool in winters–but what can i guy blow in there with it sweating and chance of mold and all that?? any ideas??

Reguarding the insulation, how deep is the crawl space below the bottom of the floor joists? Can you easily crawl around down there?

If you are worried about it a thicker poly-styrene say 4″ cut to fit between the joists and fastened or glued might be your best bet if moisture is high.

Also are there many pipes or wires blocking your way?

not able to get under there–only a small–very small opening–why am hoping to blow it in–no pipes and about 3 foot space from ground to floor

I have used the Owens Corning pink fiberglass blow in insulation and machine a number of times. It blows well.
However, the tube is a 3″ diameter flexible hose and the insulation can shoot about 8′-10′ MAX if it is not blocked by anything, including a small pile of insulation.

I think it could work if you were able to feed the hose into the space and had some way to controll it in the confined space. Maybe on a extension pole???? Im not fully aware of your specific set up.

It will pack down in with time, but I am concerned about this type of insulation with the moisture from the earth and any potential extra moisture from rain storms. So maybe fiber glass blow in might not be a good choice.

Spray in expansion maybe? not well educated in the capabilities of confined spaces application. However, I do belive it would be the best for moisture concerns and would not pack over time. COST is the factor here.

Thats about all im good for, hope I did not confuse you too much. -Mark

I would think that spray foam up on the floor joists would be the only viable option. It will cost but blowing anything directly on the dirt floor and having no moisture control sounds like real problems. 3′ from dirt to joist sounds like plenty of room to work with. Make the entrance opening bigger and then with 3′ of height to work with you might be able to use faced fiberglass between the joists which would be considerable cheaper than the spray foam. IMHO

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I would think that spray foam up on the floor joists would be the only viable option. It will cost but blowing anything directly on the dirt floor and having no moisture control sounds like real problems. 3′ from dirt to joist sounds like plenty of room to work with. Make the entrance opening bigger and then with 3′ of height to work with you might be able to use faced fiberglass between the joists which would be considerable cheaper than the spray foam. IMHO

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X2!
How large of an area do you have? Do a google search for Tiger Foam kits, and then price out other companies from there. You may want to consider having a good insulation company come in and do it, and its not a cheap way to go. But it is the most superior way to do it. The condensation point will be in the foam, with no air permeation, so you have no opportunity for mold growth. The vapor lock will seal any infiltration of air, and you will (long term) recover your costs from your energy bills if using gas or propane to heat with.

My insulation vendor has done a few remodels for me with crawl spaces less than 3′. Its a pain in the , but it can be done and well worth the effort.

crawl in, tack up fiberglass bats..

I can’t really picture your project but you could also put 2×4’s 18″ down to set a false floor of green treat plywood and blow your insulation on that to help keep it dry and cut your insulation in half? Good luck and whatever it does cost to do it right will pay for itself real quick.

thanks for all replies