Crawl space vapor barriers should be part of a home's moisture control strategy in most U.S. climates, thanks to how saturated the ground is in most areas. A vapor barrier for a crawl space slows the passage of moisture, preventing it from soaking into structures and causing water damage ...
Spread a crawl space vapor barrier Most crawl spaces will benefit from a vapor barrier, but especially those that have a bare-soil floor. A vapor barrier is usually plastic sheeting placed on the soil that helps to prevent moisture in the soil from seeping up into your crawl space. Have a...
Housewraps are moisture barriers, or water barriers, or rain barriers because they keep actual drops of water out of the building wall cavity, but they do not trap the much-smaller individual molecules of water H2O - water vapor. Housewrap is a moisture barrier that also serves as an air...
Crawl spaces often have several reasons for excess moisture. Our crawl space was no exception. The floor of the space was very close to the existing water level, we have no rain gutters on our cabin, and much of the yard slopes improperly toward the home. All of these issues need attenti...
Insulation is square, the peak is not... do you just stuff more in that triangular gap? Like I said, we have put the foam rafter vents in the entire length from the big peak beam to soffit. I just don't know how much to stuff in that space. Fill it up with scrap? If so, do...
4. Basements and crawlspaces In an otherwise well-insulated house, as much as 25% of the total home heat loss can occur through uninsulated foundation walls and floors. If the basement is an unheated space and isn’t used as a living area, insulate between the floor joists for the room...
Typical building air convection currents tend to move air up and out from lower to upper building levels, so one would not think that much mold would movedownfrom an attic into the living area. But important exceptions to this can quickly move problem mold from an attic into a living area....
on wet surfaces inside and start growing. Mold growing in your house can make you sick. But in the type and severity of illness can depend on the kind of mold involved, how sensitive your body is to the effects, how much mold you are exposed to, and how long you are exposed to it...
Just as you can add a satellite radio or heated seats to your car, you can add hot tubs and crown molding to your modular home. Welcome to the world of prefab. But what exactly is a prefab house? How are the pieces constructed and assembled? How much does it cost to build a ...
attachment systems. The photo below shows a test of long screws through two layers of 2 inch thick rigid foam 8 feet high. Hanging from the bottom of each is a bucket of rocks. A deflection gauge measures how much the weight pulls it down. The answer is that if you do it right, it...