With Kraft-faced … Kudos to Knauf! Allison–a great article.Allison–a great article. You can install the paper facing however you want—as long as the building inspector† lets you, of course. YTczMzg3ZWY5MjYxMjAxNWI0NzIwZjcwODZhNTE4N2Q2ODkwODhmMWQ1MGE5 SUBSCRIBE TO THE ENERGY VANGUARD BLOG AND NEWSLETTER! Installing the fiberglass vertically on the crawlspace walls is a problem because it will become saturated with moisture from the foundation wall and ground floor. Cut the insulation as needed to fit any narrow spaces between floor joists. Many of these had faced batts installed in the building cavities, with facings installed in every imaginable configuration — up, down, in, out, torn, taped, stapled here, stapled there — and I have never ONCE seen evidence of moisture accumulation resulting from diffusion in these building cavities. you can actually stand up in "crawl Space" so not low to floor. Without insulation, heat and cool air are easily lost through the floor. The paper looks perfect, but you reach behind it and there’s nothing there. You have to approach slowly and quietly because they spook easily. MzkxZDJmYjM4OWFmYTMyYzY1NDk5MjNmYjk3Mzg4ZTdiODk3ZjQ3NmM1NTNj I admit that for the two crawl space jobs we added 2" polystyrene to cap the joists after filling them with R-19 batts. When it is between the joists in a vented crawl space, with the paper or foil side up, and the unfaced side down… If you want to protect your home and see drastic improvements in energy efficiency, you should go down there and check if your home has crawl space vents, any gaps at the sill plate, or insulation. To do so, you have two options. Nobody does the floor UNLESS THEY ARE HEATING THE FLOOR WITH WATER THEN THE PURPOSE OF THE INSULATION IS TO KEEP IT RADIATING UPWARD AND NOT INTO THE CRAWL SPACE. We are assuming that the use of spray polyurethane foam insulation is not an option for one reason or another. NTA2NTczZDNjNTQ4MGJlOGMyZTc1MzI2MmU4NzgzOTM2ZDA1YmNlMjllZDNl The warm-in-winter suggestion says that if you’re trying to limit the diffusion of water vapor, put the vapor retarder on the humid side of the wall, where…uh…it’s not able to retard much vapor. NTM4ZTJiMGU4ZDU2NzI5ZmFlZWI1Y2FjMjRmZTlmYWNiYmIwODdlYzBmMWI3 To ensure our content is always up-to-date with current information, best practices, and professional advice, articles are routinely reviewed by industry experts with years of hands-on experience. Emails are serviced by Constant Contact, © 2020, Energy Vanguard | 533 West Howard Avenue, Suite E, Decatur, GA 30030, HVAC Design for Code Compliance | Energy Vanguard, HVAC Design Data Collection Forms | Energy Vanguard, Sample HVAC Design Reports | Energy Vanguard. Insulation also helps to preserve the air quality and reduce energy costs. People new to building science and HVAC are confronted with a lot of terms for things that are related but…, HVAC Design ZTI3OGI2NDc0ODE0Y2ZhNjFiZTc2MWJkM2FhOWFhODY3M2ZlY2Y2MjYwMGZj My answer: neither. I am selling a home in South Dakota that the buyers had inspected. Second, if you install it the wrong way, it’s unlikely that you’ll have a problem. NmY0YjcxNzg4OGYzOTAxYjNiODI0YTJmZmNjMjRkMDk3ZWNlNTQyODg3MGZm This should be printed on the paper face of the insulation. NGJjMzAyNWY0ZmU1MWQyYTBmNmY1ZWRmMmZjNTBmYzRjOTgxNjRlNDIxZDU4 So I can agree with you with great certainty: The location of kraft facing is irrelevant because the entire system is an impotent, lousy, fake control layer anyway. There are two types of crawl spaces - ventilated and unventilated - and each requires its own form of insulation. Beyond “ballooning” even the small amount of paper tabs over the studs causes failed or not fully driven in screws. Do you believe that it is necessary and more appropriate to remove the kraft paper backed insulation and install unfaced batts prior to the rigid foam board installation? Today, we know that fiberglass performs poorly when installed between crawl space joists. MmM0ZmJhZmMzZGI3OTM1ZDE0NTIzMGNmOWQyZTM2YjMzZmEwYjg3YzgxYWYx †My friend Abe Kruger likes to say that you should treat building inspectors like wild animals. another article on poorly installed batts, Don’t Confuse Design Temperature With Degree Days. *Speaking of fiberglass batt insulation, Carl Seville (a.k.a. eric,  eric,  so in a hot humid climate batts are installed with faces stapled to outside of walls?? well I had installed it with the paper barrier down towards the living space. The kraft paper should always be IN. If you want to slow down the vapor diffusion, why not do it before it hits the drywall? OTQxZjA4YjI1N2E3NWZmNTgzMDI1YjJkOThhNDA4ZmEwMzJiYzdjZmQ5Yzg0 1-866-632-5870 Request A Free Estimate. The drywall goes in before the exterior sheathing does. I love arguements with the inspectors. ??? There is no way the paper confers enough benefits to make having it worthwhile in my climate, and the code doesn’t require it here either. Allison’s article is spot-on. on Jul 24, 2020. Even extra screws “in the field”, on these exterior walls don’t seem to solve the problem of “screw popping” in the post-taping phase. YTJjZGE4ZjY4NTk1NWU1ZmQ0NDc2OTdiZTgzNzQ4ZGZkYzQ1MDJkMzU1ZDcz YWM0OGE0YzRhOWRlN2FhNThmMDViYmFhNmQyZmJjYTJiNjMxYWYxYmNhODk3 Sample Reports. Well this is an easy one. M2ZlYmRhOGZjMTM4MWFiY2RjMjZlMWNiOGYxNmYxMzZjNGE5N2MxOGY3YTg0 Yes, if you have fiberglass insulation installed. HVAC Load Calculations ZWM4Njk0YzQyMTMzOTk4NjMzOWQ2YzI5MzBkYWJmMTBhMWM2ODI4MzVlNjQz Usually is not done because mother earth is dry and is warm (50ish F) and that is the way they all are. Vapor Retarder? Like; Reply; Mike Reynolds Sept. 27, 2020, 11:28 a.m. I appreciate that, especially coming from a fellow Summer Camper. ZGIzNWM5YTdmYjUwYjY0NzQ1Y2Q1OWJlOGIyZWEyNWNmYTIzODg4N2QxYjA3 Kraft-faced insulation should be installed in exterior walls, exterior basement walls, and attic ceilings by pressing the product into the wall cavity with the paper side facing outward, towards the installer. Also on the graph is the permeance of polyethylene. Well done. Insulation helps keep the outside temperature from coming into your home. And most walls with asphalt saturated kraft paper thank the building science gods for the difference.”. Abe: I love your analogy!Abe: I love your analogy! Dave: feel free to use it! NWJjMDY5ZmQyNzkwMmY5N2U3MGMiLCJzaWduYXR1cmUiOiIyOTA1ODI0ZjMy I get asked every single week, ''Tanner, what is your opinion on crawl space insulation?'' Fiberglass insulation is loose and air passes right through it. the Green Curmudgeon) wrote another article on poorly installed batts recently, with photos of Knauf fiberglass. Thus fitting in with the subject of improper air sealing. In a really, really cold climate, it may matter, but even in Maine and Ontario, vapor retarder paint would be a better way to go. Code Compliance Allison — your commentsAllison — your comments about the irrelevance of the location of kraft facing on fiberglass batts are spot-on, and for all the reasons you iterate. Crawl space insulation, as a part of overall home air sealing and insulation, helps maintain your entire home's energy efficiency. Lines of popped screws are highly evident once the walls have been painted and are not easily fixed. ODg4YzllZmI4MDVhNjY3NjkwZDhiZmU5MGY3ZDI4Yzk3NWQxZTQ1MTc5ZWNh Fiberglass has no insulating value when wet. However, stapling insulation in this manner creates and improper seating of the drywall during installation. If your building inspector wants you to put the kraft paper on the ‘wrong’ side, take another look at the graph above and be comforted that it doesn’t really matter. OTMwZmEyZjM3M2VkNmI1YmUwODMyNThmN2ZiOTk5ZjU0MjBlYTI2ZTExMjY5 Insulating a crawlspace with fiberglass has been the most common insulation approach in crawl spaces for decades. Not a good scenario as this could lead to your prverbial black mold and such. The two staple tabs of insulation paper laid on top of each other to the nailing surface of the stud would seem to be an imperceptible discrepancy (perhaps a 1/16″ or less). OWFmYzc3ZDU0MmI0MTJmMzYwNzNiYzE2ZGQyNWExY2JmMTAwYjMxOTMyNGIw I recently purchased an older home and it has zero insulation. But, just in case anyone still buys and uses faced batts, I’ll add two additional comments:    1) You CANNOT do a decent job of installing that which you can’t see. In a vented crawl space, the underfloor should be insulated — similar to how it is in ceilings. we had a 500 watt flood light that over heated to room to the point we had to go get a coulpe of 60 watts buls to light the palceand not over heat it.