Insulating A Floor Built On Piers

By martin holladay issue 226 there are good reasons why we put more of our air sealing and insulating time and money into attics and walls than we do floors.

Insulating a floor built on piers.

By musicman july 25 2007 in houston construction. The previous cabin on the property was built in 1954 and i converted it to year round use similar insulation levels as the new cabin in 1982. Insulating floors on pier and beam homes. My dad did what i m describing in the late seventies and after he built the upper floor was left with an awesome bar area in the family room where the kitchen was.

To get the highest r value completely fill the cavities between the joists. What s an effective economical method for insulating the floor of a cottage on piers. If your home is built on a pier and beam foundation you may need to add insulation. The floor is warm i heat with 3 electric baseboard heaters.

My grandmas house was built the same way back in the 50 s. Rooms built over garages on older homes in cold climates are notorious for air leakage and cold floors. Do it yourself video on how to insulate the exposed floor over an unheated area using roxul comfortbatt r28 canada or r30 usa and roxul comfortboard is i. For better energy performance homes built on piers rooms above garages and cantilevered bays need properly air sealed and insulated floors.

Cold floors are a result of air leakage thermal bridging and too little insulation. The floor joists are 12 inches and the distance from the bottom of the floor joists to the ground varies from 2 feet to 7 feet. The floor truss design also plays a role in making floors over unheated spaces comfortable. We have no plans to skirt the foundation s perimeter so the crawlspace will stay wide open to mother nature.

Filling the spaces between the floor joists under the cottage with insulation batts is the simplest and most cost effective method. An uninsulated floor allows heat to escape making the house less energy efficient. With this structure wood posts or concrete piers are placed deep into the ground to hold the weight of the home. All use dimensional lumber for floor trusses probably 2x10 s.

Adding insulation mitigates the problem but there are some considerations to keep in mind. A pier and beam home built on top of sturdy supports typically has an open crawl space between the floor of the house and the earth. I know another neighbor did an add on and they made her insulate the floor on the new part. They didnt have a walkout so my grandpa built the stairs and a structure above it to walk down into their house.

There are no drafts in the building. A pier and beam foundation elevates the home above the ground creating a crawlspace that is typically around 18 inches in height.