Rely on the Building Science Experts
Nobody understands the science of building better than . If you want to create a thermally efficient and air tight space, it's not enough just to insulate. You must choose the right insulation and air sealing system for the application, and be sure it's properly installed.NEW 2023 Energy Efficient Home Improvement Credit
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Crawl Spaces & Basement Insulation and Remediation
There may not be an area of the home that creates a bigger hazzard to the occupants health than that of a typical crawl spaces.
Most homes with crawl spaces are not properly insulated for moisture control and this can pose health concerns for the occupants, especially children.
Lack of properly sealed and insulated crawl space can allow dealdy and odorless gases to affect occupants. It can also become breeding ground for insects, rodents and mold. In addition, it could cause damage to the foundation and the floor system.
The Stack Effect
The Stack EffectGraphic showing where air will infiltrate a home even if you have proper window and door sealing.
Crawl spaces are often damp, humid spaces due to water runoff from rain, irrigation systems or an elevated water table. While the building code requires crawl space ventilation, this ventilation does virtually nothing to mitigate moisture problems and can actually make moisture problems worse.
Houses operate like chimneys.
If you introduce a hole at the bottom of a chimney, a natural draft ensues as air exits the top of the chimney.
This is called stack effect.
Attic ventilation is the top of the chimney and crawl space ventilation is the bottom.
As air is drawn up through your house, moisture, mold spores, odors and soil gases from the crawl space find their way into the living space.
The Solution
Crawl space encapsulation involves sealing the crawl space walls with a Closed Cell Polyurethane spray foam appliation and covering the ground using a tough 15-20 mil, reinforced polyethylene sheeting (not some thin 6 mil poly) taped carefully at the seams and adhered to the top or bottom of the concrete foundation wall.
Our preferred method is to spray foam the crawl space walls and rim joists, fully encapsulating the exterior perimeter of the crawl space. With this option, it is actually better to leave the floor underside un-insulated! What this does is create a completely conditioned space so there is no chance of pipes freezing, and the floors directly above are much warmer and more comfortable.
Our preferred method involves sealing the edges of the ground plastic with the wall foam, so any water that might enter through the block wall would seep its way behind the foam, under the plastic, and back into the ground. Some seams can do better long term by being left unsealed, but fully overlapped, so that water can still get back under the plastic into the ground. In cases where the water table is high, it can still be wise to seal them, but its overall better to have a fully operating sump pump in conjunction with the spray foam and plastic.
Sealing up all ventilation entering the crawl space is a specification 'if' it is decided that ventilation is not neccessary for mechanicals. Sealed below this sheeting are soil gases, moisture, water vapor and odors that typically would be drawn up into the living space above.
The Solution
We are very proud of our projects because our specs are superior and our prices even better! We do not pay any enormous franchise or licensing fees to national companies and therefore, we are able top design a system that fits your home and your budget.
Nobody understands the science of building better than .
If you want to build a thermally efficient and air tight home, it's not enough just to insulate. You must choose the right insulation and air sealing system for the application, and be sure it's properly installed.
Did you know that an improperly insulated and sealed home delivers 4500 lbs. of excess greenhouse gases into the air each year? It can also waste 20 percent or more of the energy used to heat and cool the home.
Our Building Science experts understand the principles of heat, air and moisture flow, and how the building envelope interacts with a building's mechanical systems as well as its occupants.
N.A.S.A. applied one-inch of spray-on foam insulation on the Space Shuttle's External Tank that serves to insulate the tank. The closed-cell foam used on the tank was developed to keep the Shuttle's liquid hydrogen fuel at minus 423 degrees Fahrenheit and the liquid oxygen tank at near minus 297 degrees Fahrenheit even as the tank sits under the hot Florida sun while preventing a buildup of ice on the outside of the tank.
Properly insulating and sealing your homes with Spray Foam is a greener alternative. .
We can help you in specifying the right insulation system for our local climate. Contact our Building Science experts with your inquiries at .
It is now well established and accepted by most architects and builders that controlling air infiltration is the best and most cost-effective means of reducing wasteful heat loss and providing a comfortable indoor environment.
Most architects tend to design structures that are tight and energy efficient by incorporating the latest in proven, energy saving construction details into their drawings.
Unfortunately, too many buildings still perform poorly. Why is this?
We have found that since there is no performance specification to dictate building construction, there is no guarantee when it comes to building performance. Regardless of the contractor's ability, tight buildings are not created from a list of materials and drawings in the absence of specifications that dictate the building's designed environmental performance.
takes a different approach
To improve building performance, our company focuses on the basic building science principle that air infiltration compromises the effectiveness of the building envelope. Our approach is incremental - areas of infiltration are diagnosed and fixed in order of magnitude. This provides the most thorough and cost-effective solution possible.
has satisfied clients. Our clients have been extremely pleased as they benefit from cost-savings and an immediate improvement in comfort.
We operate two-part urethane injection equipment to superinsulate new and old buildings. Included in this equipment are special nozzles and guns to seal cracks and small openings which effectively stops infiltration that cause poor thermal performance.
There are other urethane contractors who provide typical spray foam services; however, very few go beyond the installation of conventional spray-roofing and spray-wall insulation processes.
Our capabilities, while serving these common markets in some cases, are specially designed to meet the unconventional needs of specialty markets.
By employing standard and custom equipment which processes foam through both spray and injection techniques, we can utilize numerous chemical systems with varying densities, speeds, closed-cell content, fire rating, vapor permeability, and other desirable environmental characteristics.
While there may be other foam contractors who provide spray and injection services, to the best of our knowledge, we are the only company that currently uses "ratio monitoring" equipment in the field for this process. Ratio monitoring enables our technicians to maintain the exact chemical formulation (mix) for the duration of the installation process.
It is impossible to guarantee that the appropriate mix is being maintained without the use of this equipment.
- Constant Owner interaction means no project manager or multiple people trying to make decisions.
- The highest quality products and with many small details that often go unnoticed by other contractors, let's take your insulation project to the next level.
- Quality Control. The owner is hands on throughout the project, if any problems or issues arise they can be dealt with immediately.
- Nonstop communication - The key to the success of your project is good communication. And, a big part of communication is listening. From the beginning of a project to its end, our company places a high priority on listening - to you, your needs and wishes.
- Solid Science - Our Building Science experts understand the principles of heat, air and moisture flow, and how the building envelope interacts with a building's mechanical systems as well as its occupants.
"Everything is designed, but some things are designed well."
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