I have to insulate the floor in an older ranch house. It will be done
from underneath, which is a crawl space. (Ugh.)

Anyway, considering the usual array of pipes, electrical wires, and
cross-bracing between the joists that all tend to make the job more of
a hassle, what would be the most workable type of insulation to get?
I thought about rigid, but it would mean a lot of cutting and fitting.

If it turns out to be batting, that means the paper side would be
facing the ground. Is that OK?

Any other tips on how to do this are very welcome.

kimosabe wrote:
I have to insulate the floor in an older ranch house. It will be done
from underneath, which is a crawl space. (Ugh.)

Anyway, considering the usual array of pipes, electrical wires, and
cross-bracing between the joists that all tend to make the job more of
a hassle, what would be the most workable type of insulation to get?
I thought about rigid, but it would mean a lot of cutting and fitting.

If it turns out to be batting, that means the paper side would be
facing the ground. Is that OK?

Any other tips on how to do this are very welcome.

blown on foam? not a diy project, these are usually truck mounted. getting
at the pipes afterwards would be a HASSLE though.

kimosabe wrote:

I have to insulate the floor in an older ranch house. It will be done
from underneath, which is a crawl space. (Ugh.)

Anyway, considering the usual array of pipes, electrical wires, and
cross-bracing between the joists that all tend to make the job more of
a hassle, what would be the most workable type of insulation to get?
I thought about rigid, but it would mean a lot of cutting and fitting.

If it turns out to be batting, that means the paper side would be
facing the ground. Is that OK?

Any other tips on how to do this are very welcome.

If you can afford it, have a professional spray urethane foam.

kimosabe wrote in news:31d1eccf-c1a9-4c2f-b16a-
:

I have to insulate the floor in an older ranch house. It will be done
from underneath, which is a crawl space. (Ugh.)

Anyway, considering the usual array of pipes, electrical wires, and
cross-bracing between the joists that all tend to make the job more of
a hassle, what would be the most workable type of insulation to get?
I thought about rigid, but it would mean a lot of cutting and fitting.

If it turns out to be batting, that means the paper side would be
facing the ground. Is that OK?

Any other tips on how to do this are very welcome.

I just glued high density foam board to the inside of crawl space walls.
My place has forced air ducts in the crawl space. The heat loss from the
ducts stays in the crawl space and helps keep the floors warm.

"kimosabe" wrote in message
...
I have to insulate the floor in an older ranch house. It will be done
from underneath, which is a crawl space. (Ugh.)

Anyway, considering the usual array of pipes, electrical wires, and
cross-bracing between the joists that all tend to make the job more of
a hassle, what would be the most workable type of insulation to get?
I thought about rigid, but it would mean a lot of cutting and fitting.

If it turns out to be batting, that means the paper side would be
facing the ground. Is that OK?

Any other tips on how to do this are very welcome.

Let me Google that for you. :-)

This one shows a generous crawl space but you get the idea.

http://videos.howstuffworks.com/john...pace-video.htm

Jim

TheHack wrote:
kimosabe wrote in news:31d1eccf-c1a9-4c2f-b16a-
:

I have to insulate the floor in an older ranch house. It will be done
from underneath, which is a crawl space. (Ugh.)

Anyway, considering the usual array of pipes, electrical wires, and
cross-bracing between the joists that all tend to make the job more of
a hassle, what would be the most workable type of insulation to get?
I thought about rigid, but it would mean a lot of cutting and fitting.

If it turns out to be batting, that means the paper side would be
facing the ground. Is that OK?

Any other tips on how to do this are very welcome.

I just glued high density foam board to the inside of crawl space walls.
My place has forced air ducts in the crawl space. The heat loss from the
ducts stays in the crawl space and helps keep the floors warm.

And we have a winner! If your crawl stays dry, and the sidewalls get
down or close to frostline, insulating the walls is the way to go. Link
to that free ground heat and cooling.

--
aem sends...

"aemeijers" wrote in message
...
TheHack wrote:
kimosabe wrote in news:31d1eccf-c1a9-4c2f-b16a-
:

I have to insulate the floor in an older ranch house. It will be done
from underneath, which is a crawl space. (Ugh.)

Anyway, considering the usual array of pipes, electrical wires, and
cross-bracing between the joists that all tend to make the job more of
a hassle, what would be the most workable type of insulation to get?
I thought about rigid, but it would mean a lot of cutting and fitting.

If it turns out to be batting, that means the paper side would be
facing the ground. Is that OK?

Any other tips on how to do this are very welcome.

I just glued high density foam board to the inside of crawl space walls.
My place has forced air ducts in the crawl space. The heat loss from the
ducts stays in the crawl space and helps keep the floors warm.

And we have a winner! If your crawl stays dry, and the sidewalls get down
or close to frostline, insulating the walls is the way to go. Link to that
free ground heat and cooling.

--
aem sends...

You would just be increasing the amount of space you are heating and
cooling.

JimT wrote:

"aemeijers" wrote in message
...
TheHack wrote:
kimosabe wrote in news:31d1eccf-c1a9-4c2f-b16a-
:

I have to insulate the floor in an older ranch house. It will be done
from underneath, which is a crawl space. (Ugh.)

Anyway, considering the usual array of pipes, electrical wires, and
cross-bracing between the joists that all tend to make the job more of
a hassle, what would be the most workable type of insulation to get?
I thought about rigid, but it would mean a lot of cutting and fitting.

If it turns out to be batting, that means the paper side would be
facing the ground. Is that OK?

Any other tips on how to do this are very welcome.

I just glued high density foam board to the inside of crawl space walls.
My place has forced air ducts in the crawl space. The heat loss from
the ducts stays in the crawl space and helps keep the floors warm.

And we have a winner! If your crawl stays dry, and the sidewalls get
down or close to frostline, insulating the walls is the way to go.
Link to that free ground heat and cooling.

--
aem sends...

You would just be increasing the amount of space you are heating and
cooling.

The delta from the 55 degree ground temp of a well-insulated 'finger' of
earth temp touching the bottom of your heated envelope, is small. Same
concept is an earth-bermed house. No HVAC ducts feeding the crawl, of
course. I'd only try this on a deep dry crawl or basement where I could
heavily insulate the walls, though. And in summer, of course, when it is
a bazillion degrees out, that cool slab or covered dirt is already
keeping the floor above halfway cool.

That dream house I'm gonna build when I hit the lotto? - deep basement
with thick walls insulated on the outside to below frostline. Even if
furnace goes out, should stay above freezing in winter, for several
days. There is a reason bears hang out in caves over the winter.

--
aem sends....

"kimosabe" wrote in message
...
I have to insulate the floor in an older ranch house. It will be done
from underneath, which is a crawl space. (Ugh.)

Anyway, considering the usual array of pipes, electrical wires, and
cross-bracing between the joists that all tend to make the job more of
a hassle, what would be the most workable type of insulation to get?
I thought about rigid, but it would mean a lot of cutting and fitting.

If it turns out to be batting, that means the paper side would be
facing the ground. Is that OK?

Any other tips on how to do this are very welcome.


It would appear you have 2 choices..Either fiberglass bats or spayed
foam...If you can afford it foam is best...If not fiberglass is your only
choice...On a happier note you could have it installed by an insulation
contractor for about what you would pay for it retail...Atleast around
here..(Maine) My garage doors were the same...I got them installed by a
garage door company for about 100 bucks more than I could buy them...FWIW...

kimosabe wrote:

I have to insulate the floor in an older ranch house. It will be done
from underneath, which is a crawl space. (Ugh.)

Anyway, considering the usual array of pipes, electrical wires, and
cross-bracing between the joists that all tend to make the job more of
a hassle, what would be the most workable type of insulation to get?
I thought about rigid, but it would mean a lot of cutting and fitting.

If it turns out to be batting, that means the paper side would be
facing the ground. Is that OK?

Paper or foil side should face the warmer side, the house.

Do NOT use foam board, spray foam, or anything else flammable. Stick
with fiberglass or rock wool.

Robert Neville wrote:

If you can afford it, have a professional spray urethane foam.

Will any responsible professional spray urethane under a house, where
it won't be completely surrounded by highly fire resistant material?

kimosabe wrote:
I have to insulate the floor in an older ranch house. It will be done
from underneath, which is a crawl space. (Ugh.)

Anyway, considering the usual array of pipes, electrical wires, and
cross-bracing between the joists that all tend to make the job more of
a hassle, what would be the most workable type of insulation to get?
I thought about rigid, but it would mean a lot of cutting and fitting.

If it turns out to be batting, that means the paper side would be
facing the ground. Is that OK?

Any other tips on how to do this are very welcome.

Call up the utility companies and local conservation organizations,
not to be confused with for-profit weatherization contractors.
Depending on where you live, there are GENEROUS weatherization
incentives and rebates available...and I do mean GENEROUS, as long as
you comply
with their requirements.
That may dictate the type of insulation you choose.

In article ,
aemeijers wrote:


That dream house I'm gonna build when I hit the lotto? - deep basement
with thick walls insulated on the outside to below frostline. Even if
furnace goes out, should stay above freezing in winter, for several
days. There is a reason bears hang out in caves over the winter.

You're gonna live where it gets below freezing when you hit the lotto?
Reminds me of my friend from Iowa: "The strangest thing about the people
there is they don't seem to realize they're free to leave."

Smitty Two wrote:

In article ,
aemeijers wrote:


That dream house I'm gonna build when I hit the lotto? - deep basement
with thick walls insulated on the outside to below frostline. Even if
furnace goes out, should stay above freezing in winter, for several
days. There is a reason bears hang out in caves over the winter.

You're gonna live where it gets below freezing when you hit the lotto?
Reminds me of my friend from Iowa: "The strangest thing about the people
there is they don't seem to realize they're free to leave."

I've lived in upstate NY for 56 of 60 years. Back in 1970 the
Marines sent me to the balmy climes of the Chesapeake Bay in VA. We
arrived in Sept, and by mid Feb I was certain I'd never leave VA. My
young bride and I walked on a deserted beach on Christmas day. . . I
hunted boar that winter in shirtsleeves in the mountains to the west.

Then summer came. I can take the cold. I can't take the heat. I
was happy to get back to 4 distinct seasons in 1972.

Maybe when I'm 80 I'll feel more inclined to leave the north-- but for
now, if I hit the lotto, I might build a cabin in Maine, and another
in Key West-- but I'll *live* in NY.

Jim

In article ,
Jim Elbrecht wrote:

Then summer came. I can take the cold. I can't take the heat.

There are places where you're subjected to neither; I've lived in one
for the last 34 yrs. after growing up in northern Wisconsin. But, of
course, compromises are always involved. I hate that about life.

Smitty Two wrote:
In article ,
aemeijers wrote:

That dream house I'm gonna build when I hit the lotto? - deep basement
with thick walls insulated on the outside to below frostline. Even if
furnace goes out, should stay above freezing in winter, for several
days. There is a reason bears hang out in caves over the winter.

You're gonna live where it gets below freezing when you hit the lotto?
Reminds me of my friend from Iowa: "The strangest thing about the people
there is they don't seem to realize they're free to leave."

Ya gotta point there, I must admit.
But I've spent time down south- don't really wanna live where summers
are hot and muggy either. Unless I hit the lotto Real Big and go to
Hawaii or something, that leaves the snowbird model, or trying to find a
happy climate medium. Say, the non-flat parts of Tennesee or something.
My sister wants me to move near her in western NC, but single-wide
trailers at the end of a gravel road are 150k around there. (and no,
that doesn't include acreage. )They get a couple token snows a year, but
nothing like Michigan does.

--
aem sends...

In article ,
aemeijers wrote:

trying to find a
happy climate medium.

readily done.

http://members.cox.net/prestwich/ahrsb.jpg

On Aug 13, 8:23*am, Smitty Two wrote:
In article ,

*aemeijers wrote:
trying to find a
happy climate medium.

readily done.

http://members.cox.net/prestwich/ahrsb.jpg

Not nearly cold enough in the winter for me. The summer temps
look good, but I want real winter.

Cindy Hamilton

In article
,
Cindy Hamilton wrote:

On Aug 13, 8:23*am, Smitty Two wrote:
In article NLKdnblCBdZe7 nRnZ2dnUVZ ,

*aemeijers wrote:
trying to find a
happy climate medium.

readily done.

http://members.cox.net/prestwich/ahrsb.jpg

Not nearly cold enough in the winter for me. The summer temps
look good, but I want real winter.

Cindy Hamilton

I remember real winter. Snow on the ground non-stop from Nov. 1 thru
April 15. Temps often reaching -40. Stretches of two-three weeks where
daytime highs never got above 0F. Wearing so many clothes that the only
thing exposed were eyeballs and nostrils, the moisture on which would
freeze immediately. Then going into a store where the temp is 75
degrees, and no place to shed your coat, hat, sweater, scarf, and
"insulated air force pants."

Spending an hour shoveling plow-packed snow from the end of the driveway
so I could get my car out. Going inside to change and warm up for half
hour, then watching the plow go by again. Leaving the car in the alley
behind the bar while I go in for a few beers and a game of pool, and
finding it buried to the roofline by a plow within an hour.

Slipping on ice and falling on my ass several times every single winter.
Driving 15 mph on the ice-covered 9 mile long two lane highway that led
from the freeway to my hometown. Coming to a complete stop on that
highway because a gust of wind-driven snow reduced visibility to a
distance shorter than my hood, and having the wind shove my 4000 pound
car into the snow-filled ditch after I'd stopped.

Living where it is illegal to not stop and offer aid to a stranded
motorist, because it is quite easy to die of exposure in an hour or so.
Chipping ice off the windshield before every trip, and then sticking
your head out the window to drive anyway, because the defroster hasn't
had 20 minutes to carve a peephole on the inside of the glass.

Spending $300/month for heating oil to keep the house at 62. Oh, wait,
that was the price 20 years ago.

I prefer my masochism in the form of a dominatrix with a leather paddle.

On Aug 13, 1:41*pm, Smitty Two wrote:
In article
,
*Cindy Hamilton wrote:

On Aug 13, 8:23*am, Smitty Two wrote:
In article NLKdnblCBdZe7 nRnZ2dnUVZ ,

*aemeijers wrote:
trying to find a
happy climate medium.

readily done.

http://members.cox.net/prestwich/ahrsb.jpg

Not nearly cold enough in the winter for me. *The summer temps
look good, but I want real winter.

Cindy Hamilton

I remember real winter. Snow on the ground non-stop from Nov. 1 thru
April 15. Temps often reaching -40. Stretches of two-three weeks where
daytime highs never got above 0F. Wearing so many clothes that the only
thing exposed were eyeballs and nostrils, the moisture on which would
freeze immediately. Then going into a store where the temp is 75
degrees, and no place to shed your coat, hat, sweater, scarf, and
"insulated air force pants."

Spending an hour shoveling plow-packed snow from the end of the driveway
so I could get my car out. Going inside to change and warm up for half
hour, then watching the plow go by again. Leaving the car in the alley
behind the bar while I go in for a few beers and a game of pool, and
finding it buried to the roofline by a plow within an hour.

Slipping on ice and falling on my ass several times every single winter.
Driving 15 mph on the ice-covered 9 mile long two lane highway that led
from the freeway to my hometown. Coming to a complete stop on that
highway because a gust of wind-driven snow reduced visibility to a
distance shorter than my hood, and having the wind shove my 4000 pound
car into the snow-filled ditch after I'd stopped.

Living where it is illegal to not stop and offer aid to a stranded
motorist, because it is quite easy to die of exposure in an hour or so.
Chipping ice off the windshield before every trip, and then sticking
your head out the window to drive anyway, because the defroster hasn't
had 20 minutes to carve a peephole on the inside of the glass.

Spending $300/month for heating oil to keep the house at 62. Oh, wait,
that was the price 20 years ago.

I prefer my masochism in the form of a dominatrix with a leather paddle.

Apparently your winter was realer. I live in Michigan, and while
winters
are not as bad as when I was young (nothing is the same as when I
was young), it rarely gets below 0 here. It costs about $50-75 a
month for natural gas to keep my house at 70. It hardly ever snows
more than 10 inches in a single snowstorm, usually around 6.

That's real enough for me.

Cindy Hamilton
But we did have to walk uphill both ways to get to and from school.

Cindy Hamilton wrote:
On Aug 13, 1:41 pm, Smitty Two wrote:
In article
,
Cindy Hamilton wrote:

On Aug 13, 8:23 am, Smitty Two wrote:
In article NLKdnblCBdZe7 nRnZ2dnUVZ ,

aemeijers wrote:
trying to find a
happy climate medium.

readily done.

http://members.cox.net/prestwich/ahrsb.jpg

Not nearly cold enough in the winter for me. The summer temps
look good, but I want real winter.

Cindy Hamilton

I remember real winter. Snow on the ground non-stop from Nov. 1 thru
April 15. Temps often reaching -40. Stretches of two-three weeks
where daytime highs never got above 0F. Wearing so many clothes that
the only thing exposed were eyeballs and nostrils, the moisture on
which would freeze immediately. Then going into a store where the
temp is 75 degrees, and no place to shed your coat, hat, sweater,
scarf, and "insulated air force pants."

Spending an hour shoveling plow-packed snow from the end of the
driveway so I could get my car out. Going inside to change and warm
up for half hour, then watching the plow go by again. Leaving the
car in the alley behind the bar while I go in for a few beers and a
game of pool, and finding it buried to the roofline by a plow within
an hour.

Slipping on ice and falling on my ass several times every single
winter. Driving 15 mph on the ice-covered 9 mile long two lane
highway that led from the freeway to my hometown. Coming to a
complete stop on that highway because a gust of wind-driven snow
reduced visibility to a distance shorter than my hood, and having
the wind shove my 4000 pound car into the snow-filled ditch after
I'd stopped.

Living where it is illegal to not stop and offer aid to a stranded
motorist, because it is quite easy to die of exposure in an hour or
so. Chipping ice off the windshield before every trip, and then
sticking your head out the window to drive anyway, because the
defroster hasn't had 20 minutes to carve a peephole on the inside of
the glass.

Spending $300/month for heating oil to keep the house at 62. Oh,
wait, that was the price 20 years ago.

I prefer my masochism in the form of a dominatrix with a leather
paddle.

Apparently your winter was realer. I live in Michigan, and while
winters
are not as bad as when I was young (nothing is the same as when I
was young), it rarely gets below 0 here. It costs about $50-75 a
month for natural gas to keep my house at 70. It hardly ever snows
more than 10 inches in a single snowstorm, usually around 6.

That's real enough for me.

Cindy Hamilton
But we did have to walk uphill both ways to get to and from school.

winter. is that where i can finally put the top down on my car and trade
sandals for shoes and socks, but my shorts are still acceptable in
restaurants?

regards,
charlie
phx, az