It’s early October, and Atlanta’s wet, winter conditions are right around the corner.
What’s the best-performing insulation for your home’s floors to protect you from the approaching damp, cold temperatures about to hit Atlanta?
If you walk through the big box home supply stores, you’d think that fiberglass insulation is your only choice.
But, if you choose fiberglass blanket insulation (or “batts” as they are commonly called) – you are paying for a poor choice for floor insulation.
Are you committed to doing this right? Are you the type of person who wants to pay for something once, and know that you made a wise, informed decision? Are your floors already insulated with fiberglass insulation, but you’re still uncomfortable?
“For Many Atlanta Homeowners, Closed Cell Spray Foam Insulation Is Absolutely Your Best Choice For Floor Insulation.” – Bob Bird
What kind of foam is best for your floors? CLOSED CELL spray foam.
Six Reasons For Only Using Closed-Cell Spray Foam Insulation Under Your Floors.
- Closed-cell spray foam is permanent. Once it’s sprayed in place, it’s like epoxy. It becomes a structural component of your home.
- Closed-cell spray foam seals your floors. Closed-cell spray foam is a moisture barrier, forever sealing your wood floors against the upward moisture migration from your vented crawlspace or damp basement.
- Closed-cell spray foam stiffens your floors. Got squeaky floors in your old house? Those annoying squeeks most likely will disappear after we’ve sprayed 2” of closed-cell foam to the underside of your floors.
- Closed-cell spray foam forever insulates your floors. Because it’s permanent, you never need to be bothered with updating, or upgrading your floor insulation. One and done!
- Closed-cell spray foam solves the cupping and warping problems with wood floors, because it isolates the damp, wet conditions underneath your floors from migrating upward into your beautiful wood floors.
- Closed-cell spray foam is an air-barrier. So you won’t be smelling your damp, nasty, unhealthy crawlspace after we’ve applied 2” coverage of this wonderful foam underneath your floors!
Four Reasons Why You Don’t Want Fiberglass Blankets as Floor Insulation.
- Fiberglass blankets sag and hang under the floors. (Think of laundry hung on a clothesline). As air-gaps form between the blanket and your wood floor, you lose R-value and any thermal protection.
- Fiberglass blankets act like a moisture sponge. All that high humidity in your vented crawlspace or damp basement… it’s stored in those fiberglass batts, directly underneath your wood floors.
- Fiberglass insulation is loved as nesting material by rodents and insects.
- Fiberglass insulation, because of it’s piece-by-piece nature, does not provide 100% thermal coverage. It would take installers 2x or 3x the time allotted, to measure and cut every piece of insulation to perfectly fit each bay. Fiberglass that is balled-up, stuffed and crammed into nooks, gaps, and small awkward hard-to-reach voids has little or no R-Value.
Three Concerns When Choosing Spray Foam Insulation For Your Floors.
- Noxious (dangerous) fumes when the house is on fire. However, the fumes from fiberglass insulation melting in a fire, and everything else burning in the house is also dangerous to our health. Odds are, your house will never catch fire.
- Noxious (dangerous) odors are emitted from spray foam as it is being applied to your floors. This is very true. Because your crawlspace is vented, those fumes disappear into the atmosphere. When we spray floors above your garage, the garage doors are open and the fumes disappear into the atmosphere. We use powerful exhaust fans with ventilation hoses to ventilate odors and fumes when spraying in more restricted areas.
- Your floor rots. This could be due to a hidden, or ignored plumbing leak. It is rare. In fact, I’ve not had a client ever tell me that this happened – nor have I met anyone who has had this happen to them. But it is brought-up from time to time as a concern as homeowners consider this decision.
How Much Should You Expect to Pay for Spray Foam Floor Insulation?
As I write this in October, 2023, we are charging between $2.50 and $2.85 per square foot to install Closed-Cell spray foam floor insulation. Rates change with the size of the project. There are exceptions, and this rate does not include removing old fiberglass insulation, or cleaning-out the crawlspace, etc.
Insist on getting closed-cell foam for your floor insulation.
Why can’t you use the cheaper, ½ pound open cell foam insulation for your floors? It’s simple: Open cell foam insulation is NOT A MOISTURE BARRIER. It’s like strapping a sponge underneath your floors. If you live in my region (SE USA) Don’t Do It!
Your Home Is Surrounded by Water!
Make no mistake about it. If you live in my market (Atlanta region), the relative humidity during our winters is almost as high as during our summer months. Regardless of the season, you are surrounded by wet conditions, with very few days that are the exception!
For those living in a house built over a vented crawlspace, conditions can become swamp-like under your floors. Closed-cell foam insulation is your only sensible answer.
Take a look at this chart:
- On average, August is the most humid month, at 75.0%.
- On average, April is the least humid month, at 61.0%.
- The average annual percentage of humidity is: 68%
Just Imagine Sunday Morning in your Kitchen!
If fiberglass insulation is letting you down, or if your floors are bare, you should make the investment for Closed-Cell spray foam insulation under your floors.
You need 2” coverage.
With 2″ of closed-cell foam insulation under your floors, you’ll start enjoying your home, and those beautiful DRY, WARM floors that feel so good to your bare feet!
Imagine Sunday morning, standing in the kitchen, as you make that first cup of hot coffee while it’s raining and cold outside your kitchen window. But your bare feet are feeling warm and toasty!
Thanks for reading. God Bless You!
Bob Bird
Bird Family Insulation
