Experts in Insulation, Crawl Space Mold Remediation and Crawl Space Encapsulation in Raleigh, NC and the Surrounding Areas

Radiant Barrier can cause moisture issues if not installed properly or the wrong material is used. When installing a Radiant Barrier in the attic, a "perforated" product that meets or exceeds ASTM standards should be used.

In a humid climate, it is imperative that the attic floor utility penetrations be properly air sealed with foam spray or similar material. This will not only greatly increase the energy efficiency of the home, but will prevent cold, conditioned air from the living space to mingle with hot, humid air in the attic.

Installing a non-perforated Radiant Barrier may lead to moisture or condensation issues.

Moisture and condensation will not be concerns, however, with properly installed and perforated Radiant Barrier combined with effective air sealing.

Radiant Barriers do not have an R-Value. Instead, Radiant Barrier performance is measured by emissivity (same measure as used for Low-E windows) and reflectivity.

Emissivity is the ratio at which a material converts radiant energy to radiant heat. The lower the emissivity, the better it serves as an insulation. TRB’s Radiant Barrier material has an emissivity of 0.05 which means it only allows 5% of radiant energy to convert into radiant heat.

The reflectivity of a Radiant Barrier is a measure of how much the material will reflect radiant energy and heat. TRB’s Radiant Barrier provides 95% reflectivity. In summer, it will block 95% of your attic’s radiant energy and heat from impacting your home’s comfort and energy efficiency.

There are several contributing factors to determine a savings percentage: age / condition of your HVAC system, proper attic ventilation, seals around your doors and windows etc. If those are adequate or better, the energy savings resulting from a Radiant Barrier insulation is typically 25%-45% on heating and cooling costs.

Radiant Barrier is much more effective against summer heat than fiberglass insulation. Fiberglass works like sponge, absorbing and trying to hold on to heat. But, like a sponge, it can become saturated…in this case, with heat. Once it is saturated, the remaining heat will pass through as if it wasn’t’ there.

Radiant Barrier does not absorb but reflects heat and is also a barrier that does not allow radiant energy to convert into additional radiant heat. TRB’s Radiant Barrier blocks 95% of radiant heat, the primary heat in your attic in summer, from impacting your living space which will provide for optimal increases in home comfort and energy efficiency.

Fiberglass insulation is designed to counter conductive heat transfer by absorbing and holding onto heat. In winter, the heated air from your furnace moves upwards, being more buoyant than colder air. Your fiberglass insulation in your attic is helpful in slowing the heat’s movement. The heat does not migrate downward, so there’s no heat for the fiberglass insulation to absorb, making it ineffective. It is also important to note that fiberglass insulation does not air seal the surface it is insulating, which means that any gaps in the surface (e.g. from utility penetrations in your subfloor) will allow cold air from your vented crawl space to migrate upward to your living space.

Radiant Barrier can cause moisture issues if not installed properly or the wrong material is used. When installing a Radiant Barrier in the attic, a "perforated" product that meets or exceeds ASTM standards should be used.

In a humid climate, it is imperative that the attic floor utility penetrations be properly air sealed with foam spray or similar material. This will not only greatly increase the energy efficiency of the home, but will prevent cold, conditioned air from the living space to mingle with hot, humid air in the attic.

Installing a non-perforated Radiant Barrier may lead to moisture or condensation issues.

Moisture and condensation will not be concerns, however, with properly installed and perforated Radiant Barrier combined with effective air sealing.

Radiant Barriers can be installed on the attic rafters, the attic floor, or both.

Installed to the rafters (and exterior-facing gable walls), Radiant Barrier provides substantial summertime performance by reducing attic heat 30-40◦ F, on average. This means less heat impacting your living space, better performance of your existing fiberglass insulation (less likely to reach heat saturation), and less stress on your attic-installed HVAC system. Rafter installation is, however, higher in cost than floor installation and it provides limited benefit to the living space in winter.

Installed to the attic floor (and interior-facing walls), Radiant Barrier provides substantial year-round performance by reflecting heat away from the living space in summer and helping to trap the heated air in the living space in winter. It costs less than installing on the attic rafters. It does not, however, reduce heat in the attic itself which will continue to impact your attic-installed HVAC system.

Installing Radiant Barrier to both the rafters and the attic floor (and exterior and interior-facing walls), also known as a ‘Combo’ installation, will cost more but will provide the benefits of both methods of standard installation and will provide a double-layer of protection for your living space in summer

There are several contributing factors to determine a savings percentage: age / condition of your HVAC system, proper attic ventilation, seals around your doors and windows etc. If those are adequate or better, the energy savings resulting from a Radiant Barrier insulation is typically 25%-45% on heating and cooling costs.

The best insulation will depend on your attic conditions / construction, the climate in which the home lies, and the homeowners unique needs and budget. Radiant Barrier in combination with fiberglass is very effective and cost-efficient for warm and hot climates. Spray Foam is effective in both warm and very cold climates.

TRB offers multiple-option estimates and will help you to understand the ‘pros’ and ‘cons’ of each, so you can decide what’s best for you.

Fiberglass insulation will, on average, provide an effective service life of about 10 years before needing to be repaired or replaced. Fiberglass insulation deteriorates naturally over time and the deterioration is exacerbated in a crawl space that is subject to high relative humidity, heavy particulates in the air, and rodent / critter activity.

Insulation types that are designed to seal or encapsulate a crawl space are impermeable and made with materials that do not deteriorate over time. These include rolled insulation (such as CrawlBarrier), closed cell spray foam, or rigid foam board (such as Bora-Foam). These products will generally last the life of the crawl space and quality installers usually provide lifetime warranties against degradation or delamination.

If you live in a humid climate, crawl space encapsulation offers many benefits:

• Prohibits mold growth
• Improves indoor air quality
• Improves energy efficiency by lowering the cost to heat / cool your living space
• Protects the home’s structural integrity
• Extends the service life of crawl space installed utilities (e.g. HVAC, water heater)
• Improves your home’s resale value.

With a dehumidifier installed, TRB guarantees the performance of its encapsulated crawl spaces in terms of the ability to moderate the relative humidity and ensure against any future mold growth. TRB also offers a ‘No Mold’ Guarantee to those Customers who subscribe to TRB’s Annual Service Plan.

TRB provides a limited lifetime warranty installed CrawlBarrier insulation, closed cell Spray Foam insulation, and Bora-Foam insulation as well as on all 10-mil Reinforced or better vapor barriers. The warranty covers the costs of both labor and materials to repair or replace any degraded or delaminated products for as long as you own your home. The lifetime warranty is transferable to a buyer if on TRB’s Annual Service Plan.

Encapsulating your crawlspace will provide moderate improvement to HVAC efficiency but substantially less than you’ll achieve by improving your attic’s air sealing and insulation. The benefits of crawl space encapsulation are most notable in terms improving your home indoor air quality, protecting your home’s structural integrity, and extending the service life of your crawl space-installed utility systems (e.g. HVAC, water heater).

If your primary concern is energy efficiency, you should consider improvements in your attic before your crawl space.

Air induction uses a small amount of conditioned air from your HVAC system to help moderate crawl space temperature and relative humidity. It is lower in cost to install than a dehumidifier and is sufficient in some crawl spaces. However, air induction’s performance may be hindered by the variable conditions unique to each crawl space and is also limited to only operating when the HVAC system is running. Air induction is most challenged during the shoulder seasons of spring and fall when there may be high relative humidity in the air but the temperature is too moderate for your HVAC system to be on.

A crawl space dehumidifier costs more to install but its performance is not subject to any conditional variables or on the HVAC system. A dehumidifier will provide much more assured and consistent performance than will air induction.

Air induction may be run in conjunction with a dehumidifier as well. This will provide the assured and consistent performance of the dehumidifier as well as the air induction providing better temperature moderation and decreasing the workload on the dehumidifier which, in turn, will increase the dehumidifier’s service life.

Mold will grow in any space that has relatively high air moisture, warm to hot air, stagnant airflow, and no direct sunlight. All of these are present in crawl spaces in humid climates and why vented crawl spaces in humid climates are so susceptible to mold.

Yes. In homes with vented crawl spaces, up to 40% of the breathing air in a living space originates in the crawlspace. The is due to stack effect (the natural movement of air ‘upwards’ through your home) as well as leaks in return HVAC ducts in the crawl space.

Once mold is present, it will continue to be present and grow until it is remediated and the environmental negative conditions rectified. Mold consumes organic matter, such as wood framing in homes which will increasingly compromise the structural integrity of the home, if left unchecked.

Dry Ice Blasting offers the most effective performance for crawl space mold remediation in terms of not only killing the mold and removing the visible, accumulated mold growth on the treated surfaces but also in removing the staining that the mold left in the treated surface. Dry Ice Blasting can typically remove about 90% of staining from wood surfaces such as crawl space joists and subflooring. Dry Ice Blasting is also chemical free and residue free.

Soda Blasting (with fungicide pre-treatment) is fully effective at killing mold and removing the visible, accumulated growth on treated surfaces, and will typically remove about 70% of the staining from wood surfaces. Soda Blasting does leave a fine white dusting of soda residue in the crawl space with does help as a deodorizer but may leave you wanting for aesthetic wipe cleaning. HEPA Vacuum Scrubbing (with fungicide pre-treatment) is fully effective at killing mold and removing visible, accumulated growth on treated surfaces. It will not remove any staining embedded in wood surfaces.

HEPA Vacuum Scrubbing (with fungicide pre-treatment) is fully effective at killing mold and removing visible, accumulated growth on treated surfaces. It will not remove any staining embedded in wood surfaces.

Spray foam under a subfloor is not an effective option for several reasons:

• Building Code in the Triangle area of North Carolina requires R-19 when under a subfloor but only R-10 on the crawlspace foundation walls. So you'd need almost twice the depth (at nearly twice the cost) for spray foam.
• Proportionally, most crawl spaces are wide and short. The actual square footage of the subfloor is typically much greater than the surface area square footage of the perimeter foundation walls. This, again, creates a proportionally higher cost than spraying it to the foundation walls.

Yes. Spray Foam effectively air seals the attic. This keeps the cold wintertime air outside from coming into your attic. Spray Foam also reduces stack effect, the natural movement of air upwards through your home, which reduces heat loss and drafts. Spray Foam will also hold rising residual heat from your living space in your attic. Where your vented attic in winter will have similar temperature to the air outside, an attic with Spray Foam will be moderate in temperature, often within 10-15◦ F of your living space. Spray Foam is the most effective attic insulation in winter.

Dry Ice Blasting offers the most effective performance for crawl space mold remediation in terms of not only killing the mold and removing the visible, accumulated mold growth on the treated surfaces but also in removing the staining that the mold left in the treated surface. Dry Ice Blasting can typically remove about 90% of staining from wood surfaces such as crawl space joists and subflooring. Dry Ice Blasting is also chemical free and residue free.

Soda Blasting (with fungicide pre-treatment) is fully effective at killing mold and removing the visible, accumulated growth on treated surfaces, and will typically remove about 70% of the staining from wood surfaces. Soda Blasting does leave a fine white dusting of soda residue in the crawl space with does help as a deodorizer but may leave you wanting for aesthetic wipe cleaning.

HEPA Vacuum Scrubbing (with fungicide pre-treatment) is fully effective at killing mold and removing visible, accumulated growth on treated surfaces. It will not remove any staining embedded in wood surfaces.