The Floors are Cold.
It’s a cold winter day and, determined to stay comfortable, you’ve set the thermostat to 70°. As you walk through the house, however, you still feel cold. You nudge the thermostat up to 72°, and then 74°, but you still feel cold. After a bit of detective work you finally discover the culprit: cold floors. While the air in the house is warm, the floors remain cold, keeping you from being comfortable.
Cold floors are a common problem in homes whose crawlspaces have not been properly sealed and conditioned. The vents in the foundation walls of these homes invite cold winter air into the crawlspace, cooling the space directly below the home. Because the fiberglass batt insulation used in the floor joists above the crawlspace is not effective, the cold air seeps through and contacts the floorboards, cooling them. No amount of heat from the home’s furnace will warm floorboards that are in constant contact with cold outside air.
The Floors are Warped.
This phenomenon is also what causes floors to warp in many homes. When the bottoms of the floorboards are exposed to cold, humid outdoor conditions, and the tops of the same boards are kept in warm, dry conditions inside, the boards warp and crack due to uneven expansion and contraction. While wooden floors exhibit obvious signs of this, creaks and squeaks under carpeted areas are also common indicators of warped and cracked floors.
There is an Easy Solution.
Scientific studies have proven that traditional vented crawlspaces are harmful for building structures due to the above-mentioned reasons and more. Luckily, there is an easy solution. By incorporating E3’s signature sealed and conditioned crawlspace system into your new or existing home, you will eliminate the problems that persist with traditional crawlspaces. Our crawlspace systems incorporate the crawlspace into the conditioned space of the home, eliminating the need for insulation between the home and the crawlspace, since they are both kept at the same temperature. In addition, our crawlspace systems help eliminate moisture issues including mold, rot, and odors, lower levels of harmful radon gas, and provide homeowners with safe, conditioned storage for their belongings.