Crawlspace Insulation
in Cedar Hills, BC

Cedar Hills is one of Surrey's established inner-suburban neighbourhoods, with a housing stock predominantly from the 1960s through the 1980s. The area sits on relatively flat terrain in the central part of the municipality, with clay-loam soils that drain slowly after rain events. The neighbourhood's age means that many crawlspaces here have never been professionally assessed or treated, and we frequently find significant moisture damage and mold accumulation when we inspect homes in this area.

The majority of homes in Surrey and the surrounding communities built before 2000 have fiberglass batt insulation installed between the floor joists in the crawlspace. When this insulation was new and dry, it provided reasonable thermal resistance. The problem is that fiberglass batts installed in a vented crawlspace environment in a high-rainfall climate like ours rarely stay dry. They absorb ambient moisture, sag out of their cavities, and gradually collapse onto the ground. Wet fiberglass insulation has essentially zero R-value, adds weight that can pull down on vapor barriers or staples, and provides a hospitable nesting environment for rodents.

For crawlspaces that are not being fully encapsulated, we install new unfaced fiberglass batts or mineral wool between the joists, but only after addressing the moisture conditions that destroyed the previous insulation. Installing fresh batts into a still-damp crawlspace environment means you'll be back in the same situation within a few years. Proper sequencing matters: drainage, vapor barrier, then insulation.