Crawlspace Insulation
in Clayton Heights, BC

Clayton Heights is one of Surrey's newest residential communities, developed primarily in the 2000s and 2010s on land that was previously agricultural. The neighbourhood is characterized by high-density residential development — townhouses, rowhouses, and single-family homes on relatively small lots — with modern construction standards that include better vapour control than older housing stock. Even so, the agricultural origins of the land mean that soil conditions can be challenging: organic-rich farm soils, high water tables in low-lying sections, and drainage infrastructure that is still maturing as the community develops.

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.