Crawlspace Insulation
in Deer Lake, BC

The Deer Lake area of Burnaby encompasses some of the municipality's most established and valuable residential properties, surrounding the beautiful Deer Lake Park. Homes in this area tend to be on larger lots with mature landscaping, and many are of considerable heritage value as examples of mid-century residential architecture. The lake itself influences the local hydrology — groundwater levels in the immediate area around the lake are relatively close to grade.

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.