Crawlspace Insulation
in Fraser Heights, BC

Fraser Heights occupies the higher ground on the northwestern edge of Surrey, overlooking the Fraser River valley and offering some of the best natural drainage in the municipality. The soils here transition from the heavy clay of lower Surrey to a siltier, better-draining mix on the upper terraces. Homes in Fraser Heights, many of which were built in the 1980s and 1990s, tend to have fewer flooding and standing-water problems than neighbours in lower-elevation areas, but they are not without crawlspace challenges.

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.