Crawlspace Insulation
in Morgan Creek, BC

Morgan Creek is a master-planned golf course community in South Surrey with a concentration of larger, custom-built homes from the late 1990s and 2000s. While newer construction generally has better vapour control than older housing stock, Morgan Creek properties are not immune to crawlspace moisture issues. The community's proximity to multiple water features — ponds, streams, and wetlands associated with the golf course — means the ambient water table is higher than in other South Surrey areas, and seasonal fluctuations can be significant.

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.