Crawlspace Insulation
in Ocean Park, BC

Ocean Park is a semi-rural residential community in South Surrey near the Strait of Georgia, with a character that feels distinct from the rest of Surrey. Many homes here are set on larger lots with mature landscaping, and the neighbourhood has a higher proportion of older, individually designed homes rather than the tract subdivisions common elsewhere. The coastal proximity brings elevated ambient humidity year-round, and the sandy soils near the shoreline provide reasonable drainage, but homes further from the water and on heavier soils deal with the same moisture challenges as other South Surrey areas.

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.