Cold floors in winter almost always trace back to an uninsulated or badly insulated crawl space. Utah Valley Foam insulates and seals crawl spaces in Provo, Orem, and across Utah County with closed cell spray foam, the only insulation that handles the moisture and temperature swings under a Utah home. Call (801) 691-7136 for a free crawl space inspection.
The Problem With Most Utah Crawl Spaces
Most crawl spaces in Utah County were built vented, with fiberglass batts stapled between the floor joists. Twenty years later those batts are sagging, damp, and full of rodent nests, and the vents pull freezing air under your floors all winter. Your furnace fights that cold from above while the crawl space feeds it from below.
How We Fix It
- Remove failed insulation. Old batts and debris come out first. See insulation removal.
- Seal the perimeter. Closed cell foam is sprayed on the crawl space walls and rim joist, the band of wood where your floor framing sits on top of the foundation, insulating and vapor sealing in one pass. Closed cell delivers R-6 to R-7 per inch and acts as a vapor barrier at 2 inches.
- Close the vents. A sealed, insulated crawl space stays within a few degrees of the house above it, which means warm floors and lower bills.
Should You Insulate the Floor or Encapsulate the Walls?
There are two ways to deal with a Utah County crawl space, and they solve different problems. Insulating the floor above keeps the crawl space outside your thermal envelope. Encapsulating the walls brings it inside. The second costs more and fixes more:
| Insulate the floor above | Seal and insulate the walls | |
|---|---|---|
| Crawl space stays | Vented, outside the envelope | Sealed, inside the envelope |
| Code target | R-30 floor (zone 5) | Wall assembly, varies by jurisdiction |
| Open cell depth | 8 to 9 inches | Not used below grade |
| Closed cell depth | 4 to 5 inches | 2 to 3 inches on walls |
| Fixes cold floors | Partly | Yes |
| Fixes damp and musty air | No | Yes |
| Protects pipes from freezing | No | Yes |
In most older Provo and Orem homes the crawl space is vented, the fiberglass under the floor has fallen down, and the ductwork runs through cold air all winter. That combination is why the floors are cold and the furnace runs long. Sealing the walls with closed cell foam puts the ducts back inside conditioned space. If the existing insulation is wet, rodent damaged, or moldy, it has to come out first, which is quoted as a separate line item on the insulation removal page. Call (801) 691-7136.
Crawl Space Pricing FAQ
How much does crawl space insulation cost?
Most crawl space encapsulation and insulation projects in Utah County run $2,000 to $6,000 depending on square footage, wall height, and how much old material needs to come out. Rim joist only jobs run $1,000 to $2,500.
Will this help with moisture and smells?
Yes. Sealing the walls with closed cell foam and closing the vents cuts off the outdoor humidity path, and the musty crawl space smell that drifts up into the house usually disappears with it.
Why not just replace the fiberglass batts?
Batts between floor joists fail the same way the old ones did: they sag, absorb moisture, and never stop air movement. Insulating the crawl space walls with foam treats the space as part of the house, which is the approach building science generally favors.