We've just purchased a waterfront home, used to be a cottage, but has grown. It has forced air oil heat. The basement is just a 4' crawl space with dirt floor. We have insulated with rigid foam and covered the floor and part way up the wall with heavy plastic. It was suggested to us that we bring in fresh air from outdoors, via dryer type vent, and have it come up under the furnace so that the furnace uses fresh air while on. We are to add elbows to duct to prevent draft. We have the furnace fan on low at all times and high when it's on. This is to get rid of the musty smell. Will this venting help and what else if anything can we do about the smell.
Answer:
You basically on the right track. Insulating the walls with at least R-28 bats will serve better than anything else for energy conservation. You can then cover the bats and the dirt floor with heavy (super 6 mm poly) vapour barrier. The whole area should be well sealed during the heating season and well ventilated during the non-heating season.
