We have a crawl space under the addition of our family room & the underneath side of the floor has been insulated & then the insulation was covered with plastic. We are from time to time smelling a musty odour which we think is coming from that area. Your comments on what you think the problem might be would be most appreciated.
Answer:
Insulating a floor is bad enough but when you add vapour barrier to the cold side of the insulation you start to smell mould and mildew. Crawl space is a major source of mildew but that can be corrected. First, all insulation has to be removed from the crawl space ceiling - house floor. The whole dirt floor, with all its irregularities, has then to be covered with an impermeable material (6mm polyethylene, an old swimming pool liner, etc.). This has to be firmly and permanently sealed to the existing, well applied perimeter wall vapour barrier - which should be covering insulation rated at least R-20. It also has to be taped to all perforating structural components (plumbing, support posts, etc.). That looks after the crawl space for most of the year. The vents on the walls have then to be adjusted so they can be opened and closed from the outside. This will negate the need for anyone to crawl around down there for seasonal adjustment of ventilation.
