I recently bought a lakeside cottage. The cellar is not heated but is open vented year round. The cellar walls are made of stone and mortar and are not insulated. The ceiling is insulated. I have done some research on crawlspace insulating and most sources say to insulate the ceiling because the space is not heated and is vented. I would like to use the cottage in the winter, but I am not sure the insulation is done correctly. When you enter the cotage it smells musty. The cellar floor is sandy and slopes up to grade at the front of the cottage, so it really does not have a front cellar wall to insulate. How would you approach it? I am also concerned about the pipes freezing in the cellar, what can I do to ensure they don't freeze up on me.
Answer:
To begin with, I do not believe in insulating the ceiling of a crawl space because it attracts moisture and the whole structure ends up smelling of mould. Sound familiar? I would remove the insulation from the ceiling and apply it to the walls and then apply a heavy vapour barrier on both walls and floor. An old swimming pool liner (cheap and easy to get in spring) does well for the floor and you can still walk on it. Now you can treat the cottage as you would a house; a minimum of heat in winter keeps things from freezing.
