I'm building a new house just outside of Richmond, VA. It will be about 2700 SF and mostly one level. The second floor is just a finished bonus room over the garage. The footprint of the house is not a nice rectangle. There are lots of bumps, books, etc creating a lot of corners and a lot of exterior walls area given the interior square footage. HVAC will be electric heat pump with propane backup. The entire house will be wrapped with DuPont Tyvek and finished with vinyl siding.
The question has come up about insulation and what we want to do. The builder pays for R-13 fiberglass batt insulation for the walls, R38 in the ceiling, and R19 in the floor. We have options. I really like the idea of the closed cell spray foam, but it's just not in the budget to do the whole house in closed cell foam.
One option I'm considering for the walls is 1/2" inch of closed cell foam topped off the 3 inches of blown cellulose. While the R-value does not increase significantly with this option, the sealing benefits of it seem to be a great compromise to me.
There is an option to add open cell foam in the attic for $5k.
In addition, the insulation contractor has quoted the pricing to do a conditioned crawlspace. Together with the closed cell foam and cellulose in the walls (and in the garage ceiling, under the bonus room), my price would be $4k.
Doubling the foam thickness to 1" and topping off the the blown cellulose more than doubles the price - almost $11k. I've asked why that went up so much. I'm waiting to hear back. In fact, I've sent a bunch of questions to both the builder and the insulation contractor, but I'm always looking for more opinions. If I may be so bold, I will post the questions here for discussion and recommendations.
1. Our current house was treated for termites prior to our ownership which consisted of the pest control company drilling a hole in one of the concrete blocks all the way around the foundation. How would something like this be accomplished if we had a conditioned crawlspace without destroying the integrity of the building envelope seal?
2. Will the heat pump need to be resized based on the increased volume of the conditioned crawlspace?
3. I understand the benefit of the conditioned crawlspace as it relates to capturing any duct leakage into the crawlspace...but the heat pump air handler unit will be in our attic and I think the duct work spiders out from there and feeds vents in the ceilings of each room. Aside from the moisture control benefits, what do we really gain since the air handler and ductwork is in the attic?
4. The way I understand it, the conditioned crawlspace will need an exhaust fan to keep it under negative pressure compared to the house. If this is the case, there is a constant draw of air from the living area into the crawl and then outside. We're constantly taking air that we've paid to heat, cool, condition, etc and throwing it outside. That seems like a big waste. What am I missing.
The question has come up about insulation and what we want to do. The builder pays for R-13 fiberglass batt insulation for the walls, R38 in the ceiling, and R19 in the floor. We have options. I really like the idea of the closed cell spray foam, but it's just not in the budget to do the whole house in closed cell foam.
One option I'm considering for the walls is 1/2" inch of closed cell foam topped off the 3 inches of blown cellulose. While the R-value does not increase significantly with this option, the sealing benefits of it seem to be a great compromise to me.
There is an option to add open cell foam in the attic for $5k.
In addition, the insulation contractor has quoted the pricing to do a conditioned crawlspace. Together with the closed cell foam and cellulose in the walls (and in the garage ceiling, under the bonus room), my price would be $4k.
Doubling the foam thickness to 1" and topping off the the blown cellulose more than doubles the price - almost $11k. I've asked why that went up so much. I'm waiting to hear back. In fact, I've sent a bunch of questions to both the builder and the insulation contractor, but I'm always looking for more opinions. If I may be so bold, I will post the questions here for discussion and recommendations.
1. Our current house was treated for termites prior to our ownership which consisted of the pest control company drilling a hole in one of the concrete blocks all the way around the foundation. How would something like this be accomplished if we had a conditioned crawlspace without destroying the integrity of the building envelope seal?
2. Will the heat pump need to be resized based on the increased volume of the conditioned crawlspace?
3. I understand the benefit of the conditioned crawlspace as it relates to capturing any duct leakage into the crawlspace...but the heat pump air handler unit will be in our attic and I think the duct work spiders out from there and feeds vents in the ceilings of each room. Aside from the moisture control benefits, what do we really gain since the air handler and ductwork is in the attic?
4. The way I understand it, the conditioned crawlspace will need an exhaust fan to keep it under negative pressure compared to the house. If this is the case, there is a constant draw of air from the living area into the crawl and then outside. We're constantly taking air that we've paid to heat, cool, condition, etc and throwing it outside. That seems like a big waste. What am I missing.
New construction in Virginia - lots of questions
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