Challenge:
This house’s attic AND crawl space were infested by rats! Everything needed to be cleaned out and re-insulated now that the critters were gone. After seeing our great reviews online, this North Eugene, OR homeowner called to set an appointment.
Solution:
A pest control company got rid of the rodents, but she was left with was a mess from the rodents. To help the owner understand what was in the attic and the crawl space, our Inspector crawled into both areas and took photos.
Besides a mess in each area, the attic was woefully under-insulated (see photo). The crawl space was a mess, plus the fiberglass was sagging (see photos) and that means it’s not doing anything.
The first step in the attic was to remove all the old, inefficient fiberglass. You don’t want to add insulation on top since it would make a comfy fiberglass bed, inviting critters to return (rodents love fiberglass.) It also allows access to all the air leaks. A big air leak area is where can lights are cut into the attic floor. We first cover it with a special can light cover and then air-seal down that cover with ZypFoam (see photo). Our crew then blew in cellulose insulation to the higher R-60 level (photo). Critters don’t nest in the cellulose we use.
For the crawl space, all the insulation and the very yucky plastic ground cover were removed. The crawl space was then turned into an encapsulated space. It separates the space from the ground so cold air doesn’t leak up into the house. Bad-smelling air, with potential allergy items, can’t leak in from the crawl space anymore, either.
With both the attic and the crawl space now properly insulated, this house is amazingly comfortable!
Photos:
