Charlie: “Truitt in Klein wants to know … He says he called a few months ago. You remember the guy who was insulating that house in Sargeant. He says he forgot to ask you about insulating underneath the house. He says, what would you recommend for putting under the floors of the house that he’s building out there?
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Tom: “Well, it’s usually recommended that you use an R19. There’s different ways you could do it. Some people spray on the foam. Not a big fan of that. Some people will use a fiberglass product with a mesh to hold it up. That’s what I would do in the homes I was building. Some people actually use styrofoam, too, but again I’m not a real fan of that. But there’s different ways to do it, but you’re looking for an R19. Now, I would say this. If you don’t have to do it, don’t because insulation under a crawlspace can cause moisture problems, and if you can get away without doing it at all, you’ll be a little colder in winter. The summertime won’t matter because you’re building the house and there’s no heat gain on the floor, and it’ll stay nice and dry under there, and it won’t attract places for critters and things to hang out. With the new codes sometimes you can’t, but if you can get away without doing it, I wouldn’t do it at all except maybe under the master bathroom. Just where you walk around barefoot all the time in the winter.
Charlie:: “It’s not like you’re building a house on the frozen tundra.
Tom: “No, no, it’s hot. We worry about air conditioning.
Charlie:: “Yeah.