Crawl space encapsulation

looking into getting my house in Grayling, Mi. done. Any experience, recommendations, horror stories etc ? Crawl is 24'x48'x28" and in pure sand, so dry and no standing water.

 

I know someone who had it done with cellulose, sprayed right on the blocks. They said it made a very noticeable difference. ~5 years and no problems.

 

Should be no cost to have some estimates done.
If it's fairly open and easy access, a crew might get that done in a day.
You'll likely notice a big increase in comfort level and a decrease in energy use.
Insulation is da bomb.
If you have the means, do it.

 

I had ours done a few years ago. I highly recommend it. Used a very heavy duty thick white vinyl on the floor/dirt/sand, all taped together and sealed. Then a spray foam on the walls covering the turned up edge of the vinyl on the floor. Very clean, it's all white and bright. Looks like the inside of an igloo. It becomes part of the conditioned space. Every house with a crawl space should have it sealed.

 

Is there still a need for ventilation or not?

 

According to what I read.... no. The idea is to make it as sealed up as possible, and then some form of conditioning of the air. Either by a dehumidifier or simply adding a register from your hvac system.
I currently have the dreaded fiberglass in the floor joist with a vapor barrier sheet. (manufactured house style) I still need to put a vapor barrier down on the dirt floor (code) I have noticed the mice do like the fiberglass. I was thinking about spray foam seal the foundation wall to sill, 3" polyiso on the walls then encapsulate the crawl. Just not sure if I have the time to do all this, or just pay someone to do it.

 

I think I saw him eating out of the bird feeders the other night.

 

This is similar to what I have been researching.

 

Cheap route is just putting down plastic and overlap it about 1' that's kinda the standard down here.

I'm planning on doing a full encapsulation in the next few years. I've debated about 1" closed cell foam but will most likely use 1-2" rigid xps board from lowes and cut to fit around the rim joist and great stuff applied to the periphery. For the floor I will use a good 10-20mil white vapor barrier anchored and sealed to the wall. But that's money and time that is dedicated to other projects.