insulating large crawl space

[cece e.]

Ok. I have never ever insulated anything in my life. However, I have two very large crawl spaces under my house that has to be insulated and I want to do it myself. I have bought goggles, an automatic stapler, gloves, disposable jump suit and the insulation. Am I on the right track? I know I have the right insulation because I had a contractor come to my house and give me an estimate and he wrote down on the contract the amount and type of insulation that I will need. Is it dangerous to work with insulation if you don't know what you are doing? Do I have all the required gear to do the job? Any helpful hints or suggestions on successfully completing the job and does it take a long time to do it (if you are not a professional)? Thanks for your help

[Tony Hwang]

Hi, Mask for your breathing. I assume it's fiberglass batts? Exposure to skin causes itchiness. Breathing it is not good idea. If you staple too much and flatten them, it'll reduce R value.

[Tom G]

Just a word of caution...it wouldn't be unheard of for a contractor to write down the wrong kind and amount of insulation on an estimate to make it harder for the do it yourselfer to get free planning help. Also to make it harder to call around and get additional (cheaper) estimates based on the original contractors materials estimate. Retailer I worked for suggested we modify cabinet sizes in the drawing for kitchen estimates (free) so the customer couldn't take them into the big orange box and have their salesman pull the sizes off the drawing. And if they did foolishly order based on the drawing, things didn't work out.

[Richard Thoms]

Remember that the vapor barrier goes toward the living space. So in the crawlspace the vapor barrier goes up toward the floor, leaving the insulation exposed below. Kind of a pain when installing since it means the fiberglass is facing you the whole time, but that's the way it is...

[nicksanspam]

Yes, if you insulate the walls and put a vapor barrier on the ground and over the wall insulation, with carefully-taped seams.

Nick