I find it very confusing to read and hear conflicting advice on crawl space: vent vs air seal, different ways to do insulation, vapor barriers vs not, etc.
Mine currently has some moisture and has a 6" square hole in the exterior wall and 2 large 3' square openings to the basement next to it. What should I do?
BuildingScience.com recommends conditioning the crawl space: http://www.buildingscience.com/documents/reports/rr-0401-conditioned-crawl-space-construction-performance-and-codes
One concern I have with laying plastic on top of the dirt is creating conditions for mold.
I'd like to hear independent opinions from DIYers rather from websites and people in the industry since those usually have an agenda.
How did you do your crawl space?
Edit:
Sounds like the vapor barrier and insulation at the wall would be the better approach.
According to this: http://www.energysavers.gov/your_home/insulation_airsealing/index.cfm/mytopic=11810 my zone (anything north of North Carolina) is OK for the vapor barrier.
Further questions:
Should I have the 2 inch rigid foam at the walls and vapor barrier on top or underneath or...? I cannot find this detail on the Internet.
"Conditioning" the crawl space means I have to ensure air intake and outtake for it, doesn't it? I currently don't have AC, BTW, only window units.
AskTheBuilder is talking about using high performance vapor barriers here: http://www.askthebuilder.com/B403_High_Performance_Vapor_Barriers.shtml Does anyone have experience with those? Where do I buy that stuff? I only found this: http://www.insulationsolutions.com/products/viper_CS/information.html