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Home Repair - - If it ain't broken, don't fix it. Otherwise look here.
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Posted by Colbyt on December 26, 2005, 11:44 am
I have a uninsulatable crawlspace with uninsulated metal ductwork running
through it. I have been exploring the options for insulating the ductwork.
At the current cost of gas not doing so seems immoral even though this is a
rental unit.
The main duct is a rectangle, no I did not crawl under and measure it yet,
and the branch runs are mostly 6" rounds.
As expressed by another poster in another thread I feel the bubble wrap foil
is bubblecrap. The Hart and Cooley sleeves look like the best bet, with
more work for the rounds. But what to use for the main duct and the boots?
There is an R6 product but you have to cut and fit. To really get the R6 it
will need to be installed uncompressed. I am not crazy about the thought of
dealing with that product in a crawlspace.
I have not found a semi-rigid product that could be applied to the exterior
of the main duct. I am thinking something like is on the inside of
insulated duct.
Any and all suggestions for the best way and payback for insulating the
ductwork is appreciated.
Colbyt
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Posted by Jay Stootzmann on December 26, 2005, 12:16 pm
I'll repost what I said earlier in another thread:
Before insulating your ducts that run thru the crawl space you will want to
seal them first -- duct mastic is considered best though I've used the foil
tape to seal all the seams. I've used foil tape that has held up very well
over ten years now. Don't use regular duct tape -- it doesn't last. Seal
the seams of the heating ducts as well as the return air ducts.
I've used the fiberglass duct insulation by Manville that I picked up at
Lowes.
After sealing my ducts in my crawl space and then insulating all the heating
and air return ducts I noticed a big improvement in the air flow and the
heat of the air from the registers as far as how much actual savings I'm now
experiencing there are a lot of
SWAG methods that others have talked about that you could look into but I do
know I'm saving now for
the life of the house and since I did the work myself my only costs were
materials and time.
A friend of mine at work insulated his ducts using R-19 bats that he cut and
wrapped around his ducts and held them on with wire and string. I just used
the Manville duct fiberglass insulation that is a perfect fit for the 6"
dia. ducts. For the ducts that ran down the center between my 12" floor
joists I put an R-13 bat above the duct -- strips of R-13 on each side and
another R-13 bat across the bottom which effectively filled the entire space
between the Joists with the Ducts running down between them.
IMHO, sealing the duct joints was the most important step in the crawl
space.
Another thing to consider is being sure to put down a good vapor barrier in
the crawl space.
show/hide quoted text
>I have a uninsulatable crawlspace with uninsulated metal ductwork running
> through it. I have been exploring the options for insulating the ductwork.
> At the current cost of gas not doing so seems immoral even though this is
> a
> rental unit.
> The main duct is a rectangle, no I did not crawl under and measure it yet,
> and the branch runs are mostly 6" rounds.
> As expressed by another poster in another thread I feel the bubble wrap
> foil
> is bubblecrap. The Hart and Cooley sleeves look like the best bet, with
> more work for the rounds. But what to use for the main duct and the
> boots?
> There is an R6 product but you have to cut and fit. To really get the R6
> it
> will need to be installed uncompressed. I am not crazy about the thought
> of
> dealing with that product in a crawlspace.
> I have not found a semi-rigid product that could be applied to the
> exterior
> of the main duct. I am thinking something like is on the inside of
> insulated duct.
> Any and all suggestions for the best way and payback for insulating the
> ductwork is appreciated.
> Colbyt
>
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Posted by marks542004 on December 26, 2005, 2:52 pm
For ductwork in the crawlspace I simply used the 24" paper faced
fiberglass bats. Stapled to the floor joists.
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Posted by jdk on December 26, 2005, 3:35 pm
marks542004@yahoo.com wrote:
show/hide quoted text
> For ductwork in the crawlspace I simply used the 24" paper faced
> fiberglass bats. Stapled to the floor joists.
>
i have a question. if you have hardwood floors, would it be better to
insulate the crawl space and let the duct leaks warm the crawl and the
hardwood floors? i do not know.
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> through it. I have been exploring the options for insulating the ductwork.
> At the current cost of gas not doing so seems immoral even though this is
> a
> rental unit.
> The main duct is a rectangle, no I did not crawl under and measure it yet,
> and the branch runs are mostly 6" rounds.
> As expressed by another poster in another thread I feel the bubble wrap
> foil
> is bubblecrap. The Hart and Cooley sleeves look like the best bet, with
> more work for the rounds. But what to use for the main duct and the
> boots?
> There is an R6 product but you have to cut and fit. To really get the R6
> it
> will need to be installed uncompressed. I am not crazy about the thought
> of
> dealing with that product in a crawlspace.
> I have not found a semi-rigid product that could be applied to the
> exterior
> of the main duct. I am thinking something like is on the inside of
> insulated duct.
> Any and all suggestions for the best way and payback for insulating the
> ductwork is appreciated.
> Colbyt
>