Mouse proofing vs crawl space ventilation

[hoffmania]

Hello,

I am considering sealing our crawl space, built in 1990, with natural ventilation. Today, there are gaps between the sill and the bottom of the floor joists around most of the area, and my initial thought is to pack with steel wool (possibly also with foam, though opinions seem to differ on whether this is wise) and then seal with wooden beams.

I've added a picture with a small block to illustrate my idea, where a beam runs along and seals the gap.

One concern I have is whether the gaps might serve a ventilating function for the insulation + joists. Am I making a mistake by sealing it with foam + beams; maybe the gap is supposed to be there, or is it just poorly built? Currently, I have no moisture issues either in the crawl space or the joists, and I certainly don't want to ruin that fact.

What do you think? Should I proceed? Is using beams overkill? Is it enough to just pack and skip both the foam and beams?

Thanks in advance!
Best regards, hoffmania

 

[klaskarlsson]

Hi,

I'm planning to make an effort to mouse-proof our crawl space, added in 1990, natural ventilation. Today there are gaps between the sill and the bottom of the joist around most of the area, and my idea is to first insulate with steel wool (possibly also foam sealant, although there seems to be differing opinions on whether it's wise or not) and then seal with wooden battens.

I'm adding a picture with a small block to illustrate my thinking, that a batten will run along and seal the gap.

One concern I have is whether the gaps might have some ventilating function for the insulation + joist. And whether I'm making a mistake by sealing it with foam + battens, maybe the gap is supposed to be there, or it's just poorly built? Today I have no issues with moisture in either the crawl space or the joist and I certainly don't want to ruin that.

What do you think, should I just go for it? Overkill with battens? Is it enough to insulate and ignore both foam and battens?

Thanks in advance!
Best regards, hoffmania

It rather looks like there's a gap between, say, a new and an older part where it differs by a few cm. Ventilation shouldn't be done that way. But you can seal it with windproofing paper, or aluminum netting if you want?

Otherwise, I think battens will work just fine.