Insulate crawl space in East TN. Yes or No

[Kenneth Nunn]

I just moved into a house in East TN. This house was a vacation home for the last owners, when I checked the crawl space there was plastic on the ground and about 3' of hight to the floor joist and there is no insulating between the joist, should I insulate or not I have heard bad storys about mold and insulating getting wet from mosture getting traped in fiberglass Please let me know what to use if I should insulate?

[Jack Feldmann]

I would say that over half the homes I inspect in East TN have floor insulation. If you decide to install it, just make sure the paper backing is up against the floor, and not left exposed.

Its very important to have the plastic vapor barrier on the ground, so its a good thing you already have that.

[John Kogel]

If you insulate, job one is to keep the rodents out of there. That means no holes anywhere over about 1/2" diam.

Another method is to insulate the walls of the crawlspace, seal the vapor barrier on the ground, and heat the crawlspace a little bit with the vents closed. Google "conditioned crawlspace" for ideas.