Amanda writes from Gimli, Manitoba: "We have a "crawl space" under our kitchen. That we use for storage for our bikes, canning, pop, etc. We prefer to keep it as a cold storage area, but in the winter the kitchen floor above is soo cold, we can't even sit at the kitchen table. How do we go about insulating it? There is our dryer pipe and heating ducts running in that area. Any pointers?"

Answer: That's an easy one because the answer can be found on the Owens Corning Web site. Click on the word Crawlspace and you will see complete instructions for the project you describe, including pictures.

There are often pipes, ducts and wires in crawlspaces that you need to work around. Water pipes should be insulated and you will need to insulate carefully around electrical wiring and boxes. Insulation should be placed around cross braces by cutting it and pushing it between the braces.

Three other points to keep in mind: (1) Always install the insulation with the vapor retarder toward the warm side of the structure in heating climates such as yours. In a vented crawlspace, the warm side is usually up, closest to the floor. (2) Once the insulation is in place between the floor joists, insulation hangers or nylon straps should be used to hold the product in place. (3) A 4- or 6-mil. polyethylene vapor retarder should be laid down to completely cover the ground.