Ever wonder why your floors feel cold in January even with the heat cranked up? The answer is probably your rim joist โ and most homes in Jonesboro and Trumann have zero insulation there.
A rim joist is the band of framing lumber that sits on top of your foundation wall, right where the floor system begins. In a typical Northeast Arkansas crawl-space home, uninsulated rim joists can account for 15โ25% of total air infiltration. That's a huge number for something most homeowners never think about.
The fix is straightforward. We cut and press 2-inch closed-cell spray foam board or โ better yet โ spray 2" of closed-cell foam directly onto the rim joist cavity. Two inches of closed-cell hits R-13, seals the air gap completely, and acts as a vapor retarder all in one shot. IRC Section R402.1.2 actually requires rim joist insulation to meet the same R-value as the above-grade wall in Climate Zone 3 (that's us), so we're talking R-13 minimum to stay code-compliant.
Cost-wise, expect $1.50โ$2.50 per board foot for professional closed-cell application on rim joists. A typical 1,500 SF ranch crawl perimeter runs 8โ10 hours and lands most homeowners in the $600โ$1,100 range โ a fraction of what a new HVAC unit costs, but with immediate payback on comfort and utility bills.
With August humidity already pushing into the crawl space and winter not far enough away, right now is the perfect time to get this done before you're fighting both ends of the weather calendar.
Reply here or DM us for a free rim joist estimate. We serve Jonesboro, Trumann, Paragould, and surrounding areas.