How to Place Large Rocks Under a House to Maintain the Temperature

Drafts are a common problem in houses, especially houses that are exposed underneath. Sometimes draftiness comes from below the house, causing hot air to escape and cold air to come in. You can use rocks to help insulate a house. Methods include lining the ground with a moisture-blocking vapor barrier and keeping it down with large rocks and adding rock barrier wind blocks under the perimeter of the crawl space in any place where too much airflow is an obvious problem. Homeowners often use straw bales or sandbags in the same manner.

Shovel
Gravel
Chisel
3-lb. hammer

Instructions

- 1
  Dig an 8-inch deep trench along the inside of the house skirting where wind blocks are needed. Make the trench 2 to 3 inches wider than the largest rocks. Fill the trench partway with gravel to create a level, draining base.
- 2
  Unroll and cut vapor barrier to match the dimensions of the space. Allow the edges to sit inside the trenches.
- 3
  Fill the trenches on top of the vapor barrier edges partway with gravel.
- 4
  Place a row of the largest available rocks in the trenches. Fit smaller rocks into any large openings between the rocks.
- 5
  Add a second row of rocks. Try to fit rocks as tightly as possible, looking for rock shapes that fit well into cavities. When necessary, break rocks to fit using a chisel and a 3 lb. hammer. Continue building up until the rock barrier reaches to the top of the crawl space.
- 6
  Place additional large rocks along the perimeter and in the middle of the vapor barrier to help hold it down.

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