I think it is time to clear the air on this subject. For months anybody and everybody has been trying to sell their products with a promise of a tax credit. I am more interested in exposing what I think is a fraud against homeowners when it comes to offering a tax credit for a crawl space vapor barrier. On the Energy Star website it explains what is covered and what is not. When they first release an explanation of the types of products that are covered the site used the example "For insulation to qualify, its primary purpose must be to insulate (example: insulated siding does not qualify but a vapor barrier does)". Instead of these crawl space companies and plastic retailers taking a minute to think about it and try to understand it, they immediately made it one of their main sales pitches. The example statement was under the heading "Insulation" not crawl spaces. The example was trying to note that you can not reside your home with insulated siding and have it qualify for a tax credit. In the example it used the term vapor barrier, as in house wrap, like Tyvek made by DuPont or any generic brand. DuPont describes Tyvek as ".... Superior protection against water and air infiltration." which is why it qualifies for the tax credit.

Now, I did not get the clarification from Obama, but to me it is clear what the Energy Star website was trying to point out. In fact, the example statement has been changed to "For insulation to qualify, its primary purpose must be to insulate (example: insulated siding does not qualify)". The reference to a vapor barrier qualifying has been removed. I could be completely wrong about this but it seems to me there is going to be a lot of angry customers next tax season. If I am wrong, then you should know that if a vapor barrier does qualify for the tax credit then everyone's vapor barrier will qualify, not just a particular brand. So don't fall for that line.

That's my my two cents on crawl spaces and tax credits. For what it's worth I think the government should give a tax credit to everyone that gets their crawl space fixed, either DIY or by a professional. But that is a topic for another post.

Matt