How do you insulate a cottage crawlspace and install radiant floor heat?

Converting a cottage to a 4-season home is not an easy feat, particularly in less-than-balmy Alberta, but it of course can be done. And retrofitting an existing building is usually preferable whenever possible than tearing down and starting over. The portion that is just 6” from the ground is a bit of a problem I think, there are no doubt wood floor joists and that is a bit too close to the wet ground for my taste. Take a look here at our pages about crawlspaces to get an idea of the basics on how they function best. 

Crawl Space Insulation Tips for Insulating Crawlspaces Properly

As for how to convert your cottage to a house, there are a few options. Most of which, given your proximity to the ground would start with jacking it up to get it further from the ground if it were me. 

To winterize a cottage you are looking at a pretty significant investment so I would want a solid foundation. Either lift it and build a cinderblock foundation and insulate it from the exterior (and the floor) or you could even drop it down on a radiant heated slab on grade and ditch the existing floor. That may be the most sensible option if you really want radiant infloor heating, though there are others we can discuss.   What is the current condition of the floor joists, are they rotting at all? And, what is your budget for all this? Jacking it to build a slab or foundation isn’t cheap unfortunately, but neither is investing in a big renovation project and then having the floor rot out. One way or another you would need to do something about the 6” high section.