Crawl Space Clean Up Crew also restores existing crawl spaces, adding insulation and vapor barriers to create a warmer, more energy-efficient space. If your thermostat is set at 70 degrees or above, but your floors feel cold, your crawl space could be to blame. Properly insulated crawl spaces make your home more comfortable and save you money on your energy bills. Spray foam insulation is often used from the floor of the house to the vapor barrier.
An insulated crawl space will cause your furnace to run less and keep outside air infiltration to a minimum. It will also block allergens from your ventilation systems. Depending on the size and set up, your crawl space is either ventilated or unventilated. In vented crawl spaces, you'll need to effectively insulate up to the floor of the house with spray foam, as well as wrap any hot water lines to keep them from freezing in winter. However, most crawl spaces are unventilated.
For unventilated crawl spaces, we use spray foam on the foundation walls and band boards, then install a vapor barrier that covers the entire floor. We then block off all the vents, which allows the living space and the crawl space to have similar temperatures and humidity levels. When you create or modify your crawl space to be unventilated, the floors of your home can be up to 20 degrees warmer. It also helps to prevent the warping of hardwood floors.
Vapor barriers alone have many benefits and are essential to preventing moisture issues that come with any crawlspace floor, whether it's dirt or concrete. Too much moisture in a crawlspace can cause structural failure over time. The vapor barrier blocks water that evaporates from the soil from entering the crawlspace. Our experienced HVAC technicians in South Carolina can install vapor barriers in new and existing crawl spaces in any type of building.
Encapsulating, or at least sealing, crawl spaces is becoming a popular solution for avoiding indoor moisture issues. To the average person, encapsulation can be compared to the lining added to the swimming pool to avoid leaks. A heavy-duty polyethylene barrier is added to completely cover your space-usually the floors, foundation walls, and sometimes even ceilings. The water vapor barrier is the most effective when it completely covers your crawl space and sealing tape is used to connect the barrier pieces throughout your area. Once your space is completely sealed, the final piece of the encapsulation puzzle is conditioning the air to maintain a healthy humidity level. The most common way to do this is by adding a dehumidifier to regulate your crawl space's moisture level. The barrier and dehumidifier combination protects the crawl space from excess moisture and all the problems that come along with it.
French Drain
You've Got a Soggy Yard or a Washed-Out Driveway
If you're tired of waiting for your lawn to dry out to enjoy your yard or shoveling your driveway back into place after every rainstorm, you probably want to look into a French drain. Not only will you be better able to enjoy your property but think of the frustration you'll be able to avoid in the future! A shallow French drain will intercept the water and direct it around and away from the problem area.
You're Building a Retaining Wall
If your retaining wall is on a hillside or slope, you'll want to install a French drain behind the first course of the wall to keep water from building up at the bottom or running toward your house.
Ready to Talk About a French Drain for Your +Home?
What is a French Drain?
There are a few types of French drains, explained below, but they all serve one purpose. They collect unwanted water and send it to a place that won't affect your home or yard, such as a drainage ditch, dry well or the street.
Operating under the natural tendency of water to run downhill, French drains are a simple yet effective way to reroute water and ensure your crawl space and belongings stay dry, or your yard and driveway are usable.
Water flows into a ditch or trench that contains a perforated pipe, which is covered with gravel. The ditch is gently sloped, by about one inch every eight feet. Water enters the ditch, filters through the gravel, enters the pipe and then flows freely through the pipe to a designated place away from your home.
Sump Pumps
Water in your crawl space is never a good thing. Aside from damaging your home and your belongings, water promotes mold and mildew that can cause further property damage and harm your indoor air quality, leading to allergy exacerbation and other illnesses.
For water in your crawl space, you can install either a deep French drain around the exterior of your home or an interior French drain. An interior drain is often the less expensive and more effective solution. In either case, a sump pump may be necessary to provide a place to collect the water and pump it up and away from the house.
Why Encapsulate Crawl Spaces
Since up to 50% of household air can flow up from your crawl space, it's important to keep it as clean and dry as possible. Adding a crawl space vapor barrier and dehumidifier is widely accepted as the best way to improve indoor air quality and make energy improvements inside your home.
Water vapor enters the crawl space from the ground (even through cement), leading many people to encapsulate their crawl space to keep the moisture out.
Benefits of Creating a Vapor Barrier:
- Improved air quality in your crawl space and home
- Creates inhospitable area for pests and wood-destroying insects
- Allows for more comfortable living conditions
- Avoid fungi/mold issues and structural damage
- Greater energy efficiency in your home
What Is Crawl Space Encapsulation?
Encapsulating, or at least sealing, crawl spaces is a popular solution for avoiding indoor moisture issues. Encapsulation can be compared to the lining added to swimming pools to avoid leaks.
A heavy-duty polyethylene barrier is added to completely cover your crawl space - usually the floors, foundation walls, and sometimes even ceiling.
This water vapor barrier is most effective when it completely covers your crawl space, and sealing tape is used to connect the barrier pieces throughout the area.
Once your space is completely sealed, the final piece of encapsulation is controlling the air to maintain a healthy humidity level. The most common way to do this is by adding a dehumidifier to regulate your crawl space's moisture level.
This barrier and dehumidifier combination protects the crawl space from excess moisture and all the problems that come along with it.
Who Should Consider Crawl Space Encapsulation?
Water vapor and excess moisture can cause a number of problems in your home. Since water vapor can move through porous cement, moisture from the ground can move through foundation and into your home.
Common issues that lead people to sealing their crawl space:
- Mold
- Mildew/musty smell in basement
- Soft or separating floors
- High cooling costs
- Wet insulation
- Condensation on windows
- Insect problems