Does your house smell musty? Are your floors cold and bouncy? It might be time to fix your crawl space. Moisture in the crawl space can create an environment perfect for mold growth. Mold in your crawl space doesn’t come without consequences. If it’s in your crawl space, you can bet that it is in the air you are breathing.
In addition to mold growth, if your crawl space is damp or humid, that can cause the wood joists holding your floor in place to rot over time. That’s why you might notice a dip in the floor in a certain area, or you feel your floor bounce beneath your feet as you walk through your home.
These are just a couple of signs that your crawl space is not doing too well. The good news is you can change that.
Sometimes the wood can rot before the crawl space can be fixed. When this happens, the sub-floor becomes unstable and poses a risk. If you find yourself in this spot, all hope isn’t lost. Our SmartJack System can help stabilize your floor in places where the wood has weakened. While this is a good fix if you find the issue late, the best solution is to keep your crawl space healthy so that the wood doesn’t rot.
Before we get to the BEST protective measure to keep your crawl space dry and healthy, here’s a quick tip that can help. Your crawl space has vents that open and close to allow fresh air to pass in and out. If you open your vents after the winter season ends, this is a great way to prevent that water from lingering in your crawl space.
Alright, now let’s talk about the best way to keep your crawl space dry, your air clean, and your house stable and secure.
What Is Crawl Space Encapsulation?
Crawl space encapsulation is the process of laying polyethylene vapor barrier in your crawl space. Polyethylene vapor barrier is a custom-fit material that gets laid down in your crawl space floor and walls.
By using a thick, double layer of material, we ensure that we completely seal the crawl space. Putting it over the ground, up the walls, and on any concrete columns under the house, we make sure to leave no stone unturned.
As stated above, we seal up your house from the earth completely. One way we seal your house is by closing the vents to obtain complete humidity control in the crawl space. After closing the vents, we install a sump pump to handle any potential ground water penetration and install a commercial-grade dehumidifier to ensure that water has no chance of existing under your house.
Additionally, ridding your crawl space of damp, wet conditions will create sustained stability in your floorboards.
Why Should You Encapsulate Your Crawl Space?
As previously documented, crawl space waterproofing can be an investment, but it is even more expensive to wait for a later day to protect your home. There are various ways people might try to “air out” the crawl space, but the only sure way to protect your home is to invest in the complete fix. That’s why a crawl space encapsulation is a perfect way to improve your quality of life and save a bunch of money!
We have proudly served Middle Tennessee, Kentuckiana, and North Alabama for over 20 years. Over that time, we have discovered just how common crawl space issues are because winter and spring tend to bring heavy precipitation in our region. Areas such as Nashville, TN, Louisville, KY, and Cullman, AL, experienced some of the wettest springs in 2022.
To put it in perspective, all three states that we serviced were top 15 in average annual precipitation. According to data from NOAA National Climatic Data Center, Alabama ranked fourth, Tennessee ranked sixth, and Kentucky ranked 12th in average annual precipitation. This creates a common scenario of damp crawl spaces, which is why a crawl space encapsulation is a game changer. If that’s not enough, here’s our full list of the benefits of encapsulating your crawl space.
Benefits of Encapsulating Your Crawl Space
Protects your home against harmful water vapor
Water vapor can do damage to your home in a variety of ways. Ranging from bad smells to weakening structural integrity, it is vital to your peace of mind to nip these water vapors in the bud.
Protects you from allergens
When you have a crawl space that is not properly closed or encapsulated, allergens from mother nature can make their way into your home. Aside from possible damage to your home, these allergens actually have a direct impact on you. Allergens settle into the air you breathe as well as onto other items in your home. When you breathe contaminated air or touch those everyday items, you are putting the health of you and your loved ones at risk.
Prevents mold and odors from entering your home
Water in the crawl space can lead to mold and foul odors in the home. While the odors are irritating, the real danger comes from the mold. On the home front, the mold in the crawl space can lead to the weakening, and eventual collapse, of the floorboards. This can cause your home’s structure to collapse, which obviously creates a plethora of problems. Plus, most of the air in your home comes from the crawl space. If mold is in your crawl space, it is in your air — and you breathe that air. An encapsulation makes sure that you and your loved ones are safely breathing clean air in your home.
There is no heavy machinery needed to encapsulate your crawl space
Many homeowners are leery of these types of home improvement projects because of the potential toll that heavy machinery and tools can have on the surrounding landscape. That’s what’s so great about encapsulation! It leaves a light footprint and requires no machinery or demolition of the area surrounding your home.
Your crawl space can function as a storage space because it stays clean
When you think of a crawl space, what do you think of? You probably have some dark, dingy, muddy image in your mind. Another great benefit of a crawl space encapsulation is how clean it keeps your crawl space. It’s so clean that your crawl space can be used for additional storage. And you don’t have to worry about those items being flooded by a heavy rain or ruined by nasty mold.
Lowers Your Energy Bill
When you have spaces that aren’t encapsulated, you are allowing your climate to be dictated by the outside conditions. You might be blasting the heat to combat those frigid winters invading your crawl space or running your AC nonstop to compensate for the summer heat making its way under your home. In both scenarios, you are spending more money than you need to. When you encapsulate your home, you can now keep the outside environment outside and keep more dollars in your wallet by making your home more energy-efficient.
Schedule Your Free Inspection Today
Protect your crawl space and home by scheduling a free inspection today!
You deserve to spend more time enjoying your home than worrying about your crawl space.
Call us at 844-468-4674 to get back to enjoying your home!
