There’s a right way and there’s a wrong way that your crawl space should look.
It should look something like a Hobbit hole if you’ll indulge a simile. In J.R.R. Tolkien’s beloved children’s book “The Hobbit,” little happy, food-loving people live in holes in the sides of hills. These Hobbit holes were clean, well-maintained, and quite hospitable for dinner parties. To paraphrase, Tolkien describes the opposite of a good Hobbit hole as “nasty, dirty, wet … filled with the ends of worms and an oozy smell.”
You need professional crawl space maintenance if your crawl space sounds like the opposite. Here’s what you can expect from a professional, like www.sedonawaterproofing.com, who knows how to fix the problems with your crawl space.
Vapor Barrier for the Wet and Oozy Smell
Many crawl spaces are built over exposed earth. For some houses built before a certain time, the dirt floor is likely the whole footprint of the house. While the foundation, walls, and vents may appropriately prevent rain and snow from entering the crawl space, moisture naturally exudes from the earth and that can cause serious problems over time.
The moisture can cause wood rot, mold, insulation deterioration, and rust and corrosion of metal fixtures.
Also, the moist dirt smell is what makes some homes smell “old.” That dank, musty smell that comes off of the dirt floor of the crawl space seeps into the home, giving it an unmistakable odor. A vapor barrier can help remediate much of this. A vapor barrier is, in short, a large plastic sheet (or a few of them) that covers the dirt and prevents moisture from permeating into the crawl space.
Encapsulation Is a Vapor Barrier with an Upgrade
If you live in a humid area, moisture is everywhere. During the summer months, it feels like you’re swimming in the air. The same air is in your crawl space causing problems. Encapsulation is a full-system, top-top-bottom sealing of your crawl space with the addition of a dehumidifier to take things to the next level in home environment regulation.
We’ll reinsulate between floor joists, put down a sealed vapor barrier, and add a dehumidifier to reduce the humidity in the air circulating through your crawl space by as much as 65%.
Water Seepage onto a Vapor Barrier…
…is like having your umbrella in your pocket while walking in the rain.
Issues related to your home’s gutters and drains or other property problems lead to standing water on top of a vapor barrier. Ideally, a vapor barrier keeps moisture out. But with standing water, it keeps it in and creates all kinds of problems. Our professional team will search for, diagnose, and fix these problems.
Professional Crawl Space Maintenance Makes the Most of Odd Spaces
While you don’t need to turn your crawl space into a home fit for fancy dinner parties for fictional folk, using professional crawl space maintenance will help you ensure that the odd space under your home doesn’t cause you any problems.
If you feel you are in need of a crawl space repair or maintenance, always make sure you choose an experienced professional for the job.
