Ground Moisture
Moisture seeps through foundation walls from the earth outside of the crawl space. Heavy rains saturate the ground and the water can find its way through the porous block wall into the crawl space. Water staining on the blocks and efflorescence are common signs of water infiltration through the block walls.
Crawl Space Vents
Open vents were intended to allow enough airflow to keep it dry under the house during hot humid months, but it turned out to do exactly the opposite. Vents allow hot humid air to flood into the crawl space and become trapped, raising the relative humidity of the space.
Crawl Space Insulation
This crawl space had no insulation between the floor joists, and we didn't find any on the floor. This tells us, it was either removed in the past due to damage and never replaced, or wasn't there, to begin with.
Vapor Barrier
Vapor barriers are supposed to protect the crawl space from the earth's moisture. To do this, the liner needs to seal the crawl space off from the earth and its moisture. This liner is laid out on the ground with gaps in the system allowing moisture to rise into the crawl space.
CleanSpace Vapor Barrier
A heavy-duty 20mil CleanSpace vapor barrier is installed, The liner is overlapped and sealed at all seams, wrapped and sealed around all piers, and attached to the foundation walls about 6 inches above outside grade to direct any water that makes its way through the block wall below the liner.
Sealed Foundation Vents
The foundation vents are sealed and insulated to stop outside air carrying moisture from flooding into the crawl space. To keep as much outside air and moisture out of the crawl space as possible, the sill plate, rim band, and any penetration through the foundation walls to the outside are all sealed.
Insulating Foundation Walls
The foundation walls are prepared to be insulated with Closed-cell spray foam insulation. Our Spray Foam Technicians will apply an R-10 of insulation to the walls, extending the thermal envelope of the home from the ceiling of the crawl space to the floor and addressing the homeowner's concerns of being more comfortable in their home.
