Crawl Space Repair Before & After Photos

The porous foundation walls on this Henrico, Virginia crawl space were left exposed, allowing moisture to seep through them and raise the relative humidity. The chalky-white efflorescence covering the crawl space walls indicates moisture infiltration. The open vents lining these walls also allowed the outside air and moisture to seep through them, which added to the overall relative humidity of the crawl space. To protect the crawl space from the outside, our installers sealed the open vents with precisely cut foam board pieces, which were placed within the vents and sealed with can foam. Then, our installers sprayed 1.5 inches of closed-cell spray foam insulation over the foundation walls. This amount of insulation has an R-10 value and will act as an air barrier and vapor retarder, protecting the crawl space from the outside air and moisture. A two-inch viewing strip is left at the top of the wall for termite inspectors.

The existing vapor barrier within this Henrico, Virginia crawl space was failing at protecting the crawl space from moisture rising from the earth. There were holes and tears in many areas, exposing the dirt floor of the crawl space. There were also large puddles in certain spots, and the floor was littered with debris and building materials. Our installers cleared the crawl space of the existing vapor barrier, as well as any debris and trash. A 20-mil 7-layer polyethylene vapor barrier, called CleanSpace, was installed over the dirt floor of the crawl space. This heavy-duty liner is wrapped around all piers, sealed with special vinyl tape, and mechanically fastened over the foundation walls six to eight inches above the outside grade. With this vapor barrier in place, the earth's moisture will find it much more difficult to infiltrate the crawl space and raise the relative humidity.

This crawl space had moisture issues and the homeowner complained about the floor creaking. We found that the crawl space had moisture entering through open crawl space vents, the exposed earth, and through porous block walls. 

The homeowner opted to seal the crawl space, remove the old vapor barrier and insulation, install a new vapor barrier and seal it at the seams and along foundation walls, sealing all vents, and insulating the foundation walls with closed-cell spray foam. And finally, a SaniDry Sedona Dehumidifier was installed. This system helps to seal the crawl space from outside influence including moisture, which had caused much of the damage in the crawl space. The dehumidifier controls the relative humidity, helping to prevent future mold growth. 

A 20 mil vapor barrier is laid, seams are taped, and it is adhered to the crawl space walls, replacing the old and torn 6 mil vapor barrier. Spray foam insulation is installed on the crawl space walls and the sill plate, rim and band, and vents are sealed. 

This homeowner in Richmond, VA called us out to discuss insulating their crawl space. We sent one of our Home Performance Advisors to inspect the situation and found that there was an abundance of mold growth on many of the floor joists in the crawl space. This can occur on any organic material in the crawl space so long as the relative humidity reaches over 60% during warmer temperatures. We used an antimicrobial, called Shockwave, to eliminate mold growth in any affected areas. We also removed the existing liner and any fiberglass batts from the crawl space. This was so we could replace it with a durable 10-mil vapor barrier, called CleanSpace Light, which would protect the crawl space from the earth's rising moisture. The liner gets wrapped around all piers, sealed with vinyl tape, and mechanically fastened to the foundation walls six to eight inches above outside grade. We also noticed that the foundation walls were made with porous cinderblocks, which was allowing the outside moisture to seep through and affect the relative humidity. Open vents lined these porous walls to also allow the outside air and moisture to infiltrate the crawl space. We used custom foam board pieces to internally block off these open vents, then we used Foamax to insulate the crawl space walls. Foamax is 1.5 inches thick, giving it an insulation value of R-10. It acts as an air barrier and vapor retarder and helps to protect the crawl space from any outside influence. Finally, a high-performance dehumidifier called SaniDry Sedona was installed in the crawl space alongside a LittleGiant condensation pump to regulate and control the temperature and relative humidity. A hygrometer was given to the homeowner to monitor this at all times, and they should feel a definite increase in comfort and decrease in energy bills, as their crawl space is now insulated and sealed off from the outside.