Trusted Insulation, Crawl Space Repair, & Basement Waterproofing Experts in Williamsburg, VA

This Williamsburg, VA family recently moved into their new home. They have noticed that the second floor of the home is always hotter than the first floor. Due to the temperature being inconsistent, the homeowners are uncomfortable in some rooms and noticing high energy bills. 

Upon inspection of the attic space, we found that there was minimal insulation on the ceiling, and the attic is home to duct work supplying air to the second floor rooms. The duct lines are exposed to the extreme temperatures of the attic. This results in the conditioned air in the lines being impacted by the extreme temperatures of the attic and a harder time cooling or heating the rooms these lines go to. 

The homeowner wants to make the home more comfortable and reduce wear and tear on their HVAC unit. To achieve this they opted to encapsulate the attic space with spray foam. We'll install closed cell spray foam in the attic slopes and bring the attic into the thermal envelope of the house. This will reduce the extremes the duct lines are exposed to and reduce heat transfer between the attic and the rooms below. By insulating in this way we can keep the storage area the homeowners already have in their attic, control the environment the duct work and stored items live in, reduce energy bills, and improve the homeowner's comfort in their living space. 

This Williamsburg, VA homeowner reached out to us because their gutter system had filled with debris, was clogged and sagging. When it rained, the water was flowing over top of the Leaf Guard system that was in place and flooding their landscaping and crawl space. The homeowner has been in the home for about 5 years and the problem has gotten worse over time. They tried several things to mitigate the water issues including installing ground gutter and pipes to help divert the water. None of these solutions had worked and they wanted to control the water around their home and protect their landscaping from water damage.

The Leaf Guard system in place was ineffective in protecting the home from water damage, and filling with debris because the trough of the gutter system is not supported. As debris and water filled the gutter system, it began to weigh down the gutter allowing more debris to get in and worsening the problem.

We proposed replacing the existing gutter system with Gutter Shutter. The Gutter Shutter system is a larger, 6-inch gutter with hood.

The system is braced by a heavy-duty bracket, every 2 feet, which supports the hood, front, and back of the gutter making it the largest and strongest gutter system on the market. The hood displaces the surface tension of the water allowing it to flow into the gutter while keeping leaves and debris out. The downspouts will direct the water away from the home’s foundation protecting the crawl space and landscaping from water damage. The homeowner will not need to worry about cleaning their gutters because Gutter Shutter is guaranteed never to clog, sag, or pull away.

This Williamsburg, VA homeowner contacted us in need of a long-term solution to protect their basement from water entering through the walls. We installed the WaterGuard Drainage System with CleanSpace on the walls and a TripleSafe Sump System.

WaterGuard is a perimeter drainage system. The perimeter of the basement is first dug up and the WaterGuard track is installed with stone then concrete is poured over the top of it. The system directs any collected water from the ground or CleanSpace system to the TripleSafe Sump System. Reinstalling the concrete over the systems, hides the drainage track from view and leaves the space useable for the homeowner. The track is accessible through inspection ports that sit flush with the floor. These ports allow for any maintenance or inspection of the system without digging it back up.

Next, CleanSpace, a heavy-duty 20-mil vapor barrier is installed on the basement walls. This liner directs water entering through the cinderblock walls down into the WaterGuard Drainage System, preventing it from entering the basement. It has a built-in anti-microbial called UltraFresh that helps prevent mildew/mold growth. If the homeowner chooses at a later date, they can finish the basement walls overtop of the CleanSpace system.

Finally, The TripleSafe Sump System is installed. The TripleSafe is made up of a sump pump basin, large enough to fit two cast iron sump pumps, a 1/3 HP pump and a ½ HP pump and the UltraSump Battery Back-up Pumping System. The 1/3 pump is the main pump responsible for removing water from the basement. The ½ HP pump takes over if the 1/3 HP pump fails or cannot keep up with the amount of water entering the basement. Finally, a 3^rd pump, the UltraSump Battery Back-up Pumping System steps in if the power fails. The TripleSafe Sump System pumps any water out of the basement and away from the home to a drainage point designated by the homeowner.

These three systems work together to protect this basement from any water infiltration. A WaterWatch Alarm that is part of the TripleSafe Sump System will sound if the pump has a failure before it overflows into the basement, or I will sound if a pipe bursts and water covers the top of the lid making contact with the alarm. This will notify the homeowner that there is an issue that needs to be addressed. This complete Basement Waterproofing System gives the homeowner peace of mind that their basement and their home are protected.