Cleaning a Crawl Space in Wilmington, NC

Thursday, March 29th, 2018 by Derek Moore

Challenge

Katherine, of Wilmington, NC, had mentioned to a friend that she was worried about the state of her home lately. Humidity was beginning to present itself in her home more often, and she was concerned that she may have some moisture issues. Having been a previous customer of Southeast in the past, the friend recommended Katherine call Southeast Foundation and Crawl Space Repair to have them take a look. Knowing that it needed to soon be addressed, Katherine took her friend’s advice and placed a call to set an appointment.

Southeast Foundation & Crawl Space Repair inspector Ben Daniels met with Katherine to go over the moisture issues she was experiencing in the crawl space of her home. Ben was fairly confident they were coming from the crawl space. Upon going down to take a look, Ben found joists that had high moisture content, a damp environment, scattered debris, and an older, inefficient dehumidifier. Convinced that she needed to address these issues, Katherine moved to have a full encapsulation completed.

Solution

When Southeast Foundation & Crawl Space Repair arrived to install the CleanSpace Encapsulation System, it was necessary to first remove debris from the crawl space, including a deceased animal that had been trapped in the space. Then the crew also removed all floor insulation in the space which had fallen over time. Because the beams and joists of the crawl space had a significant amount of mold growth, the crew administered Mold-X2

Once the work area was clean, the crew’s first task was to install a SmartSump. Our SmartSump is a pump that collects crawl space moisture year-round. It serves as the housing for any moisture collected, containing the water so the crawl space stays dry.

Next, we needed to completely seal off the crawl space from the ground. The first step of accomplishing this is to cover the walls and floors of the crawl space, which are major contributors to the damp and drafty environment. We then sealed off all crawl space vents. In addition, a custom-made crawl space door was fashioned, sealing the entryway that was once closed by a compromised wooden door.

We then began to install SilverGlo on the crawl space walls. SilverGlo is a premium product of Basement Systems, and it is ultra-effective against moisture. Its graphite core and radiant barrier outer surface make SilverGlo an energy-saving value for homeowners. With our SilverGlo in place, transfer of moisture into the crawl space from outer walls will now be eliminated.

Next our premium drainage matting was installed. The polyethylene composition of this matting allows water to drain underneath and flow directly to the SmartSump. The extra layer beneath the main liner makes the crawl space floor covering nearly impenetrable. Next was the installation of our CleanSpace 10mil-thick liner, a bright-white liner that serves as a barrier between the crawl space and the soil below. Lying atop the drainage matting, this combination of moisture barriers is very effective in isolating moisture below its surface, so that it never reaches the wood of the crawl space.

Installing our high-efficiency Sedona dehumidifier allows us the ability to ensure complete control of the crawl space environment, preventing the growth of mold while continuously keeping the area dry and free from moisture. This was the team’s final step. After the dehumidifier was installed and the workspace was cleaned, the job had reached completion.

With a crawl space completely encapsulated and humidity controlled, Katherine was happy and please that her friend had referred her to Southeast Foundation & Crawl Space Repair.