Before & After Photos

Open vents on the foundation walls are quite common in Virginian crawl spaces, but they are only good for letting air and moisture easily enter the crawl space. Any moisture that finds its way through these vents becomes trapped in the crawl space, increasing the relative humidity and potentially leading to mold and mildew growth, water damage, and weakened structures or materials.

Before we use spray foam or foam board to insulate the foundation walls, we cover the interior of the open vents. Precisely cut foamboard pieces are made and fitted into the inside of the vents. Then we seal any cracks or openings with can foam.

The 10-mil vapor barrier used to cover the dirt floor is not installed properly. Cracks and openings can be seen at every pier, wall, and pipe. Moisture from the earth is still able to seep through these small openings and gaps and affect the relative humidity. The vapor barrier does not even cover the outside grade through the foundation walls. Outside moisture from the earth can seep through the porous walls.

The 10-mil vapor barrier was replaced with a heavy-duty CleanSpace liner, which was sealed around all piers and pipes, and mechanically fastened to the foundation wall six to eight inches above outside grade. With the spray foam on the walls, the CleanSpace helps to protect the crawl space from any moisture from the earth, and with an antimicrobial built into the 7-layer polyethylene liner, it is better protected from mold and mildew.

This crawl space had evidence of water infiltration, mold, and a deteriorating vapor barrier. After removing all debris and treating the mold, we installed the CleanSpace Encapsulation System. CleanSpace, a 20-mil vapor barrier that is poly-string reinforced and contains an antimicrobial called UltraFresh is installed. It is laid on the crawl space floor and fastened to the walls six inches above the outside grade (to direct any moisture entering through the cinderblock down to the earth) and wrapped around piers. All seams are overlapped and sealed to isolate the crawl space off from the earth's moisture. 

This homeowner was looking at options to replace or upgrade the insulation in their crawl space. We reviewed all of their options and they determined they wanted to encapsulate the space.

Moisture and high humidity in this crawl space resulted in mold and mildew growth and damage to the insulation. The homeowner wanted to encapsulate the space, so our team set to work cleaning out the crawl space, air sealing vents, the rim band, sill plate, and any other openings through the foundation wall to the outside. They treated the microbial growth with an antimicrobial, installed a new CleanSpace Vapor Barrier, applied Foam Board insulation to the foundation walls, and installed a dehumidifier to regulate the relative humidity.