Crawl Spaces - How We Can Help!

Another important service we offer to help keep your home comfortable is a crawl space encapsulation. This system was developed in 2001 by the use of building science as well as common sense to come up with a plan to effectively help crawl spaces and basements battle humidity. It’s been shown that moisture in the air damages homes and excessive moisture can lead to condensation and mold growth in your home, potentially making you and your family sick – studies have shown that prolonged exposure to mold can cause asthma. There are many negative effects of a wet or damp basement, here are just a few:
- Dust mites
- Sticking doors and windows
- Increased heating and cooling bills
- Smelly/damp carpets
- Buckling hardwood floors
- Condensation/rotting/mold in the attic
- Aggravated asthma and allergies

Did you know, if you have a crawl space, that you and your family are breathing in the air from the crawl space? Why is that? The answer is simple – it’s due to the stack effect. We know that warm air rises and cold air falls. This rising warm air escapes out of the upper levels of the home, most commonly the attic space. New air must enter to replace the air that escaped. Where is that air going to be pulled from? The stack effect refers to the airflow in your home from the bottom to the top. Therefore, air from your basement or crawl space is being drawn upwards to the first floor, then the second floor. Remember, air leaking out causes air to leak in. Did you know that the foundation walls have high relative humidity? You can save 15-20% on heating and cooling costs by fixing your vented dirt crawl space with our encapsulation system.

There are four steps to help eliminate your crawl space from having a negative impact on the remainder of the home:
1. Fix the water leakage (if any).
2. Isolate the house from the earth.
3. Seal the vents and other outside area leaks.
4. ‘Condition’ or dehumidify your crawl space air.

Step one: Fixing Groundwater Leakage
Does your crawl space leak when it rains hard, even if it’s every once in a while? If the answer is yes, then something needs to be done to control the groundwater before isolating from the earth with our CleanSpace Encapsulation System. Most crawl spaces have a low spot, where water tends to pool. You can look for waterlines or erosion patterns in the soil where the water made its way from its entry point to the low spot. The first thing that must be done is the installation of a sump pump. For the installation of a sump pump, a hole must be dug. The ideal depth is 22”, however, 10” is the absolute minimum. Our Smart Sump system is high quality and contains a perforated sump liner, reliable pump, alarm system, pump stand, check valve, and an airtight lid.
Once the hole is dug out, the sump liner is placed in the hole to prevent the mud from getting in so the housing for the pump is nicely protected. The pump we have is cast iron, making it able to withstand a lot. A mechanical float switch is also a better bet in comparison to a pressure switch. A check valve should also be installed on the discharge line very close to the pump. An alarm is also a good idea to alert you of a pump failure or a plumbing leak. All of these features are included in our SmartSump system.  There are also many options for discharge lines for the water to be pumped outside your basement. However, in certain seasons this can be more difficult as pipes and discharge lines are capable of freezing. We have a remedy for this, as well as our IceGuard system. This specially-engineered fitting goes outside your home and automatically ejects water away from the exterior wall in the event that the pipe freezes.

Step two: Isolate the House from the Earth
Ideally, you want to stop water vapor from flowing up from the soil, allow water to drain to the sump pump location, be durable and be affordable.  Very thin plastic can be a good vapor barrier, however, if someone is doing work in the crawl space it’s very liable to rip or tear. Something durable is necessary. Dr. Energy Saver has come up with an entire CleanSpace Crawl Space Encapsulation System. The system comes in three parts – a drainage mat, TerraBlock, and our CleanSpace poly.  
The drainage mat is laid down first. This is dimpled plastic drainage matting is composed of polyethylene. This creates airspace and a thermal break between the CleanSpace and the Earth, allowing water to flow to the sump pump in the space. The dimpled matting is held in place with galvanized spikes.
TerraBlock is then installed on top of the drainage mat. TerraBlock is a 3/4” thick and unique flexible insulation/crawl space liner in one designed to be installed on wavy crawlspace floors and walls. TerraBlock is a vapor barrier on both sides, composed of polystyrene foam.
To install Terrablock, the crew carefully cuts and installs the TerraBlock in sections using CleanSpace spikes or Nylon fasteners to permanently secure the TerraBlock liner to the wall and floor. The top edge of the liner is sealed to the walls with Spray Foam; all seams are sealed with 4-inch wide sealing tape.
On top of the TerraBlock, a 20 mil poly is installed. This is essentially the same as a swimming pool liner. This lining is manufactured in seven different layers. The 20 mil poly is composed of high-density polyethylene for puncture resistance, a low-density poly for flexibility and nylon cord reinforcement for tear resistance. Our poly is also anti-microbial to ensure it won’t grow mold causing harm to you and your family. Closed-cell spray foam is also used to adhere the poly to the walls to ensure it doesn’t fall down off the walls, as we do bring the poly a few inches up the walls to ensure a tight fit.

Step three: Seal the vents and other outside area leaks
Now that the moisture from the Earth was successfully at bay, you no longer need to vent your crawl space. In fact, that just added more moisture making the problem worse! Sealing them up is your best option, with our CleanSpace vent covers - constructed out of plastic, so they won’t rust or rot – are gasket for an airtight seal using fasteners drilled into the wall. Many crawl spaces have an access door to the outdoors, usually made out of plywood. Plywood easily warps under the rain, snow, and humid elements that we experience weather-wise. This means that they usually seal poorly, allowing air to leak into your crawl space rather easily. Using a snug-fitting all-plastic door stops the air (and moisture!) from coming into the crawl space.

Step four: Dehumidify your crawl space air
Even though we’ve sealed off the Earth and leads to the outside, there will still be some air infiltration happening, as air is very small and the crawl space will suck air in through the smallest of places. This will raise the relative humidity in the crawl space, and there are a few solutions to this problem. The best solution is dehumidifying the space. We can help there as well, with the installation of our SaniDry system. The SaniDry is a high capacity, high-efficiency dehumidification system with air filtration in a single unit.
In the SaniDry, the air is filtered in 3 stages – Big particles, Small particles, and Odors. The air in the crawl space is cooled below its dew point, water then condenses and falls out. Cold air flows horizontally to cool the heat exchange core and pre-cool the next generation of the air; the air is then re-heated close to the original temperature by the hot condenser reheat coil, returning dry air to space and the water flows out by gravity or by the optional condensate pump for water discharge.

If you are ready to have your crawl space looked at, and fixed to help save you on your energy bills, give us a call to schedule! Our office phone number is 1-607-821-0519.