Water Coming Through Vents
When it would rain, water was coming into the crawl space through the open vents. having open vents also allows the flow of humid air into the crawlspace, causing the crawl space to gradually become soaked with condensation.
Fiberglass + Humidity = Wood Rot & Mold
Without properly sealing the crawl space, humidity and water will soak into the fiberglass insulation, either causing it to fall down or holding moisture against the wood framing supporting the floor. This accelerates the prevalence of wood rot and mold growth.
Very High Wood Moisture
With the insulation soaking up humid air, the wood directly exposed to the insulation was being concentrated with moisture, which causes the wood to weaken from wood rot over time.
High Crawl Space Humidity
Our inspector found that the relative humidity measured in the crawl space was about 74%, a high reading.
Wooden Crawl Space Door
The existing crawl space door was made of wood and was not capable of keeping out moisture from the crawl space.
First Layer of an Encapsulation
More effective encapsulation solutions include a drainage matting layer that is installed first to aid drainage of water under the vapor barrier.
CleanSpace Vapor Barrier
After installing the drainage matting layer, the open crawl space vents are closed off with Foamax, and a CleanSpace Vapor Barrier is installed. This system is sealed up the walls & piers for effective moisture protection.
Crawl Space Water Removal
The SmartSump is a crawl space sump pump that manages the water level under the CleanSpace Encapsulation System, pumping the water out through a discharge line to drain away from the home.
WaterWatch Alarm
In the event of a plumbing leak in the crawl space, there is a WaterWatch alarm located on the top of the SmartSump to alert the homeowner of the issue for maintenance. Or, in the event of heavy flooding that goes beyond the limits of the existing sump pump, additional sump pumps can be installed to handle the water.
Sealed Crawl Space Door
After the CleanSpace Encapsulation System is installed, one final element is to install an EverLast door, sealed to keep out moisture.
