Think You're Repairing Your Crawl Space? Common Mistakes

These Kent County homeowners are like so many people we are contacted to help. They have an immaculate and beautiful home, and do an amazing job on upkeep and maintaining their property. 

They spent a lot of time and money to “fix” their crawl space, only to have the same problems. 

It’s very disheartening to see this situation time and again, but we are pleased to help out so many homeowners with a permanent solution to crawl space challenges. 

Here is what they did and where they went wrong. 

1. “Laid down plastic” 

The purpose of “laying down plastic” sheeting is to act as a vapour barrier: to keep the humidity and moisture in the ground for the purpose of regulating humidity - humidity which causes the nasty smells, damp environment, inefficient heating and cooling, rots wood and causes mould and mildew growth.  

Aside from the musty, damp smell, our inspectors immediately know when there is a humidity problem in a crawl space with a hydrometer, which measures humidity.

An acceptable humidity level in a crawl space is around 55%. 

Generally, the sheets which are available to the public are not strong enough and most importantly, are not properly sealed to: 

• The other plastic sheets

• The exterior walls, whether insulated or not

• Pillars, piers and posts

• Any mechanical or plumbing fixtures

In the photo below you can see that the vapour barrier is not properly sealed as the concrete pillar is wet.

2. Vents and access doors not sealed

To regulate humidity and for air quality purposes, a crawl space, much like a home with a basement, needs to be completely sealed off from the outside environment. Air particles are so small and crawl space vents and access doors make for an easy entrance for outside air - air which may be icy cold, or hot and humid!

3. Fibreglass insulation on the exterior walls

You can see the care that went into installing fibreglass insulation on the exterior walls to help make the home more energy-efficient, but without completely sealing the crawl space (see points 1 & 2) the time and money that went into this is, unfortunately,  a complete waste.

Our complete solution: 

1. Strong, durable, long-lasting and completely sealed vapour barrier.

2. All vents and access doors are sealed and airtight.

3. Spray foam insulation applied to the exterior walls, which is sealed to the vapour barrier.

If you or someone you know is considering repairing their crawl space, and want to do it right the first time, we’d be pleased to offer a no-obligation inspection and written estimate. Reach out to us at: 1-800-638-7048