How Do You Know Your Home Needs Crawl Space Repair?

The most important part of maintaining your home is protecting and taking care of your foundation, and subsequently, your crawl space. As our parent company– Clean Heating and Air– worked with customers over the years, we realized that most homeowners rarely investigate their crawl space. Since many of the problems that develop in these locations aren’t as obvious as an HVAC issue, it can be hard to tell when crawl space repair is necessary.

You may have moisture, standing water, mold growth, missing or torn vapor barriers, falling or wet insulation, or pests in your crawl space. If you suspect any of these issues, you should consider having crawl space repair services done for your home whether it’s in conjunction with HVAC consultation or not!

When your home’s crawl space or basement needs repair service, rely on the experts at Clean Crawlspace. Our goal is to bring together great people, products, methods, and services the best possible crawl space solutions! We love helping homeowners protect their home’s foundation with excellent crawl space repair services!

As a homeowner, protecting the life and value of your home in the long term is important. Keeping your home’s crawl space dry and free of mold, mildew, pests, and water damage is vital. One of the best ways to do so is with waterproofing, also known as crawl space encapsulation, in which we remove any present moisture, waterproof your crawl space, and install a drainage system to help prevent any water from getting into your basement or crawl space in the future.

Encapsulation Is The Complete Crawl Space Repair Solution

Crawl space encapsulation seals your home’s crawl space and protects it from standing water and moisture, keeping it safe from water damage that can be a serious problem to the safety and integrity of your home if left unchecked. Crawl space encapsulation keeps your crawl space safe and clean enough to even utilize the area without worrying about stored items becoming damaged.

Crawl space encapsulation will completely seal off your home from the wet outside air and the high moisture that gets under your home and weakens the structure. It seals your home’s foundation from the ground and walls, stopping any outside air and water intrusion.

Encapsulation keeps your crawl space dry and clean for the home’s life. Encapsulation can include removing all water, removing any mold, installing a drainage system, putting down a new vapor barrier, applying spray foam insulation, sealing all vents and doors, and installing a crawl space dehumidifier to remove any extra moisture in the air.

A complete crawl space encapsulation will last for as long as your home does; it’s a one-time investment offering many significant benefits, such as enhanced interior air quality, lower energy bills, less strain on your HVAC system, extra storage space, and more! And when you receive our 10-Year Work Warranty, you can have peace of mind knowing that if anything goes wrong, we’ll make it right!

To provide your home with the best air quality in the living space above the crawl space and protect from future foundation issues in your crawl space caused by water, mold, and insects, ask your Clean Crawlspace specialist about encapsulation. Do keep in mind that encapsulation is a large investment, and if you don’t immediately need encapsulation, there are more affordable– but still effective– solutions we can provide for your crawl space repair service.

Mold Removal May Be Necessary For Your Crawl Space

At Clean Crawlspace, we’re pros when it comes to mold removal! If you look in your crawl space today, chances are you will see some sort of mold growth. Now, consider that the air in your home comes from or through your crawl space! While most mold in your crawl space is non-harmful, leaving mold growth unchecked can lead to potential problems and affect the air quality in your home. At Clean Crawlspace, we’ve been under thousands of homes, and nearly all have some amount of mold growth.

When mold and mildew become excessive in or under a home due to water and moisture in a crawl space or basement, they can create many problems for your family and health. They can worsen or create allergy symptoms, worsen asthma or other respiratory issues, cause nasal or sinus congestion or infection, develop a chronic cough or sore throat, make breathing difficult, and cause skin or eye irritation.

However, mold removal alone is not a permanent solution to mold growth, only a temporary one. For a permanent mold solution, eliminating moisture and humidity is the best way, as mold cannot grow at or below 50% relative humidity. To achieve this, Clean Crawlspace offers encapsulation, vapor barriers, and dehumidifier installation.

A Crawl Space Dehumidifier Can Remove Excess Moisture and Prevent Mold Growth

A crawl space dehumidifier can help prevent your home from needing future crawl space repair services by removing excess moisture! The best way to prevent mold growth and maintain a healthy moisture level in the air and wood under your home is through moisture control. One of the most effective ways to do so is with an under-home dehumidifier or a crawl space dehumidifier.

Clean Crawlspace is familiar with all the major manufacturers and is able specify the best available equipment to our customers. A large portion of the air in your home flows through or comes from your crawl space; if you have mold or mildew in your crawl space or basement, this can affect your home’s air quality. The best way to prevent mold growth in your crawl space or basement is through relative humidity control using a dehumidifier, as mold cannot grow below or at 50% relative humidity.

A crawl space dehumidifier also has several other benefits to your home, such as improving the overall air quality and taking the strain off your HVAC to remove excess moisture from the air. Having a dehumidifier also decreases the chances of pests making your crawl space their home. Mites cannot survive in environments with less than 50% relative humidity. Effectively controlling the moisture content of your crawl space with a crawl space dehumidifier will keep termites and other pests away!

Vapor Barriers, Sump Pumps and French Drains

Since your crawl space is the lowest point of your home, it doesn’t take much for water to accumulate there. Groundwater can intrude, water pipes that go through your crawl space can leak or break, or seasonal flooding can all bring water into your crawl space. Once water accumulates in your crawl space, it is difficult to get it out as it won’t evaporate very quickly in the dark of your crawl space.

That’s why we always recommend a sump pump under homes in flood-prone areas. Your home will be protected in the case of emergency flooding from a big storm a water line breakage. Any other water that might have found its way to your crawl space will also be moved away from your home so it cannot damage your foundation!

When Clean Crawlspace team installs a sump pump, we will gravity feed your drainage system into a basin with a lid that we bury at the lowest point of your crawl space. Inside this basin, we install the sump pump. We use the highest quality sump pumps that will reliably kick on every time the basin fills up with water, pumping it up and out of the crawl space through a discharge line. A sump pump can be an integral part of waterproofing your crawl space.

We also install the best vapor barriers to protect your home from groundwater evaporation which can create a humid environment in your crawl space. A vapor barrier is like a raincoat for your crawl space, preventing groundwater evaporation and allowing products like your dehumidifier to work effectively to remove excess moisture from the air.

Clean Crawlspace Is Here To Help With Your Crawl Space Or Basement Repair!

Your crawl space may not always be on your mind, but it is an important area of your home. It’s vital to take care of that space so that your home’s foundation is also protected from damage in the future. At Clean Crawlspace, we are specialists when it comes to crawl space repair, and we would love to look at your home’s crawl space today. Our team of experienced professionals will inspect your home’s crawl space– at absolutely no cost or obligation– and provide an accurate assessment of your home’s crawl space needs.

We offer a FREE initial crawl space inspection, along with our 5-Star Experience Promise and Five-Year Warranty on any service we perform for your home! Call us today at 706-222-6653(MOLD) to schedule our visit!

The Proven Benefits Of Basement And Crawl Space Waterproofing For A Healthier Home!

The main goal of waterproofing is to ensure there is no standing or pooling water in the crawl space. In the South, the ground consists of hard red clay. When they build a home, they make a large trench and pour a concrete footer in the trench, and then they lay the brick or block on top of this footer. Once that is complete, the trench is backfilled, usually with loose topsoil.

What is one thing we know about water? It always takes the path of least resistance! What this means is when it rains, the water will find its way into the crawl space by seeping down the outside of the backfilled dirt, under the footer, and back up the other side, inside of the crawl space. This means installing a drain line along the inside of the crawl space wall.

To do this, a trench is dug down to the footer adjustment with the interior crawl space wall. Then a gravel base is laid in the trench, next a strip drain is installed on top of the gravel base and lastly, the pipe is covered with gravel on top, all the way up to floor level. This drain is gravity fed to the lowest corner in the crawl space, where a sump pump is installed to collect all the water. This sump pump has a float (like a toilet) that floats up and kicks on the pump once the basin is full. A discharge line will carry the water from the pump, up and out of the crawl space.

This is the tried-and-true method to permanently waterproof your crawl space. Clean Crawlspace stand behind all their crawl space waterproofing and drain work with a 10-Year Labor Warranty. Waterproofing work accounts for HALF the crawl space and basement installations we’ve done at Clean Heating and Air– and now do at Clean Crawlspace– and we are really good at it! Just read our Google reviews!

How Important is Foundation, Basement and Crawl Space Repair

Very Important! Having a healthy foundation/crawl space under your home is one of the most important parts of homeownership. A healthy foundation protects the biggest investment in your life, your home. It can also protect any additional upgrades you make inside the home. For example, we see a lot of customers who install new hardwood floors, cabinets, and countertops. But due to a foundation/crawl space issue, the new interior upgrades warp, bend, or crack. At Clean Crawlspace, we always say, “the most expensive home improvement is the one you have to do more than once”! It’s never fun to spend money on something you can’t see (crawl space foundation repair), but it is always a wise choice to protect everything else in the home.

Foundation and crawl space repair is also important if you ever plan on selling the home. In today’s real estate market, home inspectors are trained in detail to look for any standing water or high humidity, leading to foundation issues such as sagging floor joist, weak support piers, and foundation/footer wall cracks. It’s always better to be proactive with any foundation or crawl space repair work, especially if you are planning to sell your home!

Waterproofing Costs & Solutions

The cost of crawl space waterproofing can vary depending on the scope of work. Waterproofing can be simple yet very labor-intensive. Some of the variables are the amount of gravel and drain, the size of the crawl space, if a certified electrician is required, etc. As with any other crawl space project, getting a free assessment is always a good idea. Call Clean Crawlspace today at 706-222-6653(MOLD) today to make an appointment!