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Poorly insulated knee wall spaces leave homeowners experiencing cold, drafty rooms in the winter and hot rooms they can never seem to cool down in the summer. Often, the only protection between a knee wall space and the living space is fiberglass insulation in the knee wall. However, it's ineffective because it's almost never closed in on all sides, provides no air sealing, and when knee wall spaces are home to ductwork, it doesn't help protect the ductwork from extreme temperatures.
In these cases, we insulate the attic rafters and gable ends of the knee wall space with closed-cell insulation. This helps to reduce the extreme conditions in the knee wall space that impact the living space making it uncomfortable by reducing the conditioned air loss from the living space to the unconditioned attic knee wall space and the heat transfer from the attic space into the living space.
With their old gutters deteriorating, clogged, and warped, this Williamsburg, VA homeowner needed to replace their old gutter system that had come with a leaf guard.
They chose to install the Gutter Shutter System which is guaranteed to never clog, sag, or pull away. Its extra-wide trough and downspouts carry 20% more water than traditional 5" gutters and will keep the homeowners off the roof and ladder, checking "clean gutters" off the chore list for good.
Mold and mildew have grown on many of the wooden materials in this crawl space, such as the floor joists. This occurs on organic materials when the relative humidity reaches over 60% during warmer temperatures. Musty odors and mold spores can rise into the home above and irritate those with allergies and asthma. We applied an antimicrobial, called Shockwave, to the affected areas, which will eliminate mold growth but does not remove any staining left behind from the growth.
One of the reasons the relative humidity has been elevated can be attributed to the fact that the crawl space floor is not covered by any type of liner or vapor barrier. This allows the earth's moisture to rise into the crawl space and affects not only the relative humidity but the environment. We installed our 10-mil CleanSpace Light vapor barrier over the dirt flooring of the crawl space, wrapped it around all piers, sealed it with vinyl tape, and mechanically fastened it to the foundation walls six to eight inches above outside grade. This will help protect the crawl space from any moisture rising from the ground.
This Surry, VA homeowner reached out to us because they wanted to add insulation to their attic and help make the rooms below more comfortable. We added blown-in cellulose insulation and built a dam around the storage decking to prevent the insulation from falling in.
This crawl space in Lancaster was suffering from many outside moisture issues. One of these issues was that the old liner covering the dirt floor was torn in many places, allowing the earth's moisture to rise and affect the relative humidity of the crawl space. An excessive moisture content can lead to condensation, material damage, and even mold or mildew growth. Our installers removed the existing vapor barrier and any debris from the crawl space, then placed a 20-mil vapor barrier, called CleanSpace, over the dirt floor of the crawl space. This heavy-duty liner covers the entire crawl space floor, gets wrapped around all piers, and mechanically fastened to the foundation wall, six to eight inches above outside grade. The CleanSpace will help protect the crawl space from any moisture rising from the earth, and it allows service personnel to maneuver freely throughout the crawl space. This solution is one of many to help encapsulate and seal off any outside influence. If you are interested in our vapor barrier, then please give us a call today to schedule your free estimate.