The Drying Company Before & After Photos

This Midlothian, VA homeowner contacted us because they were noticing odors in their home. Upon inspection of the home, we found that the crawl space had moisture infiltration which led to high relative humidity as well as mildew and mold growth on the floor joists and paper backing of fiberglass insulation. The musty, mildew odors were rising into the home and irritating the homeowners. 

We cleaned out the crawl space, treated the mold and mildew growth with an antimicrobial, and began the process of sealing the space. We want to keep as much outside air and moisture out of the crawl space as possible. We achieve this by installing CleanSpace, a heavy-duty crawl space liner that is sealed at all seams, and mechanically fastened and sealed to piers and walls 6-8 inches above outside grade. All vents, the rim and band, and sill plate are all sealed and all penetrations through the foundation wall to the outside are sealed as well. Then we installed closed cell spray foam on the foundation walls leaving a 2-inch viewing strip at the top of the foundation wall for termite inspections. After keeping as much outside moisture and air out of the crawl space as possible, we installed a Sanidry Sedona Dehumidifier to control relative humidity. 

This will help to prevent future microbial growth in the crawl space and those musty, mildewy odors from rising into the home. 

We replaced the 6-mil vapor barrier in this crawl space with a 20-mil CleanSpace vapor barrier. CleanSpace is overlapped and sealed at all seams, wrapped and sealed around all piers, and attached to the foundation walls about 6 inches above outside grade. 

Sealing the crawl space off from the earth's moisture helps to prevent water vapor from the earth from rising into the space and increasing the relative humidity. 

Moisture infiltration in this Midlothian, VA crawl space has resulted in damaged and fallen insulation and microbial growth. In the living space, the homeowner is experiencing cold floors and drafts in the winter and humidity in the warmer months. 

All of the debris and old, damaged material is cleaned out of the space. The vents, and any penetrations through the foundation wall to the outside are sealed. Then a CleanSpace vapor barrier is installed. The vapor barrier is overlapped and sealed at all seams, attached to the foundation wall, and wrapped and sealed around all piers. Next, our spray foam technicians will apply closed-cell spray foam insulation to the foundation walls, insulate the rim band, and install a dehumidifier to control the relative humidity. 

As part of a basement waterproofing solution, we install a CleanSpace vapor barrier on the basement walls. The liner is sealed at all seams and mechanically attached to the walls. It directs the water that seeps through the foundation walls down into the WaterGuard drainage track and ultimately to the sump pump and away from the home's foundation. 

Water has been seeping into this basement through the porous block wall and damaging the fished wall and trim that had been installed on top of it. The sheetrock and trim have been cut away to expose the block wall where we can see water staining and efflorescence, clear signs of prolonged water infiltration. 

We installed WaterGuard, a perimeter french drain system that collects the infiltrating water and directs it to a sump pump where it is pumped away from the home's foundation. CleanSpace Vapor Barrier is installed on the foundation walls, about 6 inches above outside grade to direct the moisture coming through the walls down into the drainage system. This also allows the homeowners to refinish the basement without concerns of water damaging the walls again.