Matt Epperly

Moisture and high humidity in this crawl space resulted in mold and mildew growth and damage to the insulation. The homeowner wanted to encapsulate the space, so our team set to work cleaning out the crawl space, air sealing vents, the rim band, sill plate, and any other openings through the foundation wall to the outside. They treated the microbial growth with an antimicrobial, installed a new CleanSpace Vapor Barrier, applied Foam Board insulation to the foundation walls, and installed a dehumidifier to regulate the relative humidity. 

After sealing and insulating this crawl space, we need to make sure we control the relative humidity. This is achieved by installing a dehumidifier with a hygrometer. The dehumidifier will be set to cut to on when the humidity reaches about 55% our goal is to prevent it from getting high enough that microbial growth can occur in the crawl space. We don't want the space to be too dry either because that can be damaging to the home's structure as well. A hygrometer is provided to the homeowner that allows them to monitor the temperature and relative humidity in the crawl space from inside their home. 

This Richmond, VA homeowner contacted us because they noticed moisture issues in their crawl space that they wanted to be addressed. At our inspection, we found microbial growth on the floor joists, no vapor barrier covering the ground, and falling, damaged insulation. 

Once the homeowner's belongings were removed, we cleaned all of the debris out of the crawl space and treated the microbial growth. We then sealed all the vents and air sealed the sill plate and all penetrations through the foundation walls to the outside. Next, our team rolled out a heavy-duty vapor barrier called CleanSpace, it was attached to the foundation walls, wrapped and sealed around all piers, and overlapped and sealed at all seams to seal the crawl space off from the earth's moisture. Now, the space is ready to be insulated with closed-cell spray foam on the foundation walls and in the rim band. Then a dehumidifier will be installed to control the relative humidity. 

Keeping air carrying moisture out and controlling the relative humidity in the space will help to prevent future moisture damage in the crawl space. It also creates a clean dry storage space for the homeowners and will help to keep their floors warmer in the winter and can even reduce energy bills. 

Before: The foundation walls of this crawl space are covered in efflorescence, which indicates that water infiltration has been present for this home. Efflorescence occurs when water from the outside seeps through these porous cinderblock walls, bringing all the inner salt and sediment of the blocks to the surface and leaving these stains and marks upon the walls. The water that finds its way into the crawl space can elevate the relative humidity, leading to wood rot, mold and mildew growth, and material damage.

After: The crawl space walls have now been insulated and sealed with Foamax foam board pieces. These 1½ inch boards act as air barriers and vapor retarders, protecting the crawl space from outside influence. They are mechanically fastened to the walls, while the cracks are sealed with can foam. A 2-inch viewing strip is left on the top for termite inspectors, and the bottom is attached to the 20-mil CleanSpace vapor barrier. The crawl space is much more protected from outside air and moisture.

Before: The fiberglass insulation in this crawl space is beginning to fall out of the floor joists, suggesting that there is an excessive amount of water being absorbed by the insulation, making it too heavy to stay in place. Fiberglass acts as a sponge and will pull in moisture from the surrounding air, but the water droplets will pull apart the fibers, and gravity will pull it down in heavy chunks. If the fiberglass has paper-backing, there is a good chance that mold growth will occur, for paper-backed insulation is considered “mold candy” for how easy it is for mold to thrive on it.

After: The crawl space walls have been insulated using Foamax foam board pieces, which are 1½ inches thick, and act as an air barrier and vapor retarder against outside influence. The open vents lining these foundation walls have also been covered on the inside using precisely cut foam board pieces and sealed with can foam. With the walls protected with Foamax, and the dirt floor covered with a 20-mil CleanSpace vapor barrier, outside moisture, and air will find it difficult to penetrate the underbelly of this home.

Before: The standard 6-mil vapor barrier shown in this crawl space is commonly found in Virginian crawl spaces but offers little-to-no usage when it comes to protecting the crawl from moisture damage. It is flimsy and easily torn by service people crawling on top of it while working. Holes form in this liner, and the dirt floor becomes exposed, allowing moisture from the earth to rise into the crawl space, increasing the relative humidity, and allowing puddles and mud to form. This creates a mess for homeowners and can allow mold and mildew to thrive on organic materials in this dark and damp environment.

After: A durable 20-mil vapor barrier, called CleanSpace, has been installed within this crawl space. It is a reinforced 7-layer polyethylene liner, much like a pool liner, which will protect the crawl space from moisture rising from the dirt flooring. The vapor barrier is finished with an antimicrobial, called UltraFresh, which will protect the liner from mold growth, although mold and mildew can still grow on any dust or dirt laying on top of the liner if the environment and relative humidity are not controlled. The CleanSpace gets wrapped around all piers and pillars and is fastened 6-8 inches above outside grade on the foundation walls, adding to the overall protection of outside air and moisture.

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. 

This Irvington, VA crawl space had microbial growth on floor joists, was missing insulation in many areas, and the vapor barrier was unsealed, allowing moisture from the earth to impact the crawl space. After cleaning all of the old materials and debris out, we treated the floor joists with Shockwave Antimicrobial and sealed the crawl space from the earth’s moisture with the CleanSpace Vapor Barrier. We sealed all outside penetrations to the foundation, including air gaps such as vents, the sill plate, and rim and band. Closed Cell Spray Foam is ready to be applied to the walls and a SaniDry Sedona Dehumidifier will be installed to control the relative humidity. The system will help protect the home from microbial growth and make the home more comfortable, improve indoor air quality, and reduce energy bills.  

This Williamsburg, VA homeowner has been a lot of heat exchange between their knee wall spaces and the rooms on the other side of the knee wall. This leaves them with rooms that they can't cool down in the summer and that is cold and drafty in the winter. The spaces are also home to ductwork which is impacted by the extreme temperatures making it even harder to heat and cool the living space. 

We applied closed cell spray foam to the attic rafters and gable ends of the knee wall spaces. This will help with the heat radiating through the roof and heating the area up. This will protect the ductwork from extreme temperatures as well, leaving the homeowner with more comfortable rooms. 

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. 

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.