The Drying Company serving Cobbs Creek, VA

These homeowners in Cobbs Creek, Virginia, were concerned about the state of their home’s crawl space. One of our experienced Home Performance Advisors was sent out to investigate their concerns. Upon arrival, our advisor noticed that there wasn’t any insulation on the floor joists or the foundation walls. He also noticed that in many areas of the crawl space, there was no vapor barrier covering the dirt floor, leaving it completely exposed. This was allowing the earth’s moisture to freely rise into the crawl space and raise the relative humidity. An elevated relative humidity can lead to mold and mildew growth, condensation, and moisture damage to materials within the crawl space. Many of the porous walls were showing signs of water infiltration, as well. Efflorescence was visible along these cinderblock walls, which happens when moisture seeps through these walls, bringing with it the inner sediments and minerals to the surface, leaving a chalky white substance on the face of the walls. There were also open vents lining these walls, which allowed the outside air and moisture to freely enter the crawl space. Moisture being trapped in the crawl space can affect the relative humidity and environment. A damp and dark place like this crawl space is also a good home to critters and pests. The advisor finished his inspection and wrote up a proposal to help combat these issues and seal the crawl space off from any outside air or moisture influence.

The first thing that we would do is remove all debris and materials that litter the crawl space floor. We would also remove the leftover pieces of the previous vapor barrier.  Once the crawl space is clear, we would apply an antimicrobial, called Shockwave, to the organic materials of the crawl space, such as the wooden floor joists. This will eliminate any mold spores, but it does not remove any staining left behind from mold growth. The next step would be to install a 20mil CleanSpace vapor barrier over the dirt floor of the crawl space. This heavy-duty liner gets wrapped around all piers, is sealed with a special vinyl tape, and mechanically fastened on the foundation walls, running up the wall six to eight inches above outside grade. The CleanSpace vapor barrier will help to seal off the earth’s moisture from rising into the crawl space. Lastly, we would add SilverGlo foamboard insulation over the foundation walls of the crawl space, while covering the open vents lining them. This will help to prevent any outside influence from having any effect on the crawl space environment. With these measures in place, the homeowner can rest easily knowing that their crawl space is better protected from outside air and moisture.

A homeowner in Cobbs Creek, Virginia called us at The Drying Company to address water and moisture issues in their crawl space. We sent out one of our Home Performance Advisors to evaluate their crawl space and draw up solutions to any moisture problems we found.

Upon inspection, we noticed that the fiberglass insulation batts hanging in the floor joists were quite damp. When there is high relative humidity in the crawl space, the fiberglass will soak up much of the moisture, which can pull apart the fine glass fibers of the insulation and cause it to fall to the floor in chunks.

We also noticed that there was already quite a bit of mold and mildew growth on many of the floor joists already. When the relative humidity gets to be above 60% with warmer temperatures, mold and mildew begin to grow on any organic materials such as wood or paper.

We then focused our attention on the crawl space floors, which were covered with a flimsy 6-mil vapor barrier. This liner is easily torn and pushed aside, exposing the crawl space to the earth’s moisture. There were gaps where the liner met the foundation walls and around each pier. This moisture rising through the gaps will increase the relative humidity, leading to more mold growth and material damage.

After inspecting the vapor barrier, we looked at the foundation walls, which were covered in efflorescence. Efflorescence occurs when the moisture from the outside seeps through the porous cinderblock walls, bringing along with the salts and sediments from within the blocks to the surface, leaving behind a chalky, powdery residue. The moisture that does enter the crawl space will also add to the overall relative humidity, making things even worse.

The foundation walls were also lined with open vents, which were meant to help ventilate the crawl space of moisture. Instead, the air and moisture entering through these open vents become trapped, affecting the relative humidity and air quality. Small critters and creatures can also enter through some of these vents, making this dark and damp environment their home.

To help this homeowner address the water and moisture issues in their crawl space, we need to properly seal it from outside moisture infiltration. Then we need to control and regulate the relative humidity and environment.

The first thing we would focus on would be clearing the crawl space of the old vapor barrier and any debris and materials laying on the floor. Then we would remove the existing fiberglass insulation from the floor joists so we could remediate mold and mildew growth. The mold and mildew can grow back if the environment and relative humidity is not controlled.

The next step would be to install a 20-mil CleanSpace vapor barrier over the dirt floor of the crawl space. This heavy-duty liner can significantly reduce the earth’s moisture from rising into the crawl space. The liner gets wrapped around all piers, sealed with vinyl tape, and mechanically fastened to all the foundation walls six to eight inches above outside grade.

After the CleanSpace is installed, we would focus on insulating the foundation walls. We would first block the open vents off from the inside with foamboard and seal the seams with foam. Then the foundation walls need to be insulated using an R-10 value of closed-cell spray foam. A 2-inch viewing strip is left per Virginia building code for termite inspectors.

With the walls and floors insulated and sealed, we would suggest adding a SaniDry Sedona dehumidifier, which would help to regulate the relative humidity and to circulate dry air throughout the crawl space.

With these actions taken, the crawl space and foundation would be better protected from outside air and moisture. If you are experiencing any of the same problems in your crawl space, then call us at The Drying Company to schedule your free estimate and evaluation! We will do our best to help keep the outside, outside!

This Cobbs Creek, VA home has several different attic sections. There were several knee wall attic spaces, The Main attic, and Unconditioned attic storage space.  The homeowners have been experiencing some rooms being too hot in the summer or too cold in the winter as well as having high energy bills.

Knee walls are a wall with unconditioned attic space on one side and conditioned living space on the other side. The homeowner uses these spaces for storage. These spaces usually make the conditioned room they share a wall with too hot in the summer and too cold in the winter as heat transfers through the wall and escapes around the access door. The same is true for the unconditioned attic storage spaces.

The main attic houses the HVAC equipment. Ductwork typically has very little insulation on it, about an R-5. This insulation is typically stretched tight around the ductwork, compressing the material, and decreasing its R-value. This means the ductwork is not resistant to the temperatures of the attic. In the summer, the attic is sweltering, heating up the ductwork and the air inside of it making it harder to heat and cool the rooms the conditioned air is going to, putting more wear and tear on the HVAC unit and raise energy bills. The reverse is true in the winter.

In the main attic, we also found that there was batt fiberglass insulation on the ceiling. The attic also had several points at which conditioned air was leaking out of the top of the home. Unsealed top plates, recessed can lights, and utility penetrations allow air to leak out through the stack effect.

In the knee wall spaces and the unconditioned attic storage space, we recommend that the homeowner insulate the wall shared with the conditioned space and install an air barrier to prevent airflow between the spaces. We also recommend insulating the access door to reduce heat loss. In addition, we recommend insulating and air sealing the attic floor to prevent air in the conditioned spaces below from escaping into the attic.

For the main attic, we recommended air sealing all top plates, and utility penetrations as well as installing Rockwool can light covers and sealing over the recessed lighting to stop air leaking into the attic. We then advise installing blown-in cellulose insulation to reach an R-49 of insulation in the attic space. We would also insulate the scuttle access, to reduce the air and heat loss.

This approach to insulating and air sealing the attic spaces will allow the homeowners to reduce their conditioned air loss, wear and tear on their HVAC system, and energy bill and temperatures throughout the home will be more even.