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Crawl Space Repair Photo Album: Deal Island, Maryland - Crawlspace insulation was completely ruined and the wood was soaked from moisture

This home had a crawlspace that was in really bad shape. Most of the insulation had fallen onto the ground, and what was still off the ground was soaked from moisture. This creates the perfect breeding ground for mold and critters. Somerset County has a lot of islands and other low laying areas, so the water table is naturally very high. Even if the crawlspace never floods, the water underground is much closer to the surface and seeps through into the air to create high humidity. Luckily, the CleanSpace crawlspace vapor barrier is thick and durable so it doesn't tear easily. This gives the crawlspace a continuous liner to keep the vapor in the dirt where it belongs.

Crawlspace insulation is just destroyed

The humidity in this crawlspace got so high that the insulation soaked it up like a sponge. It no longer has any insulation value and is basically a mold factory. In this particular house, it also held the moisture up against the floor and nearly ruined the wood. This is a more common problem than you might think.

Whole sections of crawlspace insulation have fallen out

When the fiberglass insulation is installed, it isn't held it place by more than a small metal stick. The only reason it stays in place at all is because it is super light weight...when it stays dry. As soon as it gets a little wet, it becomes too heavy to stay in place. The easiest way for the insulation to get wet is for the humidity in the crawlspace to be very high. All the water vapor soaks right into the fluffy sections of insulation. At this point, it is better to just remove it and get a better product in place.

Sub floor is really wet

This is a picture of the plywood sub floor. Basically, this is what you walk on when you are in your home. Can you see how wet it is? That is from the wet insulation sitting up against it for a long time. Wood starts to decay and rot if this problem isn't corrected. Some of DryZone's inspectors have actually been in crawlspaces and been able to look up into the house because the wood has completely rotted away in spots. Lucky for this homeowner he caught it in time and was able to get the crawlspace dry.

Really tight crawlspace with lots of debris

Its pretty common in Somerset County to have a very tight crawlspace. At DryZone, there are several skilled inspectors and production members that are used to tight spaces. As long as we can fit someone in the crawlspace, we will find a solution for you. We have always done several crawlspace that needed to be dug out a little. Each time we do that process it impresses the homeowner because they assume no one can fix the problems due to height restrictions.

Messy insulation in the crawlspace

The open vents on the foundation walls are a large part of the moisture problem, too. They let in the humid air from outside. That air just sits in the crawlspace and creates a thick, jungle-like environment. It would be like turning off the air conditioning in your house and opening the windows on a nasty July day when it feels like a sauna outside. Its not very comfortable in that environment, and that is what its like in an unconditioned crawlspace..

Mesh netting to hold up the insulation

In another part of this house, someone has installed a chicken wire type of netting to hold the insulation in place. While it does a great job of hold the insulation up against the floor, as we learned a moment ago the insulation is soaked and helping to ruin the wood. the problem here is that this insulation might appear to be in good shape at first glance, while actually holding a lit of water and causing wood rot and mold to spread unseen.

Fixing this nasty crawlspace to make it healthier

Now that the insulation is all gone, the process of drying out the crawlspace begins. DryZone installs a heavy liner to keep the moisture out of the air. Blocking off the foundation vents and installing a proper dehumidifier are also big steps in the right direction. Doesn't this crawlspace look better already?

Installing the liner properly

Installing the CleanSpace vapor barrier is much harder than it looks. Its hard to see the seams in this picture, which is a good thing. Less bumps in the liner, mean less chance of a leak in the future. Also in this picture is the SaniDry CX in the background. This is the best dehumidifier for a crawlspace. It is high efficiency combined with a strong fan and large output. It actually pulls up to just over 13 gallons of water out of the air in a day. It will dry your crawlspace like nothing you've even seen.

Remember the tight space? It was no problem for DryZone

You can see that even a very low to the ground type of crawlspace can be encapsulated. Even the quality of work doesn't suffer. This home is now ready to be dried out and to stay dry for years to come.

Brand new crawlspace door

One of the biggest, and most easily fixed, air leaks is the crawlspace door. When you think about it, a crawlspace door is basically the same thing as a foundation vent, only bigger. DryZone custom fits each of our EverLast crawlspace doors. This means that your new door will fit snuggly to the crawlspace entry. It will stop the majority of air leaks into the crawlspace, which helps to keep the humidity low.