Nasty conditions in the crawlspace
This crawlspace was full of dirty, old plastic and ruined insulation. The relative humidity was extremely high which causes the insulation to act like a sponge and fill with water vapor. It gets heavy and falls apart, which makes it useless. The exposed foundation walls and broken and torn plastic do almost nothing to keep the dirt and moisture in the ground.
An easy way to spot signs of heavy moisture
When the insulation gets to be heavy and stringy, it looks just awful. This is all due to the high humidity and the way the insulation absorbs it just like water into a sponge. At this point, the insulation is ruined and only serves as a perfect breeding ground for mold.
Power vent fan
These vents have built in fans. The biggest problem with them is that people buy them to try and dry out the crawlspace and they just aren't powerful enough. All they really do is use up electricity. You have to take a look at the whole picture, these fans are trying to dry out the entire house. Would you use something that size to cool off while sitting on the couch? Probably wouldn't have much of an impact. It is better to save your time and money, there are better ways to get your crawlspace dry.
Overall bad conditions
You can see just how far the ground dips down under the thin black plastic. Its almost like a sink hole. This leads to the next photo where you can actually see the footer (base of the wall, main support).
Huge void under the foundation
This is just one spot where the footer is visible. It is about two feet from where the floor of the crawlspace should be to where it actually is. If the ground erodes any worse, it could start to have a serious impact on the structure above. Luckily, this homeowner caught it in time and called DryZone to get an expert opinion.
This is the huge pile of stone that was added to correct the void in this crawlspace
DryZone used an entire dump truck full of crushed stone to fill in the erosion damage. There was no sense trying to install vapor barriers and dehumidifiers if the ground wasn't fixed. Are you are wondering how the crew got that much stone into the crawlspace? The answer is buckets, lots and lots of buckets.
After the stone was carried into the crawlspace, all by hand
Once the crew got the stone into the crawlspace, they had to level it all out. They filled all the gaps under the foundation and any other hills and valleys present. They now had a flat surface to install the CleanSpace liner to keep the humidity under control.
Major improvement
CleanSpace is a great improvement to any dirty crawlspace. It is 7 layers thick and incredibly durable. DryZone is one of the few companies in the nation to have installed over one million square feet of this high quality vapor barrier. We always make sure that we leave a small gap at the top edge to allow for a yearly termite inspection. Many people across Delmarva have a contract to keep the pesky critters out, and we would hate for the great liner to get damaged during that inspection.
Crisp air and flat surfaces
Once the CleanSpace system is installed, there is a noticeable change in the air quality. What once was thick and dirty is now crisp and clean. So many homeowners look at their new crawlspace and joke about sleeping in there. It really is quite a sight to see. All the seams are flattened out and the edges pulled tight. DryZone strives to make the best looking and most effective systems around.