Belmar Home Needs Crawl Space Vapor Barrier

Friday, April 3rd, 2015 by Cassandra Santiago

Challenge

Quality 1st Basement Systems inspected this Belmar, NJ crawl space due to the owner's concerns of cold floors in the winter and musty smells in the summer. The crawl space was about two feet tall with a sand floor. Upon inspection, Collin Peare, saw that the crawl space door was not flush against the foundation of the home. This insufficient crawl space door was allowing outside air into the crawl space. This was causing cold floors in the winter and was the cause of the musty smell due to humid air entering the crawl space. Also, the crawl space was not encapsulated so all of the moisture created by the warm air was flowing up into the floor joist and the rest of the home.

Solution

The first step in repairing this crawl space was to replace the crawl space door. Not only was the untreated, outside air coming into his crawl space and causing moisture problems, but it was making this home more difficult to heat and cool. Quality 1st Basement Systems installed an EverLast crawl space door to seal off the outside air. The EverLast crawl space door is made of completely inorganic material and is waterproof which makes it resistant to mold growth. The solid plastic crawl space door will never rot, warp, or need to be painted. It was the perfect option for this crawl space.

Quality 1st Basement Systems continued the improvement to this home with a full crawl space encapsulation. Drainage matting was installed which created a drainage space under the crawl space vapor barrier where water can safely flow beneath and out of the crawl space. Drainage matting adds durability, puncture resistance, and a thermal break between the sand and the rest of the crawl space. TerraBlock was then installed which is a flexible foam crawl space insulation with a vapor barrier on both sides. A CleanSpace crawl space vapor barrier was installed on the floors and walls of the crawl space to completely isolate the crawl space from the cold, damp earth. The crawl space vapor barrier not only completely protects this crawl space, but it comes in a bright, white finish to give the space a clean look. CleanSpace has a antimicrobial additive that deters mold growth stopping the possibility of mold symptoms for this family. SilverGlo crawl space insulation was also installed to keep the crawl space comfortable during freezing winter months.

Only one week after the installation, the homeowner contacted Collin to let him know that he could already notice a very big difference in the temperature of his floors thanks to the crawl space encapsulation system!

Project Summary

System Design Specialist: Collin Peare

Senior Foreman: Victor Leon

Crawl space with falling insulation, debris, and a sand floor. The crawl space was causing humidity and coldness in the home.

TerraBlock crawl space drainage matting being installed gives the water a place to go other than into the crawl space, which will prevent a humid crawl space.