Your Guide To Crawl Space Encapsulation

By: John Garcia | Date Posted: October 13, 2021

One of the most popular types of home foundations is the crawl space foundation. It has exterior concrete walls that raise the home 18 inches or higher. Because of this, the crawl space allows homeowners easy access to plumbing systems or wiring, especially during maintenance. But unlike basement foundations, they are less expensive.

Anyone who has a crawl space in their home can benefit a lot from crawl space encapsulation. The crawl space can be the perfect environment for pests, water damage, and mold. The presence of these things can lead to potential damage to your houseā€™s foundation. If neglected, youā€™ll likely spend more money fixing the aftermath of these issues.

Encapsulating your crawl space can help prevent any of these damages from happening. But what is crawl space encapsulation, and how does it work?

What Is A Crawl Space?

A crawl space is a vacant area beneath your home that separates its base and the dirt ground. If you ever went under your house, you might have used the crawl space several times to get there.

Most of the time, the height of crawl spaces ranges from one to three feet, hence the name. It usually holds utilities that tend to go in a basement. This includes electrical work, insulation, plumbing, and the HVAC system.

Crawl spaces can be convenient at times. However, it can also be terrifying to go down under your house. Animals, insects, or mold spores could be using your crawl spaces as their homes. Moreover, if you canā€™t keep your crawl space open, it can easily be filled up with moisture.

Crawl spaces can create a draft in your house. The breeze can carry humidity, mold spores, or even cold from the outside. A crawl space that is left untreated can put your house at risk for mold, pests, dry rots, and so many more.

As mentioned earlier, crawl space encapsulation can prevent these damages from happening. Encapsulating your crawl space means that an airtight barrier will be created between your home and the dirt ground. This will seal off the crawl space and prevent moisture, insects, and others from entering.

What Is Crawl Space Encapsulation?

A crawl space encapsulation system needs a heavy-duty polyethylene barrier to cover the closed and open areas of your crawl space. It is vital to know that the entire crawl space must be covered. This includes the walls, floors, and even the ceiling.

Who Needs A Crawl Space Encapsulation?

According to Regionalfoundationrepair.com, it is recommended to encapsulate your crawl space. However, several factors might conclude that you need it more than others.

Below are some of these factors:

Humid Climate

Your crawl space can be a home to moisture. Too much of it can result in mold and other types of damage. If you live in an area with a humid climate, encapsulating your crawl space can help prevent this from happening.What Is Crawl Space Encapsulation

Extreme Temperatures

Dealing with below-freezing temperatures and intense heat can be quite challenging. Moreover, cooling or heating your home in extreme temperatures can be expensive. Encapsulating your crawl space helps insulate your home during extreme temperatures and can even save you money on your electricity bill.

Infestation

You might be currently dealing with an infestation in your crawl space. The best thing to get rid of it is to clean your crawl space and encapsulate it. That way, an infestation can be prevented from happening again.

Crawl Space Encapsulation Tips

You can encapsulate your crawl space yourself instead of hiring a professional. However, if it proves to be challenging for you, always opt to hire one.

Nonetheless, hereā€™s how to encapsulate your crawl space:

Evaluate

It is vital to assess your crawl space first. You might find some surprises like rotting wood, animals that might be dead or alive, termite damage, rusted junk, or termite pipes hiding underneath.

Checking the status of your crawl space would help you know what you have to do first before starting with the project. This way, youā€™ll be able to budget the costs and plan appropriately.

Clean

If you find some unpleasant surprises in your crawl space, make sure to remove all of them. First, clean your crawl space and remove anything that does not belong there to pave the way for the encapsulation.

Fix

During your crawl space checking, you might encounter some foundation or plumbing problems that need attention. It is vital to fix these issues since it might be more challenging to fix them after encapsulating your crawl space.

Measure

After the steps above, your crawl space is ready for measurement. The crawl space should be measured so that it will be adequately sealed. Measure the areas you want to cover up and cut the polyethylene plastic sheets as needed to fit your crawl space.

Seal

After measuring, you can then proceed to encapsulate. It will help if you start with the walls first. Additionally, always make sure that the polyethylene plastic sheets overlap to create a very tight seal.

It would help if you properly seal the awkward shapes like the vents, pipes, and pillars. After that, you can then perfectly place the plastic vapor barrier on the floor.

Dehumidify

After a successful crawl space encapsulation, regulating the humidity within the crawl space is needed. You can choose to install a humidifier to ensure that the moisture inside your crawl space is always at an okay level. Doing this prevents any moisture that can lead to molds and other types of damage.

To Sum It Up

If you have a crawl space, encapsulating it is highly recommended. Crawl space encapsulation creates an airtight barrier in your crawl space that prevents damages like mold, animal, or insect infestations from happening. With this, youā€™ll be able to save yourself from the trouble caused by these damages.

Thank you for reading!

John
Ā 

John is the founder and chief editor of Homienjoy. With over 15 years of experience in the home improvement industry, John is passionate about helping homeowners confidently tackle their projects. Holding a civil engineering degree and working as a contractor, project manager, and consultant, John brings a wealth of knowledge and expertise to the Homienjoy community.

Click Here to Leave a Comment Below 0 comments