Crawl Space Repair Before & After Photos

This family in Whittier, NC was struggling to control the moisture levels in their crawlspace. Mold had begun to form around the crawlspace due to the high moisture levels.

To solve this problem our All-Dry of the Carolinas team had to tackle the situation from different angles. To begin, the mold needed to be removed from the area. Our team used Mold-X, which kills mold and also prevents future growth. Our team then placed CleanSpace in the crawlspace, wrapping it around the walls, floor, and piers. CleanSpace is a 20 mil tick liner that is laid across the crawlspace floor and wrapped around walls and piers. This liner works as a barrier to keep moister that is produced from the ground out of the crawlspace. In addition to the CleanSpace a SmartSump was added to the crawlspace as a way of pushing excess water that enters from outside. The SmartSump has a WaterWatch system which is an alarm to let you know if water has reached the top of the pump. The SmartSump works in coordination with the Aprilaire, a dehumidifier which is used to collecting extra moister that is produced under your home. The SmartSump has a dehumidifier drain that connects the two machines to fully expel water from the crawlspace. From the machines, the water is pushed from the crawlspace through a drainage system to the LawnScape outlet.

Nothing says ‘I’m not helping you’ like a plastic liner that’s pulled up in places and falling apart. We have an example of that here in this ‘before’ photo. And, to be fair, we can’t place all of the blame on the liner. It can’t help that it just wasn’t big enough to handle the job. Even while taking a cursory glance at the photo, we can see that there is plenty of dirt in the crawlspace left uncovered. If only part of it is covered, it’s about the same as having no coverage at all.

We’ve completely remedied this in the ‘after’ photo. This Bryson City, North Carolina crawlspace was given a whole new face lift.

We’ve taken our CleanSpace and covered every inch of the dirt crawlspace. Did you notice how in the ‘before’ photo that the old liner didn’t even touch the items? That’s not the case in our installation. We take the CleanSpace and seal it at least three inches up on every item in the crawlspace. Walls and hot water heaters are no different. This provides the crawlspace with a vapor barrier seal without any holes.

Your crawlspace may not be fully protected if it does not have a sealed entrance area. Take the crawlspace access well depicted here in the “before” photo as an example. It’s covered with moss and debris, which is understandable because it’s outside. However, if the well was a different material, this would not be a problem at all. Typically, access wells are rotted and leaky—features that we’ve erased with our Turtl access well.

Our well has no leaky joints. It’s made from rigid plastic, so it will never corrode or rot. Not only does it look better than the old access well, but it’s secure and lockable. But, don’t take our word for it, this Bryson City, North Carolina homeowner was quite ecstatic about the difference Turtl makes. In the “after” photo, you can see the difference for yourself.

One way that water vapor can get into the crawlspace is through the door. This is actually pretty common, as many crawlspace doors have gaps around them, which allowing air to flow into the crawlspace where the water vapor will start to condense. Once the water condenses onto different areas in the crawlspace (particularly organic surfaces), mold can begin to grow, which can cause serious problems for the homeowner. 

The "before" picture shows pretty much exactly what was just explained. This certainly was not the worst crawlspace entrance, but we have certainly seen better! As you can see, the top and right-hand side of the door have pretty large gaps, which leaves a lot of room for air to rush in. The EverLast door will be even more effective since this door is almost even with the ground, which means in a flood, water could pretty easily get into the crawlspace.

The "after" picture shows the installed EverLast Door. It may not be as pretty or "rustic" as the old door, but it is certainly more effective at keeping the air out! The EverLast door creates an airtight seal when "shut", which you do by turning the knobs at the upper corners. This was a huge part of this job because it helps to keep the dehumidifier from working as hard because it keeps out unnecessary moisture.

Crawlspaces can be a great place for storage, because it is usually just as large as the rest of the house, just a little shorter. However, this space usually cannot be used because of the condition of the crawlspace. While not all crawlspaces have issues with water or moisture, at the very least most have a dirt crawlspace. 

This homeowner used their crawlspace to store quite a few things. The "before" picture shows off just a few of the things that they had stored under the home. While many of these items wouldn't be affected by a small amount of moisture, the longer the exposure, the more damage can happen. One of the reasons why this homeowner called is because of the water getting into the crawlspace through areas like the corner (behind one of the bikes).

The next picture shows the crawlspace after our CleanSpace liner was installed. The main material that can be seen is the white CleanSpace liner, but we also installed some clear CleanSpace wall so that any other contractors that may work in the crawlspace are able to see what is behind our liner. There is also a SaniDry Sedona Dehumidifier to monitor and control the humidity.