Crawl Space Repair Before & After Photos

Unfortunately, this homeowner was dealing with some active mold in their basement when they decided to call All-Dry of the Carolinas. Like many other homeowners that we have seen and helped, this homeowner knew that mold under the home could cause a lot of different kinds of problems. The main one being the health of the people living in the home. Our Systems Design Specialist came out to the home in order to determine what could be done about this problem in this customer's crawlspace.

The "before" picture shows the crawlspace before the any of the work was done in the crawlspace. As you can see, the homeowner had already had a crawlspace liner laid out. However, this liner is extremely ineffective when it comes to keeping moisture out of the crawlspace. One of the main reasons that these types of liners do not work well is because they are not sealed along the walls, columns, or even together.

The "after" picture shows a much different story than before any work was done. This photo shows what the finished basement looked like when the crew was done with it. This customer wanted to make sure that they never had to worry about mold in their crawlspace ever again, so they went with the full encapsulation. As you can see, the CleanSpace goes all the way up the walls of the crawlspace, this prevents even more moisture from soaking through the walls.

This customer in Hiawasse, GA had the typical issues that come with crawlspaces...wet, moldy, smelly, humid, and generally unattractive. These issues are not only about aesthetics. A wet and damp crawlspace is dangerous to your health because mold can grow when the humidity levels are too high. It can be costly because it will decrease the value of your home, as well as waste energy.

The "before" picture shows an uncontrolled space that is dark, dirty and damp. The solution is full encapsulation which includes sealing the entire crawlspace and sealing the vents to control the area, installing a dehumidifier to keep the humidity level low enough so that it is scientifically impossible for mold to grow, and installing a vapor barrier to damp-proof the space.

The "after" picture is the same crawlspace after the All-Dry of the Carolinas crew has completed a full encapsulation. What a difference! Not only is it practical, but attractive too!

This family in Hiawassee, GA 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.

There are many different ways that water and moisture are able to get into a crawlspace. Usually the big areas are floor and walls of the crawlspace, but another big one is the door of the crawlspace. This of course depends on the door, but most times, people don't realize that an airtight door is the best option for a crawlspace. Having an airtight door prevents any outside air from getting into the crawlspace.

The "before" picture shows the door to the crawlspace before any work was done. While it may look nice, it definitely is not designed to keep moisture from getting into a crawlspace. The slats of the door give air a perfect entrance into the crawlspace. With air coming into the crawlspace, moisture gets in as well. This is one of the main things that should be prevented when encapsulating a crawlspace. Sealing off the crawlspace entirely is the main goal when encapsulating a crawlspace.

The "after" photo shows off the new EverLast Door that was installed for the homeowner. Not only does the EverLast Door look much better than the previous door, it functions much better. The new door creates an airtight seal when the knobs are tightened down. This helps to keep moisture out of the crawlspace and make the area under the home a much safer and healthier area.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 

For us, there is nothing more satisfying than doing a full encapsulation for a homeowner. One of the reasons we enjoy encapsulations is because we know that the customer will be more than satisfied with the outcome of their system! We know this because time and time again our customers tell us how much they enjoy their system and how great it works! 

These full encapsulations are very satisfying, because we make sure that the crawlspace is almost completely closed off from the outside world. This means that almost no moisture will be getting into the crawlspace, and any that does will be taken out via the dehumidifier. This is partially what can be seen in these before and after photos. The difference between these two photos is actually pretty incredible, and really does make a huge difference.

While the before picture does not look too bad, it can be difficult to see the initial problems that water intrusion can and do cause. Many people either don't see or ignore the initial signs, so by the time we are called, the problem is pretty serious. Fortunately, this homeowner was able to catch the problem before it got too bad. There are two very obvious things that are noticeable in the after photo, the CleanSpace liner, which has been laid over the entire crawlspace floor and even up the walls, where it is sealed so moisture can't get through. The other thing is that the insulation has been removed, which is usually done because water has already soaked through the insulation and mold has begun to grow.