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Water often finds its way into many areas of your home, even areas that you might not immediately expect.
While homeowners spend plenty of time treating their basements to make sure they’re waterproofed, crawlspaces are often ignored, which is unfortunate. The fact of the matter is, that crawlspaces need to be waterproofed if you want to preserve your home’s foundation and keep water from getting in.
But what are crawlspaces and why do they need to be waterproofed?
Read on to look at some of these questions and see what Bluebird CFW Foundation Repair & Waterproofing can offer you.
What is Crawlspace and Crawlspace Waterproofing?
A crawlspace is an unoccupied, unfinished, often narrow space between the ground and the first floor of your home. The crawlspace is designed to provide better airflow within the home while also providing access to electrical, plumbing, and pipes that require repair.
Crawlspace waterproofing is the process of protecting the crawlspace area of a building from moisture intrusion and water damage. Proper crawlspace waterproofing can help ensure a safe and healthy living environment, as well as protect the structural integrity of the building.
Effects of Crawlspace Waterproofing
A lot of homeowners are intimidated by their crawlspace because of its tightness and limited mobility. That’s no reason to ignore these areas, though, as crawlspaces can very easily flood.
Once water gets into your crawlspace, you’ll be dealing with a whole host of issues that you don’t want. Let’s go over a few here:
- Mold – Moisture that sits in an enclosed space almost always leads to mold. Your crawlspace is no different. We talked earlier about how crawlspace facilitates proper airflow in your home. If moisture causes mold to start growing in the crawlspace, there are plenty of health hazards associated with unclean air being transferred in your home.
- Wood Rot – Fungus and other organisms are attracted to wood, and they can certainly take over your crawlspace if you aren’t careful. Fungus and other microorganisms perpetuate rotting wood by feeding off it. This deeply damages the wood and makes it more brittle Rot compromises your home’s foundation and can lead to other interior issues like cracked walls and uneven floors.
- Pests – Moldy, moisture-ridden crawlspaces can attract some unwanted visitors to your home. The longer you ignore waterproofing your crawlspace, the more time critters have to invade this seldom-visited part of your home.
Bluebird’s Crawlspace Waterproofing in Adrian, MI
Does all of this sound a little concerning? No worries – Bluebird CFW Foundation Repair & Waterproofing is here to offer all Adrian residents a reliable solution.
While other contractors source subcrews to do their waterproofing work, Bluebird’s waterproofing teams are all in-house. This translates to more reliable work and we never compromise quality over costs.
We’ll check out your home and see what needs to be accomplished. After providing a reliable quote, we’ll efficiently and effectively take care of any waterproofing needs. Here are two common projects we handle:
Insulation
By now, you know that too much moisture can create the perfect environment for mold, mildew, and other unwanted invaders. But it’s not just humidity that you have to worry about. If it gets too cold, your pipes can freeze. Leaving your crawlspace exposed to the brutal Adrian winters causes this.
Encapsulation
When you get your crawlspace encapsulated, you will no longer have to fear heavy storms, as the material we use will keep them out. That means you won’t have to worry about those dreadful floods either.
While the cost to waterproof a crawlspace can vary from home to home, we promise that we never cut corners. The scope of your crawlspace’s issues could raise or lower your end costs, but we guarantee reliable service no matter what we have to do.
Contact Bluebird Today
Don’t neglect your crawlspace any longer than you have to. Adrian residents can call Bluebird to find a waterproofing solution that’s right for their budgets and their homes today. Our services extend beyond crawlspace waterproofing to include basement waterproofing and foundation repair in the Adrian, MI area.
Frequently Asked Questions
Crawlspace encapsulation is a process of creating water vapor barriers on the floors/walls of the crawlspace with heavy-duty polyethylene. The purpose of this encapsulation is to refrain ground moisture from seeping and collecting into the crawl space.
On average, crawl space encapsulation in Adrian, MI, costs around $4,000 to $5,500 per project. However, in Bluebird CFW, we charge as per the size of your crawl space, the material used for the encapsulation, and the labor charge depending on how complex the work is. Even though the prices are high, crawl space encapsulation lasts 10 to 15 years!
The top benefit of crawl space encapsulation is that it keeps your crawl space dry, which ultimately helps to save heating and cooling costs, i.e., energy efficiency. It also helps to prevent mold or other pests from growing and helps to keep the floors intact for a long time.
Besides, it’s costly (i.e.$5,000 per project!) and requires additional maintenance, the major risk of crawl space encapsulation is that if encapsulation doesn’t get done properly, there is a risk of moisture buildup inside the crawl space, which leads to mold/mildew growth and structural damage.
To determine if your crawl space has mold, look at the visible signs such as water stains, black or greenish spots on walls and insulation, white powdery clusters, or a musty smell. If you are unsure, you can always look up for professional assistance from Bluebird CFW.
Mold is a fungal growth that needs two things to grow– humidity & moisture. So, if your crawl space has collected water on the ground, or if the place is moist and humid, then mold growth is inevitable. Here at Bluebird CFW, we will help you to encapsulate your crawl space to keep the space dry so that the mold stays away!
Absolutely! Your crawl space needs to be sealed to minimize the use of energy and control moisture. A lot of times, we see our customers only sealing after extreme damage. However, you must always seal and insulate your crawl spaces from air or ground moisture. Since crawl spaces do not have a true floor, they are kept directly to the floor under your home. So, encapsulating the crawl space will allow it to block water, vapor, or other gasses from the soil.
The immediate signs for encapsulating your crawl space are–patches of mold/mildew and increasing cooling and heating costs. The extreme case for which you need a quick encapsulation is if the crawl space has more than 10% to 15% of moisture buildup.
The major difference between a sealed crawl space and an encapsulated crawl space is that –
- A sealed or closed crawl space does not have wall vents so that no air can pass into the crawl space from the outside.
- However, an encapsulated crawl space means that the floor and walls of the crawl space have a water vapor barrier that prevents ground moisture from seeping.
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