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It can sometimes be hard to believe that water can do much harm. After all, we count on it every day to wash our hands clean and hydrate our bodies. Nonetheless, water can be quite sneaky, dripping through unseen cracks in your walls undetected until you one day smell something odd or spot a damp brown blemish on your ceiling.
To make matters even more difficult, there is one area of the home that is especially vulnerable to water damage, an area that is often overlooked completely: the crawlspace. Some homeowners may forget that the crawlspace is even there. Even so, waterproofing that crawlspace can save you a lot of money and hassle down the line.
At Bluebird Foundation Repair & Waterproofing, we’re ready to help. Here’s what you should know:
Why Crawlspace Waterproofing is Crucial
To put it simply, a crawlspace is an unfinished, narrow space that sits between the ground and the first floor of your home. Believe it or not, crawlspaces are not just there to take up space. Your crawlspace may house many important pipes and wires that run across your home. Think about your plumbing and electricity.
When everything is functioning as it should, you probably won’t hear much from your pipes except for the occasional rumble. However, pipes can face usual wear and tear. When that happens, they may leak water, and water can quickly drench your crawlspace, seep into other areas of your home, and lead to expensive damage.
Unfortunately, water damage does not mend itself. It will only grow more severe with time. When you let us waterproof your crawlspace, you can rest easy knowing that water won’t gather where it does not belong.
- Wood Rot – Wood rot is not only unpleasant to look at, it can also severely affect the integrity of your home’s foundation. Wood rot results when moisture and fungi unite. The moisture allows fungi to thrive and feast on the materials keeping your home standing. With time, your foundation may weaken, and fixing these problems can get costly fast.
- Mold – Like wood rot, mold needs moisture to grow and thrive. Once it takes hold, you will likely be able to tell. It often gives off an unpleasant smell, and you can see it collecting in thick black or white clusters. Worse of all, many people can have strong allergic reactions to mold.
- Pests – Every living thing eventually seeks out water. This of course not only applies to mold and fungus but also to creepy crawling creatures that are after more than your home’s foundation––mice and rats, for example. Once they come in, they may gnaw at wires and pipes and find their way into boxes, stored food, and so much more.
What Bluebird Offers
Water damage can be frustrating to deal with it. Add in all of the additional issues that often accompany it, and you may not know where to begin. Fortunately, Blue Bird Foundation Repair & Waterproofing is at your side.
We take pride in tackling every project as a team. You won’t see a new crew working on your crawlspace over the course of several days. When we take on a new project, we are committed to seeing it to its completion.
While the costs of crawlspace waterproofing can vary from home to home, we promise that we never cut any corners. The size and scope of your crawlspace’s issues could raise or lower your end costs, but we guarantee reliable service through our in-house waterproofing team.
We are particularly skilled at:
- Insulation – Brutal Bay City winters are no match for an insulation job by Bluebird. We use high-quality foam materials to keep your crawlspace safe from the raging cold weather just beyond your window. The insulation also keeps those bone-chilling drafts from getting to your pipes and causing them to freeze, which can spell disaster if you need a nice, warm shower or a cup of morning tea.
- Encapsulation – If you regularly find your crawlspace damp, moldy, and cold, there is a solution for you: encapsulation. At Bluebird Foundation Repair & Waterproofing, we will zero in on those easy-to-miss entry points in your crawlspace and seal them off so that no moisture can penetrate. When your crawlspace remains dry, water cannot do its unspeakable damage, and mold has no chance to grow.
Contact Bluebird Today
Don’t neglect your crawlspace any longer. Bay City residents can call Bluebird to find a waterproofing solution that’s right for their budgets and their homes today. Outside of crawlspace waterproofing, we also offer foundation repair, basement waterproofing and seawall repair throughout Bay City.
Frequently Asked Questions
The process of sealing and conditioning a crawl space area below the home to protect it from pests, moisture, and other issues with heavy-duty polythene is called crawl space encapsulation. Encapsulation helps seal off the easy-to-miss areas so the moisture does not build up and penetrate the crawlspace. It also helps to protect the crawlspace from water damage and mold growth.
Crawlspace encapsulation can cost from $1,500 to $15,000 (material + labor + method) per project in Bay City. On average, it can cost around $5,500 depending on factors such as the size of the crawlspace (square foot), and labor cost (hourly rates). Investing in your crawl space can protect you from foundation damage, pest infestation, and high electricity bills.
There are several benefits of crawl space encapsulation, such as minimizing your electricity bill as the heating and cooling bills will go down, lower chances of mold, pest prevention, improving indoor air quality, and increasing the value of your home. Crawl space encapsulation directly aids in promoting indoor air quality and creates a safer environment.
There might not be any downside or risks of crawl space encapsulation other than the price points. Crawl space encapsulation helps elevate the living standards within your homes. However, encapsulating a crawl space with water issues might create water build-ups. So crawl space areas facing water issues can only be encapsulated when waterproofed.
You need to notice common mold signs such as musty odor, visible mold growing, stains on walls and floors, water damage, and respiratory issues to know if your crawl space has mold growing inside. The visible signs of mold growth in crawl spaces are warped wooden floors, crawl space wood rot, rotting beams and joists, and water stains.
You have mold in your crawl space because crawl spaces are usually high in moisture. Your crawlspace area might be damp due to trapped moisture, a breeding ground for mold growth. As your crawlspace is very close to the ground, the moisture present can spread throughout the area at any time, resulting in mold growth.
Sealing the crawl space will help isolate the crawlspace area if it has mold or mildew. It will help to remove the smell and the damp soil, protecting other areas of your home. You can also use the sealed area as a storage unit to move things around. An untreated crawlspace area can result in uneven temperature inside your home, resulting in higher utility bills, so sealing the crawl space area will save you a lot of money.
You will need an encapsulation to seal off any bad smells of molds and mildews. It would help if you had an encapsulation when you want to make it easy to start working on your crawlspace. You should encapsulate your crawl space area if it starts being problematic with mold, mildew, and bad smells.
A sealed crawlspace and an encapsulated crawlspace are the same things. The main idea of crawl space insulation is to close the area and prevent cold air from entering the crawlspace from the rim bond board. So, a sealed crawl space means sealing off fully, but an encapsulated crawl space means sealing the floors, walls, and joists.
The best and easy way to waterproof the crawl space is through a vapor barrier. This can be done by sticking glue to a thick sheet of plastic and sticking the plastic to the ground and walls. Using a waterproof sealant on the crawl space walls also helps prevent the area from water damage.
