Crawl Space Repair Creates a Healthier Home in Newburgh, IN

Tuesday, October 30th, 2018 by Kelsey Bullerdick

Challenge

There are a ton of a variety of articles about everyday unseen dangers lurking in our homes. However, some of these hazards are within reach of everyday use. Others, on the other hand, are often forgotten about places such as our crawl spaces.

Homeowners in Newburgh, IN, began worrying about their family's living environment when their health became an issue. Their children were constantly battling various illnesses. Having to witness their children being sick, they wanted to get to the root of the problem and correct it quickly.

After meeting with numerous contracting companies and not being satisfied with what they were being told, they called Healthy Spaces for a free inspection.

One of our experienced Design Specialists completed a thorough evaluation of their home and the crawl space. He observed numerous problems such as the crawl space floor saturated with water. Failing insulation, moisture, and mold were all playing a major factor to the crawl space's unhealthy condition.

The homeowners never go into their crawl space, so they were shocked to learn what was festering down below. We know that because of the Stack Effect that whatever is in the crawl space, is also in the home and affecting those who live there. All of the issues in the crawl space could have been causing their children to be sick.

Solution

Not to worry though, Healthy Spaces is here to help! We are the Tri-State's local crawl space repair experts with several repair options that meet your needs.

Our expert crawl space repair crew led by, Robbie Stoutenberg, completely transformed this entire space. Before he could start, he needed to rid the crawl space of any debris, old plastic, and any other nuisances. Next, Robbie and his crew began installing waterproofing solutions including our EZ Flow drainage system and a SmartSump sump pump.

The EZ Flow drain will direct all water to the SmartSump. The SmartSump pump system is ideal for crawl spaces and pumps the water out of the crawl space, away from the home through a discharge line. We attached IceGuard to the discharge line just outside of the home.

Next, we installed CleanSpace® Drainage matting. CleanSpace Drainage Matting has raised dimples that allows water flooding in the crawl space a channel underneath the crawl space liner. It then directs the water to the perimeter crawl space drain and SmartSump pump system. We then installed our CleanSpace® Vapor Barrier over the top of it. CleanSpace isolates the home from the earth completely and permanently. The liner is a heavy 20-mil- thick material that's similar to a pool liner.

Other installations included a SaniDry Sedona dehumidifier to keep humidity low and Spray Foam insulation in the band joists.

The homeowner now has peace of mind knowing that these reliable permanent solutions have helped them create a healthier living environment for their family.

Project Summary

Installing Contractor: Healthy Spaces

Foreman: Robbie Stoutenberg

Products Installed: EZ Flow Drain, SmartSump pump system, Rim Joist Insulation, IceGuard, CleanSpace, Drainage Matting, SaniDry Sedona dehumidifier

Before photo of the crawl space.

This is the EZ Flow drainage system that will direct water to the SmartSump sump pump.

Drainage matting creates a drainage space under the CleanSpace for water to flow beneath. This thick material helps enhance the durability of the encapsulation system.

Next step is to apply the CleanSpace liner over the floor and walls.

The CleanSpace liner is tough enough for you to crawl on and can use your crawl space for storage.

The bright white finished side really brightens a crawl space and will allow you to easily see that your crawl space is free of mold, insects, and dirt.

The SmartSump pump system is perfect for a crawl space. It has a strong durable sump liner with holes in it to accept water from the ground. It also has an airtight lid to keep moisture and bugs out.

The SaniDry Sedona Dehumidifier keeps the relative humidity below 55%, so mold won't stand a chance. It's also a high-efficiency ENERGY STAR® certified dehumidifier, the Sedona removes more moisture (100 pints per day) for less electricity cost than conventional models.