Huntingburg, IN Crawlspace Encapsulated and Vents Sealed
Challenge
There are always challenges when assessing a home that has mold problems--what will be done with the home’s contents, whether or not the residents will be able to stay in their home while the remediation process is under way, how long the process will take, whether there will be post-remediation testing, how long that will take, and who will do it. The most important challenge is determining where the moisture is coming from that is creating the humidity necessary for mold growth.
The number one priority in these situations is to clearly identify and resolve the source of the water intrusion or humidity problems—before mold remediation is performed. In this case, there were multiple sources of water intrusion and each had to be resolved to keep the mold from coming back over and over. One of the most challenging aspects of this job was that the crawlspace vents and entry would allow water to pour into the crawlspace each time that the groundwater increased, it rained, or sleeted.
Solution
Damon with Healthy Spaces helped the homeowners to createa a custom water remediation and crawlspace encapsulation system for their home. They shut down the heating and/or air conditioning system immediately, and kept it shut off throughout the remediation process. The installation team taped off and sealed all HVAC registers and returns. Once the water was directed into a removal system and pumped from the crawlspace with a SuperSump, the Healthy Spaces team set up dehumidification units and set up proper containment area(s). Containment basically means keeping a contaminated area to and within itself, thereby preventing the spread of mold—by traffic or air circulation—to other areas of the home. Next, they wiped down every square inch of surface by hand with an EPA- approved biocide, an antibacterial, antifungal, and antiviral cleaning solution.
After the mold was remediated and contaminated materials removed from the crawlspace, the area could be properly sealed off and encapsulated. First, the installation team used Basement Systems vent covers to close each old vent in the crawlspace from the outside, as well as sealing off the door. Next, they rolled out and anchored CleanSpace along the interior of the crawlspace on the walls. After the walls were sealed, they applied CleanSpace engineered film to the floor of the crawlspace and used an amazing CleanSpace tape to join the system together and seal out mold, fungus, dirt, moisture, and critters.
Project Summary
Project Manager: Damon Cheatham
Project Foreman: Richard Cline
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