A Healthier Crawl Space In Mount Vernon, IN

Tuesday, June 26th, 2018 by Kelsey Bullerdick

Challenge

When it comes to your home, it's not a good idea for homeowners to subscribe to the "out of sight, out of mind" mentality.

This is why this homeowner in Mount Vernon, IN, wanted to ensure the health and safety of their living environment. They usually only ventured into their crawl space 1-2 times a year but their son began having some health issues so they decided it was time to call Healthy Spaces.

They met with our Design Specialist, Mike Rogers, who completed a thorough evaluation of the crawl space. Mike noticed several spots with fungus growing. They also had really high humidity and an issue with sagging floors. When sitting down with Mike, these homeowners mentioned that they wanted to control the moisture levels and save energy. Mike presented them with several reliable solutions that would ensure the crawl space always kept dry.

Solution

The homeowner decided to go with CleanSpace Liner, Drainage matting, SilverGlo, SmartSump, and The Turtl.

The production crew, led by foreman Robbie, first installed seven SmartJack supports to uphold the floor joist system above. These are steel supports that "jack" up the girders and floor joists in a crawl space which holds the floor of the room above.

Next, they installed the SmartSump pump system with liner, cast iron pump, CleanPump Stand, airtight lid with an airtight floor drain, and WaterWatch alarm system. The cast-iron pump can remove about 2,200 gallons of water per hour; the pump stand prevents it from touching the bottom of the liner and getting debris in the pump; the airtight lid prevents dirt from the basement floor from getting into the pump; and the alarm alerts the homeowner if the pump is in danger of overflow for any reason.

The third step was to place drainage matting on the dirt and gravel crawl space floor. This matting enhances the durability of the CleanSpace liner that is used to encapsulate the crawl space.

The thick and durable CleanSpace liner completely isolates the crawl space environment from the earth, serves as a moisture and vapor barrier, and helps insulate the crawl space. It is tough enough to crawl on and helps create an ideal storage space in the home.

The crawl space was further insulated by SilverGlo panels that were installed on the walls, and spray foam insulation that was applied to the band joists. Having a properly insulated crawl space is essential in saving energy.

The final step was installing The Turtl which acts as an access well providing an airtight cover.

The owners now have a peace of mind knowing that their home is healthier and safer because of these reliable repairs.

Project Summary

Installing Contractor: Healthy Spaces

Certified Inspector: Mike Rogers

Project Foreman: Robbie Stoutenberg

Products Installed: SmartSump, Drainage Matting, SmartJacks, CleanSpace, SilverGlo, The Turtl

Here you can see the crawl space entry before we installed The Turtl

Drainage matting was installed to allow water to run under the liner and into the SmartSump system.

CleanSpace is a durable 20-mil poly-reinforced crawl space liner that converts your crawl space into a usable storage area. It's also mold-resistant and can never support mildew or mold growth on its surface.

SmartJacks were installed to support the floor joists in the crawl space.

SilverGlo combines highly effective graphite-impregnated insulation with a built-in radiant heat barrier surface. This gives your crawl space walls an unbroken plane of R-11 insulation.

Another view of the CleanSpace liner.

The Turtl is a durable plastic crawl space access well that we offer as part of our crawl space vapor barrier system. It provides an airtight cover and is made to replace those old concrete, wooden, or metal crawl space access wells.