Photo Album: Musty, Sinking Crawl Space Gets a CleanSpace Lift

Our customer called because her crawl space was musty and smelly, and the floors in her house were sagging. These are all telltale signs of long term water issues, which we confirmed upon inspection. We used the CleanSpace vapor barrier system to encapsulate the crawl space, which will protect it from ambient moisture, and installed SilverGlo insulation panels and ForthPak spray insulation to make the space air tight and energy efficient. We also installed SmartJack crawl space support posts to stabilize and reinforce the floor joists, which had begun sinking due in part to the constant ambient moisture in the crawl space.

Attempts at Sealing Walls Against Water

Clearly someone got down in the crawl space with some spray foam to try and seal the block walls from leaking water. While this is the right idea - our FrothPak looks similar in application - you have to use inorganic, waterproof products to really achieve anything. Otherwise water will simply wear down the product. That's why we use CleanSpace vapor barrier to encapsulate and FrothPak only to insulate rather than stop water.

Debris in Crawl Space

This crawl space was full of dirt and other debris, and required a lot of labor to clean it out before we could install the CleanSpace.

Fallen Insulation in Damp Crawl Space

Fiberglass insulation is inappropriate for a crawl space because it harbors mold, absorbs moisture, and then gets too heavy and falls to the ground. You need inorganic and waterproof insulation in basements and crawl spaces.

Crawl Space After Regrading

In addition to debris removal, we had to regrade the entire crawl space to remove mounds of dirt and create a level surface to install the CleanSpace.

Ultimate Energy Savings Package Insulates Crawl Space

SilverGlo panels and FrothPak provide full insulation in the crawl space without threat of water damage or mold.

Reinforcing Joists with Steel Beams

We run galvanized steel beams perpendicular to the sagging floor joists in order to provide extra support and reinforcement. The beam is bracketed to the joists and the SmartJack posts for extra security.