Crawl Space Repair Before & After Photos

This Mears, MI couple was interested in improving their home’s heating and cooling. Mostly, they wanted an effective way to heat their floors without breaking the bank. Knowing that their crawl space was lacking insulation, they decided it was an area worth looking into. After seeing one of our commercial ads on television, they decided to give a call to the crawl space experts and see what our opinion was.

The crawl space didn’t appear to have any water issues, so our system design specialist was more than happy to only go over our energy saving options. Eventually, they settled on the Ultimate Energy Saver. When it comes to crawl space insulation, our SilverGlo walls are one of the best products around. Their silver reflective color radiates heat in the crawl space and reduces the amount lost through the walls. TerraBlock acts as both floor insulation and a moisture protectant, just in case. But the real key to the encapsulation was CleanSpace, a plastic vapor barrier designed to keep humidity and moisture out. With these products working together, this house really does have the ultimate energy saving combo, and we’re sure they’ll notice it on their next energy bill. 

We first started talking about encapsulating this crawl space a year ago. But after the owner decided to sell the home, there was little we could do about. Then fast forward to present day, where the new owner was still struggling with watering entering the crawl space during rains and found a copy of the previous proposal. Having just moved in, the new owner wanted this problem solved immediately. Since nothing about the crawl space had changed, the crew went right ahead with the installation.

Instead of the dirt floor and block walls that are seen in the before photo, the team installed the Energy Savings package, made up of the CleanSpace Barrier and SilverGlo Walls. The CleanSpace barrier is the white liner that is seen in the after photo and won’t allow moisture from the dirt floor to permeate through. SilverGlo will have a similar effect on the porous block walls, while also providing much-needed insulation. This waterproofing crawl space is now solved once and for all.

The before photo of this Saint Helen, MI home shows the open vent of the crawl space. Open vents allow moisture, humidity, and animals to enter the crawl space and cause problems, but they don’t offer any real benefits to the crawl space. In fact, the goal of most crawl space repairs and encapsulations is to isolate them from the outside. The after photo shows our solution to the problem, an air tight vent cover that will keep out all those possible problems. The cover will keep the newly installed encapsulation protected and dry for a long time to come. 

This summer cottage was dealing with a serious sinking problem. Not long ago, the floor had begun settling. When this happened, the owners called a contractor and had the floor jacked up and leveled out. But after noticing a few strange occurrences – doors sticking closed, a slight slope to the kitchen floor – the owners became convinced that the problem had returned and was worse than ever. When the system design specialist arrived, he confirmed their suspicions and also noted that the structural joists were decaying.

To repair the floor and keep it leveled for good, the crew decided to replace the jacks and reinforce the joists. Instead of the wood beams, the crew installed galvanized steel beams and attached them to the failing joists. The steel will provide extra support for the floor and won’t erode from the moisture so often found in crawl spaces. Next, they replaced the old jacks with our SmartJack system and boosted up the new steel support beams and the floor along with them. SmartJack’s ability to hold over 60,000 pounds make us confident that this will be a permanent solution for this cottage.

Keith never realized that his crawl space could affect his whole home, until one day there was a weird smell in the air. It was because of standing water in his crawl space, this could to lead to mold and many other issues.. He immediately called us to help solve his problem.

Our team did a full CleanSpace installation, including; a Triple safe Sump Pump, Ice Guard, and Cleanspace Drainage Matting. All these tools work together to keep Keith's crawl space dry.