Crawl Space Repair Before & After Photos

A musty smell was coming from a homeowner’s crawl space, so she called our team. We insulated her rim joists to prevent air from entering the rest of her home. Small cracks and seams can exist around rim joists, but after insulating them all of those cracks are sealed off. Now flow is restricted keeping moisture and air out. Therefore, musty smells won't be drifting around this homeowner's house any longer.

As the fall season starts to transition into the cold Michigan winter, insulation starts to matter more and more for both energy costs as well as comfort.  Crawlspace insulation is often overlooked by many homeowners.  However, insulating and protecting your crawlspace is very important.  Not only does upgrading your crawlspace reduce energy costs, keep creepy crawlies out, keep floors warms, it also helps add thousands of dollars in home value.  Using a vapor barrier called CleanSpace that covers the ground, combined with SilverGlo insulating wall panels; this crawlspace is now transformed into a cost efficient place that any homeowner would feel comfortable living above.  

As yet another Michigan winter is in full effect, cold feet and energy costs are coming along as well.  Improper crawl space and insulation can costs hundreds of dollars in the span of a year; thousands over the life span of a home.  To help save energy, reduce humidity, and reduce the amount of cold air entering your house, we recommend a crawl space upgrade with CleanSpace and SilverGlo.  CleanSpace is a white vapor barrier that is used to reduce humidity and keep those creepy animals out of your home and crawl space.  SilverGlo is wall insulation that helps keep any cold and humidity from entering your home.  With these two additions, Michigan winters don't stand a chance.  

This Portage, MI customer became interested in encapsulating and insulating his crawl space after noticing a musty smell traveling through his home. Smelly crawl spaces are usually a sign of moisture and humidity mixing together and giving rise to gross air. As bad as that smell is, it’s not even the worse part. These adverse conditions can mean another unwelcome guest in your crawl space, mold. And unlike the uncomfortableness that comes from musty smells, mold can mean real structural damage to your home. To make sure that didn’t happen to this home, the crew traveled to Portage and got to work on the encapsulation.

The white liner in the after photo is a moisture barrier called CleanSpace. Designed to be impenetrable by vapor or humidity, it’s the perfect product to keep out that smell. Any outside air can have a negative effect on crawl spaces, so it’s best to keep that air where it belongs – outside. The vapor barrier was paired with bright SilverGlo wall insulation and air tight vent covers - both not pictured -  which are designed to keep only quality air inside. With a fully enclosed crawl space, smells, energy efficiency, and humidity won’t be a problem anymore.

While having a concrete crawl space may be a step above a dirt space, it still doesn’t stop water vapor from the floor or walls. This was exactly the case in this Augusa, MI home, and they needed a solution. Luckily, we had it.

Our team installed CleanSpace, a multilayer, durable plastic liner that stops water vapor and allows for drainage to the sump pump. As an added bonus, it also has an antimicrobial additive in the material to prevent mold growth on the liner. Installing a TripleSafe sump pump at the lowest spot in the space means that any water vapor is collected here and immediately pumped out of the crawl space. This pump is very reliable in that it sports 3 pumps in one liner, including one that’s battery operated, so the sump works even if one pump can’t keep up, or if the power goes out.