Crawl Space Repair Before & After Photos

A crumbling wall is always cause for alarm. That fear only becomes worse when you realize that the problem threatens the rest of your foundation, as well. The support beams in this Grand Rapids, MI basement had started to sink, mostly due to the crumbling brick wall where the beams rested. The result was an unleveled first floor, windows that wouldn’t open, and cracks in the basement walls.  In the before photo, you can see the wood support beams before they were replaced by the crew for the more trustworthy SmartJack system. Because the beams weren’t the only problem in this basement, the concrete ledge where the beams sat was also replaced. After removing the wooden beams and replacing them with 8 different SmartJacks, the crew poured in the new concrete foundation to hold the jacks in place. Jacks, unlike typical support beams, can be adjusted in height. So the crew raised the floor until it reached a leveled height and then began their clean-up process. Not only will the SmartJacks even out the floor, they’ll take care of the sticking windows and the other problems associated with a sinking foundation. 

Our customer called with a crawl space that, even though it was small, was causing a huge headache. They suspected mold and moisture and knew the insulation was all falling down, leading to energy loss.

We used CleanSpace vapor barrier to encapsulate the crawl space and installed a SaniDry dehumidifier to mitigate ambient moisture.

Mike called us about a cracked beam in his crawl space. He knew that is was a big problem and it needed to be fixed. A cracked beam could lead to the floor sagging or other structural issues that no one wants. We came to the rescue and installed SmartJacks in his crawl space. SmartJacks are installed easily with minimal disturbance and made of steel so they will last. These will lift the floor up before issues occur and they will help stabilize the home.

Winter is a tough time for all of us, even our homes.  Cold temperatures are able to cause higher energy bills and cold feet due to improper crawlspace insulation.   Improper crawl space and insulation can costs hundreds of dollars in the span of a year; thousands over the life span of a home and it is cost effective to upgrade your crawlspace insultation in the long run.  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 to your crawlspace, energy savings as well as reduced humidity and moderate temperatures make it well worth it.  

Rick was looking into fixing up his crawl space, it wasn't looking good and he was worried it would just get worse with time. He decided to give Ayers a call when he was searching for possible solutions and we had a crew come out to check out his crawl space. Our System Design Specialists then made the decision Rick should have us install CleanSpace. 

CleanSpace is a great solution because it consists of a thick, durable plastic liner meant exactly for keeping crawl spaces clean, especially from the harm of excess water or moisture development. The liner is placed along the crawl space floor and walls. The main benefit to this being its vapor barrier property which will prevent this excess moisture from turning to gross mold or bacteria! Regular tarps Rick could have bought from the store would not have done the trick since these are not antimicrobial which prevent mold and are not durable in the long run as dirt and water will build up, causing issues. 

Rick was grateful to get his crawl space sealed up with a solution that will keep it clean and protected!