Restoring and Rebuilding a Crawl Space in Weidman, MI
Challenge
Our customer called with major problems in her cottage. The whole place smelled and the floors felt squishy and unsafe. Wood was rotting and the air was damp all the time.
As you may have guessed, the crawl space with the culprit. Longstanding, major water issues had left the crawl space riddled with mold, and over time it had actually begun to make the subfloor rot. This was the cause behind the squishy floors - the subfloor and joists were failing. In addition to being inconvenient, this is very dangerous, as it would take almost nothing for someone to put a foot right through the floor.
This cottage needed our help before there was nothing left.
Solution
Our plan to restore this crawl space and cottage had multiple stages.
1. Replace the subfloor.
2. Encapsulate the crawl space.
3. Mitigate and control future moisture.
First, the subfloor. Throughout the home, we removed the rotted out subfloor. We sistered new joists to the failing ones and built an entirely new subfloor in order to provide structure and safety to the home.
Once the structural safety was taken care of, we were able to tackle the crawl space itself. First, we laid drainage matting. The dirt floor of a crawl space makes it impossible to prevent water from entering altogether, but the dimpled surface of the drainage matting provides enough space for water to move freely between the ground and the crawl space. On top of the drainage matting, we installed the CleanSpace vapor barrier system. This thick barrier is affixed to the walls and floor of the crawl space, ensuring protection against incoming and ambient moisture. It protects the crawl space - and the home - from the ground.
Finally, we installed a SmartDrain to help remove water, and a SaniDry dehumidifier to control ambient moisture in the future. By controlling the humidity in the crawl space, we can prevent mold and the damage that comes with it.
With the crawl space encapsulated and the problem areas rebuilt, this is a new crawl space in more ways than one. The protection of the CleanSpace system will ensure that the owners of this cottage never worry about the safety of their home again.
