Encapsulating a Crawl Space to Get a Home on the Market in Cadillac, MI

Challenge

When David first called us back in 2011, he had a crawl space like many others we’ve dealt with. There was some water, it was musty down there, and, strangely, there was insulation literally glued to the walls. That last part is actually what led him to call in hopes of getting the space cleaned up and in better working order. He ultimately decided against doing any repairs.

Then he called us again in April. There was more standing water, and now mold, and he was trying to sell his house. One prospective buyer had already backed out after an inspection, and the inspector had told him that he absolutely needed the crawl space repaired before he had any chance at selling the home.

He’d already lost one sale, and he vowed it wouldn’t happen again, so David called Ayers.

Solution

There were a few major problems that had to be taken care of in order for the crawl space to have any chance at being a clean, dry, non-hazardous space. First off, it was vented. Vented crawl spaces exist because of outdated ideas around home ventilation and city codes are slowly coming around to acknowledge that vents cause more harm than good. So we used vent covers to take care of that.

Secondly, the existing sump pump was questionable at best. It basically looked like a pump in an open bucket, all “secured” by a cinderblock. It was susceptible to everything from debris clogging to tipping over, so there’s no surprise that it wasn’t working properly. We solved this by replacing it with a Smart Sump sump pump that is not only more secure, but also more reliable.

Then there was mold. To address the mold itself, we sprayed Mold-X on the affected areas to render the live mold inactive and stop it from spreading.

Finally, we had to change the effects on and of the crawl space as a whole. We installed the CleanSpace vapor barrier system to encapsulate the area. This prevents water that leaks through the walls and floor from affecting support beams and fixtures, which prevents water damage in the crawl space from affecting the house above it. To deal with any ambient moisture, and provide one more safeguard against mold, we installed a SaniDry dehumidifier to control the humidity in the crawl space.

Where there once was a dirty, dangerous crawl space that prevented David from selling his house, there is now clean, dry, usable storage space that is both visually appealing and safe, and that house is ready to go back on the market.