Crawl Space Repair Photo Album: Cottage in Vicksburg, MI Gets Water Out of the Basement and Back to the Lake

The owners of this cottage in Vicksburg called because they had lots of standing water in their crawl space. They are located on the lake and sit down in a hill, so the puddles of water were prone to happen. But, that doesn’t mean it can’t be fixed. They have had the cottage a long time and plan to keep it forever, so we wanted to help them make this happen and to ensure that they didn't get hefty mold or weak floor problems from all the water. After reviewing the problems with the owners, they decided it would be best to have our drainage matting, CleanSpace system, SilverGlo insulation and a SmartSump sump pump to make sure the water was staying in the lake and not in their crawl space.

Puddles in the Basement

While these puddles might look fun to jump around in, they are a serious problem for this crawl space. Standing water in a crawl space or basement will evaporate into the house above it and can cause mold growth.

What is that White Powder

If you have concrete blocks in your wet crawl space, you've probably seen this white powder on them. This powder is called efflorescence and is a telltale sign that water is coming through the concrete. It's not mold but the minerals that dissolve and remain behind when the water evaporates.

Mold is Alive and Growing

Mold loves materials that are organic and not waterproof. Fiberglass insulation is great in homes but not crawl spaces where there is lots of moisture. The insulation will also hold water and eventually fall to the ground where it's doing no good.

Ineffective Sump Pumps do More Harm Than Good

This looks to be a sump pump that isn't doing its job at all. Open sump holes are useless because they allow the water to evaporate back into the air and eventually up into the house.

Directing the Water

The first step in this crawl space job was giving the water somewhere to drain to so that it won't end up right back where it came from. We laid discharge lines starting in the crawl space and ended them at the lake.

SuperSump to Save the Day

Our SuperSump sump pump that we installed in this cottage is our basic system, but includes top of the line components. There is a lid to make sure debris doesn't get in and even an alarm to alert you when the water is too high or might cause a flood.

Drainage Matting to Get Rid of Excess Water

This drainage matting is installed with our CleanSpace system to help direct water to the sump pump and drainage system. The matting is also a great vapor barrier in general and will keep water out of your crawl space.

SilverGlo Insulation Will Reduce Energy Costs

This SilverGlo crawl space insulation is made with graphite and has a built in radiant heat barrier surface to ensure the outside elements stay outside.

CleanSpace System Leaves Crawl Space Looking Brand New

Our CleanSpace crawl space system works wonders at keeping water out and cleaning up the look of your dirty crawlspace. Water wont be able to get in, so mold and safety issues won't be a problem for this family's cottage.