Crawl Space Repair Photo Album: CleanSpace Cleans Up Plainwell, MI Home

Our customer called to get the two crawl spaces in their newly purchased home inspected. They noticed a few cracks that they wanted addresses immediately, but also knew that they likely wanted to have the crawl space encapsulated since their home is on Pine Lake and lakefront homes are notorious for problematic crawl spaces. The foundation cracks were largely superficial, luckily, but were likely caused by the moisture issues in the crawl spaces eating away at the walls. We installed the CleanSpace vapor barrier system with drainage matting and SilverGlo insulation panels in the entirety of the main crawl space. We also used FrothPak insulation in both spaces and rerouted the duct work to get it off of the ground in the crawl space.

Water Damage Visible on Foundation

Mold and efflorescence are both signs of water problems, even when they're occurring on the outside of the house. Given that the blocks that make up this foundation are made of a porous material, if there's water outside, there's probably water inside.

Visible Crack on Foundation Exterior

Cracks like the one shown are a veritable pedestrian bridge for water to get into the crawl space.

Water Damage on Cobblestone Wall

Note the discoloration on the cobblestone wall, another sign of water issues. Since these walls are also porous, they can facilitate water problems but also crumble if confronted with too much water.

Sagging Duct Work and Debris in Crawl Space

Material hanging from the ceiling is a hidden indicator of ambient moisture problems in a basement or crawl space. As the material absorbs water from the air, it gets heavier and sags.

Low Ceiling and Debris Clog Crawl Space

One of the crawl spaces had very low ceilings and also quite a bit of debris in it, making for close quarters.

Low Clearance Leads to Creative Methods

If we can fit into a crawl space, we can repair it, but this was a big if. Our guys are used to wiggling their way into the smallest spaces and ensuring they receive the same level of service as larger spaces.

SilverGlo and FrothPak Insulate Plainwell Crawl Space

In addition to encapsulating the area with CleanSpace vapor barrier, we covered the walls with SilverGlo insulation panels to keep the crawl space - and the home above it - protected from outside temperatures. The foamy stuff you see is our FrothPak insulation, which we use to seal joists and seams to assure an airtight seal.