Dirt Floor Crawl Space Gets Encapsulated in Sea Girt, NJ

After noticing some water pooling in his dirt floor crawl space, this homeowner in Sea Girt, NJ, called our Crawl Space Division to determine the cause and discuss possibly encapsulating his crawl space. Dirt floor crawl spaces attract and absorb moisture and once the dirt dries, it causes humidity levels to rise and can lead to mold and mildew issues (fortunately, there was no mold or mildew in the crawl space). After speaking the owner, he decided that he wanted to encapsulate his crawl space!

First, we removed all the debris and old insulation, leveled the ground for proper draining, and installed drainage matting, which is a dimpled plastic mat that allows all excess moisture to work its way over to the sump pump. Next, we installed a SmartSump™ Crawl Space Sump Pump. The SmartSump™ Crawl Space Sump Pump protects vulnerable crawl spaces by combining an intelligent WaterWatch® alarm system with a sump pump that's specifically designed for crawl spaces. Additionally, both the lid and floor drain are specially designed to prevent collected water from evaporating back out into your crawl space. Any water from a plumbing leak or sump failure must first pass by the alarm and will then drain down into the sump. The alarm will sound immediately if this happens, so you'll know you have a leak in your crawl space.

We also cleaned off all the beams in the crawl space and installed SilverGlo™ on the walls of the crawl space. SilverGlo™ is a waterproof foam insulation that seals the walls from outside moisture and humidity. Next, we installed a vapor barrier. A vapor barrier is a heavy-duty, 20-mil 7-ply sandwich of high and low-density polyethylene with a polyester-cord reinforcement. By encapsulating the crawl space & installing the vapor barrier over the foundation walls and floor will create a continuous air and moisture barrier. The vapor barrier is extremely durable and is treated with an antimicrobial to prevent mold. 

Lastly, to control the humidity levels in the crawl space, we installed a Sedona dehumidifier. This is a powerful, energy-efficient, commercial-grade dehumidifier that outperforms standard household dehumidifiers by as much as 10 times while using the same amount of energy to run. Now the homeowners have a clean and healthy crawl space as well as an additional area in their home for storage.