Coastal Crawl Space Gets Encapsulated in Bayville, NJ
Recently, we went on a service a call in Bayville, NJ for a homeowner who was complaining of an excessive amount of moisture in his crawl space. Excessive moisture in your crawl space can have a major impact on your family’s health. In fact, 40% of the air in your home comes up through the crawl space — which means that moisture and mold can seep into your home, where you're breathing it in.
Once we arrived at the property, we equipped our personal protective equipment (PPE) and began our inspection. After surveying the crawl space, we noticed that the homeowner had a dirt floor crawl space and that his home was located right on the bay. Dirt floor crawl spaces attract and absorb moisture. When the dirt dries, it causes humidity levels to rise in your home. After a thorough inspection, we determined that this was the cause of the moisture build-up in the crawl space.
The best treatment method to remove the moisture is to encapsulate the crawl space. First, we installed a vapor barrier. A vapor barrier is a super-durable, 20-mil 7-ply plastic sheet material made up of high and low-density polyethylene with polyester-cord reinforcement. The vapor barrier resists the passage of air and by stopping air movement from the ground, it can also turn your crawl space into a semi-conditioned space. Next, we removed the existing fiberglass insulation and replaced it with encapsulated comfort thermal insulation. Then, we installed a smart pump with a battery back up and auxiliary pump to remove any groundwater underneath the liner.
Finally, in order to prevent mold growth, we installed a SaniDry XP commercial dehumidifier. These machines are specifically designed and manufactured for the challenging environments of basements and crawl spaces. The SaniDry XP is a powerful energy-efficient dehumidifier that outperforms standard household dehumidifiers by as much as 10 times while using the same amount of energy to run. The SaniDry XP can effectively cover indoor living spaces over 3000 square feet, making it well-suited for basements and crawl spaces over 40” high.
Now, the moisture in the crawl space is greatly reduced, helping prevent mold growth.