Crawl Space Encapsulation Before & After Photos

Recently, homeowners in Lawrence Township, NJ in Mercer County contacted Cowleys to upgrade their dirty, dusty crawl space. Crawl spaces are perhaps the most ignored areas of a home. They can also be fraught with problems that can affect the living spaces above. Dirty crawl space air circulates throughout the home, so even if you don’t see what’s going on down there, the crawl space in a very real way is visiting you on a daily basis. Crawl spaces are also notorious for high indoor humidity levels, for mold growth, and their damp, dark environment attracts insects. Many homeowners deal with pungent smells and poor indoor air quality because of problem crawl spaces.

This homeowner was bothered that there was a filthy area right below their first floor and decided it was time to do something about it. Cowleys has an experienced contractor crew that can improve crawl spaces in a variety of ways, up to and including the installation of a full CleanSpace encapsulation system. Crawl space encapsulation seals off the outdoor elements that can trigger all sorts of problems. Even if you don’t see puddles of water in your crawl space, ground soil is naturally saturated with water. By definition, any crawl space with a soil floor is damp and filled with moisture most of the time. 

For this homeowner, we installed thick mold-resistant drainage matting to create a barrier between crawlspace and floor, a primary entry point of unwanted groundwater.  We wrapped the walls with SilverGlo wall insulation, an Expanded Polystyrene Foam (EPS) product coated in a mold-resistant aluminum and put protective warping on the crawl space pillars as well. Finally, we put in a heavy-duty 20-mil CleanSpace vapor barrier. Our vapor barrier is much thicker and sturdier than a regular liner, and we mechanically fasten it to the walls. When, on occasion, you or a repair person need to access your crawl space, the barrier will not pull off or tear.

Once we completed the installation, these homeowners now benefitted from a home with a clean, improved crawl space. This home improvement will make their home more comfortable for the family, improve the indoor air quality, and reduce the risk of crawl space mold growth. For these homeowner, an added benefit was that their crawl space could now be used as a much-needed clean and dry storage area. 

This homeowner in Princeton Junction, NJ, wanted his crawl space encapsulated, so he called Cowleys and we were sent out to perform the job.

Once we entered the crawl space we removed all the contaminated insulation and debris, leveled the ground for proper draining, and installed a drainage matting. This material is a dimpled plastic mat that allows all excess moisture to work its way over the sump pump. Once we finished, we installed a vapor barrier which is a heavy-duty, 20-mil 7-ply sandwich of high and low-density polyethylene with a polyester-cord reinforcement. It cannot tear and is extremely durable. The vapor barrier is also treated with an antimicrobial to prevent mold and is installed over the foundation walls and floor to create a continuous air and moisture barrier.

Next, we installed SilverGlo™, which is a waterproof foam insulation that seals the walls from outside moisture and humidity, to the walls of the crawl space. Lastly, we installed a Sani-Dry Sedona commercial-grade dehumidifier to control the humidity levels. The Sedona directs the extracted water pulled out of the air directly into the sump pump. Now the homeowner has a transformed crawl space that is clean and dry and can be utilized for additional storage space. 

After years and years of dealing with a humid & wet dirt-floor crawl space, this homeowner in Monmouth Junction, NJ decided it was time to change this and encapsulate his crawl space! After speaking with one of our sales reps and discussing various options, he decided on a plan and we went right to work!

First, we removed all the debris, leveled the ground for proper draining, and installed drainage matting. This material is a dimpled plastic mat that allows all excess moisture to work its way over to the new sump pump we installed. Next, we installed a vapor barrier, which is a heavy-duty, 20-mil 7-ply sandwich of high and low-density polyethylene with a polyester-cord reinforcement. It's extremely durable, treated with an antimicrobial to prevent mold, and is installed over the foundation walls and floor to create a continuous air and moisture barrier.

Afterward, we installed SilverGlo™ on the walls of the crawl space, which is a waterproof foam insulation that seals the walls from outside moisture and humidity. Lastly, we installed a Sani-Dry Sedona commercial-grade dehumidifier. The Sedona directs the extracted water pulled out of the air directly into the sump pump and will control the humidity levels in the crawl space.

After successfully removing all the mold out of this homeowner's crawl space in Metuchen, NJ, we're back to encapsulate it. First, we leveled the ground for proper draining and installed drainage matting. This material is a dimpled plastic mat that allows all excess moisture to work its way over to the sump pump. Once we finished, we installed a vapor barrier which is a heavy-duty, 20-mil 7-ply sandwich of high and low-density polyethylene with a polyester-cord reinforcement. It cannot tear and is extremely durable. The vapor barrier is also treated with an antimicrobial to prevent mold and is installed over the foundation walls and floor to create a continuous air and moisture barrier.

Next, we installed SilverGlo™ on the walls of the crawl space. SilverGlo™ is a waterproof foam insulation that seals the walls from outside moisture and humidity. Lastly, we installed a Sani-Dry Sedona commercial-grade dehumidifier to control the humidity levels. The Sedona directs the extracted water pulled out of the air directly into the sump pump. Now the homeowner will no longer have any mold issues in his crawl space and have additional space for storage!

This homeowner in Point Pleasant Beach had one of the more unique crawl spaces that our home improvement crew has come across, and not in a good way. Without being too disparaging, this crawl space was little more than a glorified dirt pit. It was such a dusty dirty mess that it was a completely unusable space in the home. You could not even venture down there without returning to ground level looking as though you just emerged from the depths of a Kentucky coal mine. 

Fortunately, this homeowner decided that enough was enough! It was time to give his crawl space a complete makeover. Cowleys is a certified Basement Systems dealer. Basement Systems pioneered the field of crawl space repair and encapsulation for moisture control and waterproofing. With their system, a chronically damp wet crawl space can be transformed into a clean, dry foundation. Unlike traditionally vented crawl spaces, encapsulation prevents water seepage and hot, humid air from entering the crawl space, as well as acting as a barrier for insects and nuisance wildlife. When supplemented by dehumidification, encapsulation inhibits dangerous mold growth and other allergens, providing clean, healthy air for the occupants residing in the home. 

The Cowleys crew arrived. We first installed CleanSpace liners. Never before has the term “clean space” been more true. Before we got there you could not go down into this basement without getting filthy dirty. We installed both a 4 ft. high wall liner, and a floor liner to finish off the job. These liners are thick, tear-resistant vapor barriers that prevent moisture from passing through the floors and concrete walls. 

The last step of this project was installing a maintenance-free commercial-grade SaniDry XP model dehumidifier to keep the basement free of excess humidity that can trigger dangerous mold (There is also a CX model for smaller areas). These compact dehumidifiers are specifically designed for crawl spaces and mid-sized basements. They can operate in temperatures as low as 40 degrees F. and are much more powerful than traditional dehumidifiers. Once they are set up, there’s nothing to do. They operate automatically, turning on and off according to a built-in hygrometer. Also, these machines don’t have a water tray that needs to be emptied. They connect directly into the home’s drainage system. 

The homeowner was extremely happy with his new crawl space, knowing that he could now go down there or send a repair person there without returning covered in dust. Now, he could even use the space for storage. Also, with these liners secure and in place along with the dehumidifier, the crawl space will be kept dry. Without excess moisture and humidity build-up, he won’t need to worry about mold, insects, and other issues down below.