Crawl Space Encapsulation Before & After Photos

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.

This homeowner in Avenel, NJ contacted Cowleys for a crawl space improvement. Cowleys has an experienced crew that handles various crawl space improvements, up to and including full encapsulation and whole-house dehumidification for homeowners with water and moisture issues. These issues often result in mold growth that then affects the indoor air quality of the home.  

This particular installation job was more limited, and we are more than happy to adjust the scope of our work to meet the particular needs of the homeowner. The homeowner did not require full encapsulation (Cleanspacing”) because the crawl space was dry and did not have humidity levels that would be conducive to mold growth. However, the customer decided that it was time to replace his flimsy 6-mil “contractor bag” vapor barrier with something more durable and substantial in order to deal off the dirt and prevent dust and odors that periodically permeated the living areas above. 

To meet the needs of this homeowner we removed the old barrier and replaced it with our tear-resistant heavy-duty 20-mil CleanSpace vinyl vapor barrier. This vapor barrier is only available to licensed Basement Systems dealers. Our barrier is a specially engineered film made of layers of high density and low density polyethylene, and you  can walk on it without worrying about rips and tears. With its mil thickness, this barrier has the durability of a plastic tarp. 

The homeowner was quite pleased with our installation work and informed us that if he ever needed additional crawl space renovations, he’d have us back in an instant.