Colorado Crawl Space Before & After Photos

This homeowner wanted to take advantage of the extra storage room using the crawlspace. He did the prep work for us to be able to come in and encapsulate the floor and air seal the perimeter rim joist assembly. Now he has a clean, dry, healthy environment for storage.

This crawlspace floor was actually so dry that the indoor air quality was a concern because the "moon dust" & rondent contamination could go airborne. Also, the crawlspace has an air conditioning unit that was ducted to the wine cellar. This posed the posiiblity of moving allegenic particulate matter throughout the home. We installed our drainage matting first so we could walk on the floor without kicking up the earth. Then we HEPA vaccumed and disinfected all horizontal surfaces free of dust & rodent droppings & carcasses. We installed our liner over the floor and walls to seal the earth & possible exteriro moisture from entering the crawlspace. We also stuffed any voids around the perimeter rim assembly with copper wire mesh and closed cell spray foamed the perimeter rim assembly to shut down the rodent infestation. 

With an exposed floor & some ground water seepage  - over time this crawlspace had mold growing on the wooden structural elements. We removed the insulation to remediate the mold and removed the staining from the wood. Then we layed down drainage matting and encapsulated the floor and walls to seal the home from the seasonal moisture intrusion. Instead of re-insulating the subfloor - we insulated the walls and close cell spray foamed the entire perimeter rim assembly to seal out cold winter air. By leaving the subfloor exposed - the drainage matting and the liner become the earth/structure interface, which turns the air in the crawlspace between the floor and the subfloor a layer of insulation - Thus keeping the upstairs warmer - more efficiently than the earth/structure interface of the space from the bottom of the floor joists to the subloor with traditional subfloor insulation, which results in a cold crawlspace floor, walls, & air. This is the proper way to insulate a crawlspace in a cold climate. 

Without a properly installed and sealed vapor barrier, the damp earth caused high humidity resulting in mold on the exposed wooden structural elements of this crawlspace. We cleaned the white powdery surface mold, removed the debris, lightly regraded the earth, installed a gravel free drainage system, rolled out 23 mil thick drainage matting over the earth to protect the liner, fastened and caulked the 12 mils thick cord reinforced wall liner to the exterior walls to deflect any possible moisture coming through the cement. We also fastened and caulked the 20 mils thick cord, reinforced floor liner to the face of the interior wall footings, double taped the seams to finish the encapsualtion system, air sealed & insulated the perimeter rim assembly and open vents to keep cold air and pests out. We finally added R19 white vinyl faced batt blanket insulation to the encapsulated exterior foundation walls to keep the crawlspace warmer and save energy on heating bills. Now, the owner can receive project financing and energy saving rebates after already having an energy audit performed by EnergySmartColorado.      

Over time, this damp crawlspace led to damp falling insulation - which is less effective and resulted in microbial growth on the floor joists and subloor. Luckily we were able to remediate the mold before any structural damage was caused. Insulation was replaced and a CleanSpace vapor barrier was installed over the floor - fastened & sealed to the face of the footings for a cost effective solution. However, we recommend keeping an eye on any moisture intrusion that may come from the foundation walls without the cleanspace wall liner tied into the floor liner - Otherwise it could fill up like a swimming pool! Luckily there is a SmartDrain installed at the lowest point of grade to allow a drain point for water that may accumulate on top of the liner from a plumbing leak.