Reliable Clinton Waterproofing & Home Repair Experts

Encapsulating the crawl space is the process of sealing the earth off from your home and being able to properly regulate the environment. Without encapsulating, your crawl space is at risk for significant water intrusion which will cause mold growth, wood root, and impact the structural integrity of your home. The first time you see water entry, it's important to get it resolved quickly before it absorbs into the wooden posts or insulation.

Encapsulation helps to seal your crawl space off, but how? We first remove all the falling insulation and damaged vapor barrier. Then, a drainage system is installed with a perforated pipe and a TripleSafe sump pump. These work together to collect any water that tries to enter and offers it a safe passageway to flow through and be pushed away from the homes foundation. TerraBlock, a thick insulation foam, goes down along the base to seal the earth off and improve energy efficiency. A CleanSpace vapor barrier gets installed to prevent water from seeping through. This goes along the base, up the foundation walls, and between the footing and wooden posts. A SaniDry dehumidifier gets placed to filter the air quality and pull out excess moisture. Lastly, Spray Foam goes along the foundation walls as a final air sealant and insulator. Now, the crawl space is prepared to keep water out and regulate the environment all year round.

This homeowner had a previous drainage system installed by another company and discovered that the sump pump was no longer working properly. This led to an excess of water pooling in their crawl space. Without the control of water through the drainage system, it can cause flooding that rots the wooden posts that are supposed to stabilize the home. Due to the fear of extreme water damage, this homeowner contacted John's Waterproofing. They researched a full encapsulation and found that John's Waterproofing could do the best job at cleaning up their crawl space and providing a full encapsulation.

The full encapsulation process is designed to regulate the environment in the crawl space and ensure it stays dry and healthy. This begins by removing the damaged fiberglass insulation and vapor barrier. Then we install our drainage system which includes digging a trench in the interior perimeter of the space and installing a perforated pipe. This pipe can safely collect water and work as a passageway for the water to get to the sump pump. The TripleSafe sump pump is a three-pump system that protects crawl spaces from flooding by pushing the water away from the homes foundation. TerraBlock, an insulation foam, is installed along the base of the crawl space and the CleanSpace vapor barrier is installed after. This vapor barrier is a 20 mil thick material that is placed on top of the TerraBlock and between the concrete footing and wooden posts to isolate and protect the posts from water. A SaniDry dehumidifier is installed to pull the moisture out of the air and reduce mold growth. Finally, to completely insulate and air seal the space, Spray Foam is applied along the foundation walls. Encapsulations are the best method to protect your crawl spaces from water and maintaining your homes health. 

This homeowner experienced groundwater pooling into their crawl space, damaging their vapor barrier and causing efflorescence to appear along the foundation walls. This salt deposit forms on homes foundation walls due to water soaking into the soil and leaking through the walls. In order to stop this flooding of groundwater in their crawl space, they reached out to John's Waterproofing about their options. They decided that a Pipe Pump Plastic method would be the best approach for them to begin controlling the flow of water occurring in the space. 

A Pipe Pump Plastic system begins by installing a perforated pipe along the interior perimeter of the crawl space to establish a safe passageway for water to flow. It is connected to the TripleSafe sump pump. This three-pump system is able to effectively pump water away from the homes foundation and prevent any water from flooding the space. This last step of the process involves installing a 6 mil vapor barrier along the entire base of the crawl space and even up the walls. Each seam of this vapor barrier is overlapped along the edges to prevent groundwater from going over it or pooling on top of it. By aligning it along the walls, it creates a drainage system from the walls to beneath the vapor barrier. This was a great option for the homeowner to protect their crawl space from the flooding of groundwater while also being within their budget.  

While this home was set up with a 6 Mil vapor barrier, it was having to be replaced frequently due to water levels rising over the barrier, bringing with it mineral deposits and mud which caked over the barrier as it dried. The homeowner called up John's Waterproofing in search of a solution which would keep water from rising above the barrier so the space could be healthier as a whole. 

To begin we pulled out the old vapor barrier and debris. We then installed a drain system, which wraps around the homes interior perimeter. This will collect groundwater and send it along to the lowest point where it then enters the newly installed TripleSafe sump pump. This then pumps the water safely away from the homes foundation. We then laid in a new 6 Mil vapor barrier, overlapping the edges and running it up the walls to help it protect the space. 

This homes crawl space had been worked on by the homes previous homeowner. It had a store bought sump pump in a five gallon bucket. There was also an old 6 Mil vapor barrier that was riddled with rips and chew marks. The homeowners wanted to have this space repaired and made better, so they called upon John's Waterproofing to learn about encapsulation and how it could help their home stay healthy. 

To begin we pulled out the old vapor barrier, sump system, and general debris. We then laid in a full interior drainage system which will collect groundwater and guide it to the lowest point. Here we install our TripleSafe sump pump which will pump the water safely away from the homes foundation. Each vent was then sealed shut. TerraBlock insulation was laid over the dirt floor and we wrapped the space with CleanSpace. This goes under each wooden post, anchors to the foundation walls and is fully sealed into place. We installed a SaniDry dehumidifier to address moisture in the air and then had spray foam. This is applied to the foundation walls to air seal and insulate fully.