Crawl Space Repair Before & After Photos

This home had its water heater in the crawlspace, and it was exposed to the cold and the heat throughout the years. To regulate this temperature and reduce the water temperature fluctuations, a crawlspace encapsulation was done. 

This crawl space would regularly flood, and the fiberglass and vapor barrier needed to be replaced to keep up with this. To end the flooring the homeowners were ready to get a drainage system and sump pump to ensure the flooding would no longer occur. This will help prolong the life of the 6 Mil vapor barrier and allow the homeowners to not have to replace it as often. 

The owners of this industrial building were concerned when they found standing water in the crawlspace. They called on John's for help, and we arrived quickly to assess the situation. Because the crawlspace was so downwardly sloped, water intrusion posed risk. The longer the water intrusion was allowed, the higher the likelihood that severe damage could befall the building. This is because over time excessive moisture would cause erosion of the soil supporting the foundation walls. This erosion would eventually cause the foundation to slide downhill, causing catastrophic damage to the structure. We thoughtfully explained the reality of this situation to the business owners, and they understood the long term implications to the structure if they opted to not make any repairs. They eagerly decided to do the right thing, and scheduled with our waterproofing and structural crews to begin repairs.

The first step of this job, is to dig out a small portion of the dirt at the bottom of the downward slope of the ground. Then, we backfilled the area with compacted gravel. Next, we built concrete forms, and laid down rebar so that we could pour concrete over the gravel. Doing this would help prevent the ground from sliding further downhill. After pouring and finishing the concrete, we began waterproofing the crawlspace. First, we laid down our 3" Perforated Pipe around the entire interior perimeter of the space. The piping will collect all water intrusion, and will direct it to a SuperSump Pump, with an UltraSump backup. The pumps will pump all of the collected water a safe distance away from the building via the discharge line. On top of the piping, we laid down TerraBlock foam padding, which will help insulate the space, and will protect the CleanSpace Vapor Barrier on top of it from the rocky ground beneath. Our CleanSpace Vapor Barrier is 20 Mil thick, and is interlaced with carbon fibers to prevent rodents from chewing on it. It is also very durable, and can be walked on, or used as storage space. It is guaranteed for 25 years to not rip or tear. In addition to laying the CleanSpace Vapor Barrier on the ground, we also attached it directly onto the foundation walls, to prevent water seepage from entering the space. Directly on top of the CleanSpace, we installed our SaniDry Dehumidifier, which will remain permanently in place to ensure that the relative humidity never enters the threshold where mold can grow. Dehumidifiers play a vital role in the absolute protection against moisture damage in crawlspaces. In order to supply power to the Sump Pumps, as well as the Dehumidifier, our Electrical Division came out and installed a dedicated electrical outlet for the machines. This industrial crawlspace has now been professionally waterproofed, and because of this, the entire structure will remain permanently supported by ground that is not overly wet or unstable. These business owners should be proud that they did the right thing, by hiring the leading experts in crawlspace waterproofing and structural stability!

Our inspector AJ is great at bringing back photos for the homeowner and, in turn, the marketing department. This crawlspace is not unique. Most of the crawlspaces we see look like this or worse. (I'd venture to bet that most of the crawlspaces in the Pacific Northwest look like this.) 

The customer had mold in his crawl space and water. Our crew went in and removed all the debris and mold from the crawl space. We installed a TripleSafe sump pump and a SaniDry Sedona so he never has to worry about water and mold again.