Most Common Signs of Water Damage in the Crawl Space - Portland, OR
Challenge
This homeowner wanted their crawl space cleaned out after noticing that the fiberglass insulation was falling from the sub-floor. They weren't worried that there would be water damage because they had never seen puddles of water down there before and just wanted a better alternative to insulating their home. They reached out to John's Waterproofing about inspecting their crawl space and found that they had numerous signs of water damage that was impacting the structural integrity of the home and needed a proper system installed to ensure this wouldn't continue happening. The homeowner agreed that a full encapsulation would be the best long-term solution at keeping water that they didn't know about out.
Solution
Sometimes water can creep into the homes crawl space and cause damage over numerous years without the homeowner knowing. The most obvious sign is seeing standing water in the crawl space, but there are lots of other signs that indicate water has been seeping through. One common sign is falling fiberglass insulation. This happens due to increased humidity in the air and it makes the fiberglass insulation loose and begin to sag from the sub-floor. It's important to get this taken out as soon as possible to avoid mold or mildew from growing. When there is excess moisture in the air it is caused from water getting in and evaporating, which then that puts more moisture in the air for humidity to raise and fiberglass to fall. Another common sign is water damage on wooden posts. This appears as distorted patterns on the wood and discolors it. When wood absorbs water it can result in the posts to rot and not properly support the homes weight. This process causes the posts to no longer be strong enough to stabilize the home. Finally, another sign that the crawl space is experiencing water intrusion is with efflorescence. This is the white chalky material on the walls that are salt deposits brought in when water seeps in and evaporates. In order to prevent any of these signs, the goal has to be keeping water out of the crawl space and ensuring the environment is controlled. At John's Waterproofing we can ensure water can't get into the crawl space by encapsulating. This is the process of installing drainage and insulation to keep the crawl space dry. We also install a CleanSpace vapor barrier that is designed with thick woven fibers to ensure no water can get through. After the encapsulation process is completed, the homeowner no longer has to worry about water intrusion and their home can stay dry and healthy.
