Water and Rodents Found in the Crawl Space- Vancouver, WA
Challenge
This homeowner was concerned about a musty odor in their home, so they went into the crawl space and found a water intrusion and signs of rodent activity. When water is present in a crawl space with no place to properly drain, it can cause a lot of issues for the home and create costly repairs if not addressed permanently. Water creates the perfect humid environment, attracting rodents who nest and leave droppings, which leads to poor air quality throughout the entire home. They decided to call John's Waterproofing to find them a permanent solution for these problems.
Solution
Our system design specialist went out to perform a free estimate and inspection, and then met with the homeowner to go over what was found and create a game plan on how best to create a dry, healthy and stable crawl space. After going over the benefits of a crawl space encapsulation, this homeowner went ahead and moved forward, scheduling their project. Since this crawl space had a lot of water intrusion, we first dried it out and removed all of the debris, old vapor barrier, and fiberglass insulation. Next, we dug a trench around the interior perimeter of the crawl space, in which we laid down a 3 inch perforated pipe into a silt sock to create a secure passage for water to drain to the lowest point. At this low point, we installed our TripleSafe Sump, which collects all of the water and pumps it outside, and away from home via discharge line. We then installed out TerraBlock system. This was installed directly on the dirt floor, creating an insulated barrier between the home and the earth that will block any moisture from making its way up through the dirt floor. On top of the TerraBlock, we installed our CleanSpace system- which is then anchored onto the foundation walls, up to the rim joists and sealed at the footing of the wooden posts with our waterproof tape. We made sure to cover all of the vents to prevent outside air from entering. To control the environment, we installed our SaniDry XP dehumidifier. This effective dehumidifier will eliminate damp and musty odors by drying and filtering the air. Finally, to finish, we installed our foam insulation. This is sprayed along the foundation walls up to the rim joists, and expands, filling every crack and void making an airtight sealed. These homeowners can now have peace of mind knowing their crawl space is fully protected from water intrusion, rodents and pests.
