Crawl Space Repair Photo Album: Full Encapsulation and Basement Waterproofing - Cascade Locks, OR

The owner of this home had noticed that her basement and crawl space were leaking, so she called John's to come take a look! Our Design Specialist arrived, greeted her with a smile and a handshake, and listened intently while she explained the details of her leaky basement and crawl space. He performed an inspection of both the basement and crawl space of the home. After the inspection, he approached the homeowner, explained the issues at hand, and offered professionally effective solutions - encapsulation and waterproofing the basement using our WaterGuard System. He explained to her that a Full Encapsulation would seal the crawl space from exterior elements, rodents, debris, vapor, moisture, and water. Additionally, waterproofing the basement using our WaterGuard System would ensure that all water intrusion would be caught by WaterGuard which would drain the water safely away from the home. When the crew arrived, they got straight to work, beginning in the basement. First, they cut a trench into the concrete floor of the basement, around the entire interior perimeter, as well as right up against the Internal Footing Pony Wall that divided the basement from the crawl space. Inside of the trench, they placed our WaterGuard, to catch all water intrusion. After installation, they poured concrete around the Tunnels, flush with the existing floor to leave a finished and structurally sound surface. Our crew also installed a TrenchDrain in front of the entrance to the basement, to catch and prevent rainwater from flowing into the room. TrenchDrain is made of heavy-duty metal, and has an easily removeable cover to make cleaning quick and easy. The water collected in the TrenchDrain, as well as in the WaterGuard, will be routed to a TripleSafe Sump Pump, which will expel all of the water safely away from the home via a discharge line. Connected to the end of the line, we installed a LawnScape Outlet, to evenly disperse the water throughout the lawn. Our TripleSafe Sump Pump features 3-pumps-in-1, each one activated based on the water volume. This offers complete protection, even in the event of a power outage, as the 3rd and final pump is battery operated. To control the basement humidity and prevent mold growth, we also installed a SaniDry XP Dehumidifier. This machine removes 10 times the amount of water out of the air as a typical dehumidifier, but uses the same amount of energy as a less effective machine. Dehumidifiers are absolutely essential when waterproofing, as they ensure a safe air quality both underneath, and inside of your home. To provide 24/7 power to both the Sump Pump, as well as the Dehumidifier, our Electrical Division came out and installed 2 dedicated electrical circuits to operate each machine. With the basement now fully waterproofed, our crew started Encapsulating the crawl space. For this, they first laid 3" Perforated piping along the exterior of the back side of the foundation wall, and then covered the Piping with TremDrain. TremDrain is a drainage mat that will hold collected water inside of the Perforated Piping, and help route it down to the lowest point, to be expelled via a discharge line. It also prevents hydrostatic pressure from building up along foundation walls, preventing structural deterioration. Directly onto the ground of the crawl space, we laid down our TerraBlock Foam Insulation, providing a sturdy and walkable surface, as well as insulation to the space. On top of the TerraBlock, and up onto the walls, we placed our 20 Mil CleanSpace Vapor Barrier, which is interlaced with carbon fibers to offer durability, and prevent rodents from chewing on it. It is bright and white, and creates a clean and dry space. It also comes with a 25 year warranty against rips and tears! On top of the Interior Footing Pony Wall, we placed our Drain Mat, which is a perforated foam mat that will route all wall-water intrusion down the wall, and into the WaterGuard. After installing the Drain Mat, we then wrapped the entire Pony Wall with our CleanSpace Sheeting for effective waterproofing. This crawl space had 3 vents, so our crew covered each one with a rigid plastic Vent Cover to ensure that no debris, rodents, or air could enter the space. The final step in the Full Encapsulation of this crawl space, was installing Spray Foam Insulation onto the foundation walls. It is sprayed on to fill every crevice and void - achieving a 100% air-tight seal inside the crawl space. The basement and crawl space of this home have now been waterproofed and encapsulated by the experts here at John's! This homeowner will no longer have to worry about leaks, or damage to her stored belongings. Additionally, the air quality inside of her home is now greatly increased, and she can rest assured that her loved ones are breathing healthy air everyday. Peace of mind is invaluable, and here at John's we take great pride in returning that feeling of safety to homeowners.