Crawl Space Repair Photo Album: The Stability of a Home Begins in The Crawl Space - Eugene, OR

Proper structural support and stability of homes begins in the crawl space, specifically in the integrity of the concrete foundation walls, and subfloor footings and posts, which all work together to evenly support the extreme weight of the entire home. In order for the homes foundation and subfloor to remain strong and stable, the crawl space must remain dry, and the best way to ensure this, is to have it professionally waterproofed by the experts here at John's. When crawl spaces are kept dry, the entire home benefits as a result. Persistent water intrusion beneath homes not only destroys the ability of the soil to firmly hold the home, it also rots away at subfloor framing and posts, creating sloped and saggy interior flooring, doors that won't shut, and cracks in sheet rock. Simply put - wet crawlspaces leave homes in a critical state of instability, jeopardizing the safety of the family living within, as well as the structural longevity of the home. This family called on John's for help, after noticing uncomfortable flooring changes inside of their home. During his inspection, he found water damage to the subfloor framing and posts, which had undoubtedly created the flooring changes within the home. Additionally, standing water in the crawl space had caused mold and bacteria to grow - creating a highly toxic air both beneath of, and inside of the home, as 40% of interior air comes from the crawl space.  In order to help this family live in a dry, clean, and stable home, our waterproofing and structural repair experts got right to work! They began by cleaning out the crawlspace, ridding it of all the old and nasty debris. Next, they removed and replaced a rotten support beam, followed by the replacement of each of the rotten wooden subfloor posts with a heavy-duty Steel SmartJack. Our SmartJacks are carefully adjusted by hand, until the subfloor is evenly supported, and has been returned to a perfectly level position - offering even weight distribution of the home. SmartJacks are resistant to rot, stronger, and longer lasting than traditional wooden posts. As an added bonus, they are also incredibly easy to adjust in the future, should the need arise. With the structure of the home now professionally reinforced, our crews began waterproofing the crawl space by installing our Pipe, Pump, Plastic System. This waterproofing system has been used for decades, to protect homes from water damage. For this, a shallow, narrow trench is dug along the full interior perimeter of the space, to hold our 3" Perforated Piping. As water enters the crawl space, it will be caught in the Pipe, and routed down to the lowest point, directly into our SuperSump Pump for expulsion far away from the home via an underground discharge line. Our Electrical Division installed a new dedicated circuit for the 24/7 operation of this heavy-duty machine - giving homeowners peace of mind in knowing that their crawl space will remain dry at all times. The final component of the PPP System, is our 6 Mil Black Plastic Vapor Barrier, which our crew carefully lays down to cover the dirt floor of the crawl space, as well as the foundation walls, to prevent water from seeping into the space. This family and their home are now protected from the terrible effects of water damage, and the structural integrity has been restored, enabling this family to thrive in a dry, stable, and healthy home for many years to come!