Improve Your Air Quality by Encapsulating - Oregon City, OR
Challenge
Everyone deserves to have access to clean, healthy air. Unfortunately, some homeowners don't know that they could be victim to poor air quality in their homes until it's too late. How does this happen? The Stack Effect explains how up to 50% of the air you breathe in your home comes directly from your crawl space. It's the process of how warm air rises in a home and leaks out of the upper levels, therefore it needs to be replaced. The air that replaces it comes from the bottom of the home and directly from the crawl space. Basically, if your crawl space is exposed to mold or rotting wood, then you are exposed to it in the living spaces too.
Solution
How can we protect ourselves and ensure we are breathing in clean air? At John's Waterproofing, our encapsulation systems are designed to help control the environment by making it dry and healthy, thus improving the overall air quality. This is done by sealing the crawl space off using TerraBlock. This thick insulation foam creates separation from the home and the earth by covering the entire base of the crawl space. It is cut to perfectly fit the space so there is no exposed dirt beneath. On top of the TerraBlock, a 20 mil thick CleanSpace vapor barrier gets installed. This is a liner made with woven fibers and backed by a 25 year warranty against rips and tears. Its job is to seal the space off further by preventing any water from seeping through. If water doesn't have access into the crawl space, then it can't evaporate and raise the moisture content in the air. Moisture is one of the things mold and mildew need to be able to grow. By sealing the crawl space off and keeping water out, it directly results in helping to maintain better quality air. Another way encapsulations improve the air quality is with the SaniDry Sedona dehumidifier. This acts as a air purifier because it pulls out any excess moisture or particles from the air. By controlling what's in the air, then we can help prevent moisture damage that causes mold and wood rot. The last step of the encapsulation process that directly helps promote clean air is with Spray Foam. This is a material that gets applied to the foundation walls and expands to fit into every crevice. It completely air seals the space and insulates it so that nothing is getting in that shouldn't. Overall, encapsulating the crawl space helps have access to clean air, which is important in maintaining yours and your homes health.
