Our Crawl Space Expertise can save you $'000's whilst making your home a more comfortable and healthy place to live
Crawl spaces are generally unheated, uninsulated spaces below the ground floor and are subject to water and moisture vapor ingress that can adversely affect your entire home. Humid air will rise by convection as it warms relative to the colder outside air bringing humidity and odors from your crawl space into the rooms above.
A wet crawl space is a threat to your entire home and musty damp air rises due to the 'stack effect'
This results in,,
- Increased heating and dehumidification costs
- Deterioration to décor and fabrics
- Mold growth
- Unhealthy and uncomfortable living conditions
- Structural damage over the longer term
Ventilating the crawl space does can actually make the problem worse!
The Solution
The more logical approach is to prevent the moisture entering the crawl space in the first place, normally achieved by membrane encapsulation together restricting or eliminating ventilation.
Most membranes and multi-layer reinforced plastic sheets which are great as vapor barriers.
Our ThermaDry membrane has a layer of Aluminum foil which reflects 97% of radiant heat back into your home
It is the details that are important
We have a range of membranes at our disposal. Some are re-enforced plastic sheeting.
However, the addition of a reflective foil layer will save even more of your valuable homes heat by reflecting radiant heat back up into your home.
Attention should also be paid to liquid ground water by installing internal drainage and a sealed sump pit with an automatic pump.
WATER ISN'T ALWAYS LIQUID, WATER VAPOR IS THE INVISIBLE ENEMY
You might be surprised to discover how much water vapour enters into your basement atmosphere from the ground beyond the foundation walls.
In its vapor form it is invisible but it will contribute to humidity in the whole house, through convection, and will encourage mold and mildew and all the pests like mold mites and cockroaches that follow!
A plastic vapor barrier is not the answer as these can attract condensation from the naturally occurring humidity on the inside of the basement. Hidden behind sheetrock condensation can give rise to … yes, mold growth and unhealthy living conditions.
That is why we developed the ThermaDry Basement Wall Membrane, it has solved the condensation on vapor barriers problem as well and contributing to increased comfort and reduced heating bills (and a greener planet!).
You can read more about the ThermaDry Wall membrane in our article on Finishing Basements.
LARGE CRAWL SPACE WATERPROOFED AND LINED AFTER ROTTEN TIMBERS REPLACED
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