Before & After Photos

Problem: This crawl space was very humid and full of condensation. Also as you can see it flooded.

Solution: We installed sufficient drainage with a sump pump that discharges outside. The Clean Space vapor barrier was installed to isolate the home from the earth, making it a dry & healthy space.

Inspector: Tom

Foreman: Shawn

Although this crawl space was very clean with little evidence of pests and no standing water, the unencapsulated space still affected the home above by what is known as the stock effect. https://www.advancedbasementsystems.net/home-mold/stack-effect.html Resulting in problems such as:

• Damp, musty smells

• Higher than healthy levels of humidity

• Less-than-desirable heating and cooling costs

The best method to remedy these problems is by completely sealing off the crawl space from the outside environment! Our Advanced Basement Systems team was happy to help these Chatham homeowners.

Before

The owners of the home wanted to update the crawl space to help improve the comfort in the living areas of the home. The work included full encapsulation of the crawl space and spray foam insulation along all exterior walls.

Building code requires a thermal barrier over spray foam insulation in any interior space of a building that is heated or used as living space. This is a fire safety requirement to protect against ignition and heat spread. Areas like crawl spaces, attics, and rim joists often have exceptions, but a thermal barrier is required if these spaces are used for storage or if they have air ducts connected to the living space. 

After

Advanced Basement Systems applied a paint based coating on all exposed spray foam used to insulate the crawl space. The coating is specially designed to meet the code requirements for fire safety!

Call Advanced Basement Systems if you have exposed spray foam insulation in your home.

Crawl space construction has changed over the years. Previously it was considered important to allow venting into the space from the exterior, insulation between the floor joists and a gravel base for drainage should water seep in.

New building techniques have shown a completely closed area with insulation along the walls and into the header provides a much better result. Humidity does not build up under the first floor and the area will stay warmer allowing the heating systems to work less.

In the case shown, the crawl space was clean and clutter-free but was not complete. It had outside vents into the area, rigid foam insulation along the exterior walls- but not into the headers- and a gravel base.

Advanced Basement Systems was called to update the area and improve the conditions. Encapsulation was completed with Clean Space, closed-cell spray foam was installed for insulation including into the headers, and the vents closed off.

The home now has a warm dry space which will improve the living areas above. Advanced Basement Systems provides home owners in London, Chatham, Windsor, Sarnia and surrounding areas complete free inspections to update outdated and troublesome crawl spaces.

Contact us if you want to improve your home.

Challenge: Access doors or open vents in a crawl space is one of the areas where the outside environment enters and affects an entire home. 

Solution: A sealed crawl space access is one of the many things we do when encapsulating a crawl space. We also installed a well for improved access and drainage.