Crawl Space Repair Case Studies: Fixing another company's mistakes

Challenge

Normally a crawl space is bare dirt or withered old 6-mil liner. Cnce in a while we get a call to repair another company's work. The reasons for these calls range from the other company being out of business, to the homeowner unable to get a phone call returned. Most of the time they get referred to us by another skilled professional; a plumber, electrician, HVAC tech, etc. When this particular homeowner called to schedule an inspection, he stated that the company that had encapsulated his crawl space after Hurricane Sandy would not return his calls for service. The seams where leaking and the humidity in the crawl space was very high. His plumber mentioned that out of the hundreds of crawl spaces he had seen, DryZone crawl spaces were always the best. When the inspector saw the damaged crawl space, he had to tell the homeowner that the only way to properly fix it was to remove the other company's work and start over. The homeowner agreed and they even took the time to plan out an appropriate system. It was clear that the water vapor and humidity were not the only issue in this crawl space.

Solution

A series of drainage pipes and sump pumps were installed to handle the rising ground water. the homeowner also wanted to have battery back-up pumps included in the system, which DryZone has available. The old vapor barrier was removed and a brand new CleanSpace system was installed. The 20-mil liner was accompanied by the manufacturer recommended drainage matting, which goes down before the CleanSpace and helps to funnel water to the drainage pipes. To combat the high humidity, a SaniDry CX air machine and duct kit were installed. This machine will dry the air and spread it around the crawl space to eventually maintain a healthy humidity level. The homeowner was also pleased to find out that DryZone installs the SmartVent flood vent system. These mechanical vents are designed to relieve pressure in the event of a flood. If not for these vents the foundation might crack and crumble. Most flood insurance policies require these vents for homes in flood plains. When the project was finished, the homeowner was quite satisfied. His home was now protected against almost anything nature has in store.

Project Summary

Johnny Scarborough: Systems Design Specialist

Mario Camacho: DryZone Foreman