I'm in the very first stages of encapsulation. Right now I'm just removing the disgusting amount of trash from under there. I'm also working on the drainage outside because there's practically a river under there when it rains. This is a tough and gross process filled with bugs, mold, dead animals, etc... I have a lot of respect for anyone that does this for a living. If I could afford an expert I'd definitely hire one.
It definitely helps to have a professional encapsulate your crawl space. Let us know if you have any questions. Thanks for watching! We hope you have a happy & blessed day!
Definitely great video. I've commented on some of your videos before, that being said I have an older house 1956. I am in the process of encapsulating it myself 1600 square feet old bricked styled vents low house about 18 in or less I had to dig it out in multiple areas. That being said I have noticed some spacing in the wood flooring and dips here and there even more than when we first moved in a year quarter ago. That being said I do not have a dehumidifier but it is winter I haven't mostly wrapped but vents are still open. But walls pillars are 98% wrapped. So it has dried out my wood. Of course I work a full-time job so this is taking me several months to actually accomplish especially handling two kids wife and homesteading and running our own business from homesteading. But that being said you are correct sir there have been some things I've noticed in the wood changing since I have I will say encapsulated certain areas, of course lacking the vents but it's helped dry out every area and it went from well at least 20 in the summer to now 10 to 13. Typically if it's 20 in the summer it'll only drop to 14 to 17 give or take elevation grade all that. I do this stuff for a living including termite treatments and only been doing it for a year and learned a lot. I do come from a pest control background as well though. Fun stuff!
Michael i have told you several times that no one is better educated than you on this subject. IMHO you are the foremost expert on proper crawl space integrity in America. On top of that you are an educator and a man who walks the walk of a Christian. I have been waiting for you to expand your company to my area. I see that y'all are now in my state. After the first of the year I am contacting your home office in hopes of getting one of your locations to help me with my difficult crawlspace.
I encapsulated crawl space last year and before I notice my closet doors and stuff wouldn't shut. Now they shut good. Also some of my floors are creaking now after it has dried out from the dehumidifier.
I know of a house that had shrinking floorboards after getting the humidity under control - seems like a small drawback compared to all the benefits, though. I did wonder about the potential effect on concrete walls - could trapped moisture accelerate corrosion of the steel reinforcing?
I would be devastated if I spent five to $15,000 on encapsulating my crawlspace and then had to replace some hardwood floors because they were drying up. Lol.
Awesome channel & very informational. I have a crawl space underneath the house that needs cleaned & sealed up as far as the insulation goes but there are air vents all around the house with protective screens. Do i need to do anything with the vents & does the insulation need to be taped up with plastic over top of it underneath with a sealant tape? The insulation is exposed, appears to be in good condition but its exposed & just sitting in place. There was a mice problem under the house because there was no plastic previously to seal up the under belly of the house. Any recommendations would be truly helpful, thank you.
I have a crawl space in serious need of work , such as installing footers,pillars and drop girders, replace several rotted floor joist and many sections of sub flooring, remove mold before I even get to the encapsulation process. But before doing any of this work I should seal off the vents and run a dehumidifier for a few weeks right?
I’m having trouble re-finding it - our crawl space is under an addition done to the house in the 90’s. The 3 exterior walls are just like a half-inch thick cement over a mesh (“cement curtain”). They look nailed into beams at intervals and even has a few gaps where the top of the “curtain” meets the house. Is that something you’ve heard of?
I like the exit vent fan concept to remove radon but isn't there a need to provide air supply? With everything sealed up, seems this would put a strain on the vent fan, especially running constant?
Will encapsulating the vertical walls with vapor barrier send more moisture into the wood that rests on top of the foundation walls (and cause rot), since the moisture has nowhere else to go now?
I would think If the wood isn't pressure treated you can use products like (copper coat or end sealer) on it. I think you can use a Wagner sprayer to apply it. Or just a brush and roller depending on how much wood is down there. I'm not a professional installer but as an avid DIY are working on my crawl space that's what I would do.
We have not seen any issues based on the encapsulation process we follow. Certainly dehumidifiers and pressure treated lumber along with sealed top block may be why we don't experience this. Thanks for question. Should make a great video topic. Have you seen moisture build up in wood after installing plastic? I have seen rim joists and sill plates rot from outside water, especially where a deck or porch meets or door leaks and not properly flashed or sealed.
Out of curiosity, have y’all ever seen a house with small cracks in the ceiling and/or wall after encapsulation? Nothing major, just hairline cracks at the top of crown molding or where two pieces of Sheetrock meet.
I personally have not seen this happen immediately after encapsulation but have noticed this in homes with foundation problems and new/old homes that settle.
Regarding wood shrinkage in the interior space…it reportedly happens when the humidity in that space dips too low for extended periods. Even with our damp crawlspace/earthen basement, the living quarters can have overly dry air in the winter. We have a HVAC humidifier to remedy the issue. Our hardwood floors are fine, but a neighbor who has identical flooring, but no humidifier, experienced unsightly gaps.
All solid wood flooring will gap if the ambient RH gets too low for a period of time ( mostly winter time with a lot of heater usage ). Just like all solid wood flooring will cup if the ambient RH is too high for too long a period of time. Control the inside humidity and your crawlspace humidity won't affect the solid wood flooring.
Is a product like BORA-FOAM insulation good for crawlspace walls? If so, how far should the vapor barrier plastic overlap the wall insulation/foam board? I'm just confused if I should use foam board or rock wool. Anybody know?
Jessica - we don't have any experience with bora-foam, so we couldn't say one way or another. You should leave a 3-inch termite gap at the top. Due to its complete permeability to moisture, rockwool is less likely to suffer damage during installation or use. Since it is hydrophobic (meaning it won't absorb water and moisture), it can get wet without being damaged. The original R value will be retained once it dries. Insulated slab forming and below-grade applications are excellent for rigid foam insulation boards. Moisture cannot damage rigid foam, but a certain amount can pass through it. For continuous and resilient building insulation, rigid foam insulation makes the most sense per dollar and environmentally in certain situations. Thanks for watching and we hope you have a happy & blessed weekend.
Crawlspace ninja has helped me so much learning about my crawlspace. I was hoping you would clear up my last question before encapsulating my crawlspace. I have a 2200 sq ft house with roughly 3/4 being crawlspace. It’s connected to my basement. I have a tankless water heater that pulls a little air in to heat up the water. Can I seal my crawlspaces 2 vents putting one vent fan in? Will this create any issues or should I be fine?
You will be fine! Sealing the crawl space vent and using a ventilation fan is typical. Even in situations like yours It will get the job done! If you plan to use our DIY Store. Here is a link to that vent fan - diy.crawlspaceninja.com/lomanco-pcv1-foundation-vent-fan/
Thanks! I plan on dealing with some water first, then encapsulating the crawlspace, sealing the rim joist, and installing a dehumidifier. Thanks so much for all you do.
Love your content and thanks for taking the time to respond too. So, my wife and I live in Knoxville, TN. We have a home that was built in 2013. Long story short, we had a very reputable company come out to quote for the encapsulation. We had started smelling a musty smell in the house which prompted the call. They discovered a huge leak that had been going on for years from our master bath shower. Terrible mold from it and it was even eating through some of the joists. Fast forward, insurance paid to have the whole bathroom ripped out and fixed. Anything with even a spec of mold on it was ripped out and new joists and beams put in. The entire crawlspace has been encapsulated and a dehumidifier has been placed in there as well. However, from time to time randomly, we will come home after being out and walk into that musty smell again and it's strong. It's only on the lower level (mainly entry way and through towards the living room). It's not upstairs or anywhere else. It's not from a hot day or rain as it's been super dry for weeks out here. Nobody can seem to figure it out as we have had people out to check. One inspector we had come out said it's coming from the pillars in the crawl space not being taped down (the company that did the encapsulation said that's to allow an inspector to pull them back if needed but they should be sealed at the bottom). Long story short, could that be the issue? I feel like since we had it encapsulated and they removed the insulation, which I felt was a barrier keeping the smell out and from being as strong, that there is some sort of off gasing of the soil going on and just coming up through our subfloor. I did notice as well that once they took all the insulation out we seemed to get some spots in our floor that would creak more when walking over them that weren't there before. Just trying to get som help here as it's driving us nuts trying to figure this out. Is there some sort of way to add a vent or do something that would circulate the air outside of the crawlspace rather than nowhere to go but up? Or does this sound like some sort of other issue? We have not had any other leaks, have had everything else checked from mold samples, moisture readings all over the house, AC lines, vents, and trunks cleaned, etc. Sorry for the long text. Just wanted to give the backstory to the issue.
If that company can come back out and verify there is no mold, high humidity or more leaks. We suggest getting something like Anafresh which is typically used to eliminate constant musty odors after mold remediation
Cut the carpet and roll it and the pad back. Drive a 3.5" decking screw into the joists about every four inches. Test for squeeks. Tape the padding back in place. Lay the carpet back down and use hot glue tape and an iron to fix the carpet seam.
We bought a home with a crawl space. We have zero knowledge on them. The crawl space is completely sealed. There are no vents anywhere on the outside walls. There are 2 vents in the crawl from our heating / air conditioning. Last winter my husband went to check on the sump pump in the crawl and said the crawl was hotter than the house because the heating/air vents were open fully. So he closed them 3/4 of the way. He went to check the crawl again today and said there is some condensation on the “gravel” (dont know what it is) he said not much but there is a line from the pipe condensation. Our question is, should these 2 heating/ cooling vents be open/closed, seasonal? Thank you.
I have a question related to the metal, copper. Copper is naturally antibacterial and antimicrobial. I’m wondering if there is a way to use copper granules mixed with pea gravel under the vapor barrier in order to act as an additional layer of protection against the spreading of mold and such UNDER the vapor barrier. Copper is commonly used in water pipes and in general isn’t known to be harmful to humans (although that isn’t totally the case with everyone). In a case where the crawl space is dry, encapsulated and not in a position to “leech” into well water (say in the case of a home in town) couldn’t the addition of copper granules be beneficial at least in the effort of mitigating any bacterial or fungal growth under the barrier? I’ve seen how mold spreads and it often seems to sort of spread out much like a spider web…..connecting to other spores/parts of mold. If it can’t spread since a bunch of kryptonite (aka copper) is in its path then wouldn’t it fail to spread? It seems like this would be something “the industry” would be looking into…..that or maybe antimicrobial/antifungal infused pea gravel that is “green”/non-toxic that could be spread under a vapor barrier when leveling the crawl space and allowing for drainage. Seems like a few “outside the box” ideas could benefit systems and procedures already being implemented.
That is some great outside the box thinking, and hopefully, some of these gravel companies can look into it. Our mold prevention product we apply on wood is infused with silver nanotechnology. Silver is another great antifungal. Thanks for sharing.
I'm in a dry climate and want to keep the vents to the outside open...only problem is how do I keep the dust out? Are there crawlspace vent window filters or something to keep the dust out but allow for ventilation.
What is the average cost for encapsulating a 16 x 80 mobile home? And is this still you recommend. I have been in my mobile for 15 years, stucco skirting never had any problems with mold or any other problems. How would this be beneficial or not?
We've done it with and without subfloor and prefer there to be subfloor. This keeps plastic safe from contractors that may throw items in crawl space and makes the dehumidifier work better due to focusing on crawl versus rest of home. Thanks for watching.
Just added a room on to our house and already smells musty. The builder didn’t put down a vapor barrier. There’s 4 small vents - one in each side. I’m very allergic to mold. How do I fix it?
Please check our service areas at: crawlspaceninja.com/service-area/ If we cover your area, visit this link for a free assessment: crawlspaceninja.com/free-assessment/ If you are not in our service areas, Visit our Ask A Ninja Page: crawlspaceninja.com/ask-a-ninja/
The way we encapsulate does reduce outside noise because we focus on insulating the foundation walls air sealing the subfloor and even installing rim joist when possible so yes it can reduce outside noise.
Hi thanks for the great content!!! I was commenting on here because we had our crawl space encapsulated about two years ago and I went under the home the other week and there was mold growing underneath the vapor barrier itself and some on top. Anyway I’m not really sure what to do with this situation. There wasn’t any mold before we had the crawl space encapsulated or at least what I could see when doing the plumbing when we moved in. I traced all the lines and haven’t found any leaks so I’m not sure exactly where the moisture has came from to reach this bad of a problem. I don’t want the mold to keep growing , but I also don’t want to pull up the barrier and cause spores to go throughout our whole home. Is there any advice In you could recommend.? Thanks in advance! new subscriber. God bless!
Mold spores thrive in environments that are moist and warm, so when they land on a damp spot, they begin to grow. Molds can grow on a variety of different surfaces, including fabric, paper, wood, glass, and plastic. If you have mold growing on both sides of the vapor barrier, there is somewhere in the crawl space that moisture is intruding into it. It would be beneficial to consult a mold specialist to determine how to remove the vapor barrier without dispersing the mold and making it airborne.
Hey Timley, Check out this video "Will Crawl Space Encapsulation Control Radon" ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-kpyXrm_VodU.html Thanks for watching and have a blessed day.
I brought up radon to the company who did ours and they laughed at me in my home. Also told us the RH in home and crawl would always be only 3% variable. Definitely not the case. Especially in on particular corner where NO leak exists.
Crawl Space Ninja , Just had a company come over to the house told me they don't like to encapsulate because they still find mold. I am from the Pacific NW. Any thoughts on this?
You may not experience any issues with gaping as long as it was installed well, but you could still have some squeaks from the subfloor and floor supports needing to be adjusted.
Where is the evidence that a vapor barrier itself can generate cat odor? There are others who claim this claim is completely inaccurate. Your other claims are plausible but this claim about the barrier ITSELF being a source of odors is completely speculative and thus unhelpful unless you have actual EVIDENCE.
A dehumidifier is the only part of this that will regulate humidity. Humidity is enemy number one. Humidity causes moisture which causes mold, etc The encapsulation is made to shield you from moisture, rainy days, and more. However humidity can seep through the walls, floors, and even just the crawl space door. diy.crawlspaceninja.com/dehumidifiers/
