Crawl Space Inspection Tips | Choose The Right Contractor 

Can you guys point out the insulation in this crawl space?!

Thank you for the videos! I’m a severely hurt vet and I don’t have much. My girlfriend has a house built in 1909 and mice got in. I can’t afford to have a professional do any work. I don’t have any money. Due to your videos I can get a lot of her issues fixed. As I have a lot of pain I can’t do it as fast as you guys and I’m by myself under there. The people she hired a few years ago didn’t finish anything and took the money and ran and we have no idea where they are. Hopefully I don’t screw up. It’s really tight down there. We are in Idaho.

I have an inspection on my (hopefully) first home tomorrow. Ya'll are the truth. Thank you.

Michael you have been so helpful and I'm sure a lot of others!! Thank you Sir !!!

Hey Michael church I've been watching your videos for nearly a year and preparing My crawl space for encapsulation. Ordered 7 items from your DIY store today Thanks for all the info

Incredibly informative. Thanks brother.

I watched this whole video. Thanks for the information!

Fantastic info! Crawlspace Ninja coming to the house Wednesday! Thanks Micheal.

Thank you for this video. I had a home inspection today and I know nothing about this topic. My home inspector said the crawl space was wet. At least this is giving me ideas about what is needed.

ha - I don't even have a crawl space, yet here I am watching these videos. There are so many hacks out there these days, it is refreshing to see people that take pride in the work that they do. cheers!

Excellent information. Thank you for posting.

Very inpressed w your knowledger and ability to explain in layman terms. Thank you for the lessons. I'm on the Gulf Coast.. Ton of these issues EVERYWHERE!!

I've been researching encapsulation for our new home build, came across your videos and watched many of them. Encapsulation is very confusing to potential customers and your videos are an excellent educational resource. I've already talked with Cody and I'm confident you guys will do a great job for us. 😀👍

Very helpful. Thanks!

I'm about 75% done on my own crawlspace encapsulation (about 1750 sq.ft!), and I'd like to thank you for all of the great knowledge you've shared over the years. I'm doing it 100% myself (aside from an electrician to hook up my new Aprilaire 1850 off of your recommendation) and I've been videoing the process from start to finish. I'll upload my playlist when I'm all done, which should be next week or so if you'd care to check it out. Doing it right certainly takes more time, money, and effort, but it's worth it and I feel confident on my efforts thanks to great videos like this. I'm hoping that my job is "highlight reel," not "blooper reel!" Thanks for all that you do!

Funny, informative video and I appreciate that it feels like you genuinely want to teach/help people, liked and subbed!

Awesome video!

Wow, a crawl space that you can sit-up in! Ours is truly a crawl space, no sitting up. We're first dealing with water entry from some funky grading and then will install the encapsulating plastic sheeting.

Awesome video

Love Oliver springs filming location for October Sky

You guys do great work AND provide valuable information to the homeowner. I"m sure you will have plenty of work in your region. I think your most difficult challenge will be to ensure that all of your new franchise locations adhere to the top quality work and care that you produce. I wish you well in that endeavor to grow the company!

You guys should think about bringing your franchise down to South Florida. Here in Miami this type of work is needed. I’m a Construction GC. Trust me when I tell you, we need experts like you guys down here urgently!!! Think about it. You men stay safe and continue being the very BEST at what you do👍🏼 Big shout out to all from the 305!!!!!

Great video! Home inspectors, however, are not code inspectors, just a quick point. THanks!

You guys are needed in Maryland.

Thank you

Former Roane County resident here!

Appreciated the video. Is there an "after" video for this house? We have a crawlspace like this in the house we bought, plastic is sort of thrown down on the ground and not overlapping at all.

I've been watching a lot of your videos for info on crawlspaces and what to do with my situation. Awesome stuff. But you look COMPLETELY different without a beard.

Good stuff here I subscribed

You are unique brother

Could you paint the block with dry lock then wrap it in plastic? Or would that be over kill? Maybe just the exterior wall? Great, informant videos as always

17:50 you are the first person I have heard say how to address those open blocks around the vents. I have this same issue. I am strongly considering removing the cheap vent covers and just putting a cinder block back in there as I haven't sealed the vents yet. Why don't others just replace the vents with a cinder block (in the case where the vent is the same size as a block)? Is it just a matter of time and money? I fixed it around our crawlspace door last year and had the bright idea of using canned spray foam. It took a lot because the foam kept falling down in the block. I finally got it filled with foam and then had to use leveling concrete to top it off to make the entry way nice. On the vents I could definitely see just using foam though since making the opening smaller there doesn't matter. Great video as usual.

if you set the plastic too high, the humidity wont rice up pass the plastic?

As you state in the video, we do not know what the contractor who did the work recommended or what the property owner requested. However, this brings to mind a variation of a very old quote: "If you think hiring an experienced contractor is expensive, wait until you hire an inexperienced contractor." Having to pay an experienced contractor to come in to do the job right after already paying another contractor is almost always the most expensive way to address a problem.

Could you run the plastic up the walls 6” then closed cell spray foam the perimeter walls?

Glad I live in California.

You look so young without your beard! We are having someone come to our home in KS next week to look at the new crawl space because it smells musty.

There's insulation board up along the rim joist.

I hope they have franchise in Michigan

Kilz makes a mold and mildew killing primer, do they not?

My house is less than 1 year old, and my ductwork is already sweating and there is a white powdery mildew all over my floor joists I guess due to the humidity here in Chattanooga. I did install a vapor barrier when I built it but it looks like I’m going to have to install another one on top and attach it to walls, seal vents, exhaust fan and dehumidifier.

Wow, terrific and informative...please help me as i have a house ..55' i have discovered the status of CS due to my opening the small door and looking in??? and feeling cold air coming from the floor in the winter...i do know insul. was not used in the walls , i discovered the flex Ducts ,large ones, hanging on the floor...old dirty plastic on the ground...vents around perimeter...fiberglass under floor stuck up in joists..so what do i do. i think that no one goes deep into crawl like termite guys..Dodson pest told me they do not like encapsulation..imagine that!as theycannot look for term...... as u go into space it gets tighter,lower..encap.job estimate here 13,000.i inherited this after folks died...Electric co.did diy for loss of heat...sealed broken ducts..Talk about duct replacement mine ar 70yrs old..I purchased a new heater and they never even checked the conduits...imagine that 5 grand for new furnace..So I want to pull the old plastic...i have a spotlight for my own info but im afraid to go into this space deeper also the water cutoff is down there, i had a rat in the house last winter after finding a hole in the wall behind washer...this is a 1500 sq ft cs and Iam conserned about the air coming thru the conduits...there is an old computor screen down there how did that get there???

Any reputable company you'll raccomemd in Burlington NC? I'm currently watching your videos to build some knowledge and getting different assessments by different company and discuss possible solutions to my problems which is high moisture without any standing water. We are getting musty smell odors inside our bedroom (only 8 ft cieling) but not in main living area with high cieling until we start going upstairs. Floor joists have moisture level (in September) ranging from 16.1% to 18.2%. Our indoor humidity levels (reading off our Honeywell Thermostat) ranges from 61% to 78% and running the air doesn't make things much better. My wife gets sick constantly and has to pop allergies pills all the times. It make sense tackling this kind of high moisture problem in stage seeking improvement as the project evolves. One thing that also was pointed out to me was that good thermal insulation of the crawl space is a key factor in this kind of remedation, especially when you have a furnace and ducts work in your crawl space because of the dew point. I went ahead and purchased a SANTA FE 100 because of the wifi. That will give me remote monitoring capability since I'm gone for work most of the day. I was assured by the manufacturer that even though the unit has been discontinued because of energy rating factors, parts will still be available if needed. I will have it installed once all of the forementioned high moisture level causes has been discovered and addressed properly. Also drain pump from furnace will be used to drain water coming from dehumidifier. I'm not sure about using spray foam to insulate crawl space. I've watched horrible story of spray foam insulation going bad. It will make sense to use prefabricated insulating foam board on foundation wall but between floor joists I will still prefer old fashioned insulation bats. Also in one of your video you've mentioned about installing a ventilation fan on at least one of foundations vents. I still don't quite understand the purpose of it. Will that be counter productive if you're totalling incapsulating the crawl space trying to keep humid air out? What will it be the effect of sealing completely those vents in the winter time when is dry out anyway? Thanks for your time and I hope to recieve some feedback soon.

Thank you so much for doing this video. It answered a lot of questions for me especially about wrapping the foundation support pillars at least 6” up. I’ll be contacting my encapsulation installer as this was not done and it’s in my contract. This was brought to my attention when I had an April aire dehumidifier installed this summer (again based on your wonderful videos). The hvac installer of my April aire mentioned the pillars should have been encapsulated. Knowledge is power. Thank you!

Although I have a house painting biz I am watching this with so much interest and it's a 4 year old video! Done and explained so well! You're a true professional! I'm curious on a few things: Are you charging for the inspections and estimates? You spent a lot of time in there. 😅 Where did you learn all that you know? What would you suggest to someone that might be interested in starting their biz in the same field to make sure they start out strong with knowledge and proper pricing? I know if I were to do this, I'd definitely want to be super knowledgeable so I provide superb value and charge a good rate for that. Just like you do. Do you have a franchise for Bellingham, WA?

Hey Mike, I’m thinking about encapsulating my crawlspace. I have a mobile/manufactured home in Florida. Do you have any tips? It’s hard to find info on doing this for manufactured homes. I’m thinking about adding the barrier first and a dehumidifier, and then starting work on fixing up insulation issues and that sort of thing. It seems like it should be easier to do the work once the barrier is there and humidity and temperature are better controlled.

Hello, I have been watching your videos for awhile now. I have a crawlspace that is very humid, I checked the level at 90%. I would like to do something about it. I wish you were on Cape Cod, can you recommend a reputable company up here? Keep up the great work! Thank you!

So, I wasn't going post my question on this video, but the no insulation kinda did it for me so pardon my long inquiry. I went under my dad's house the other day to run a fiber cable for our internet (cable guy couldn't fit). It's a complete train-wreck and I know pretty close to nothing on this subject, however let me list you off some highlights: The door frames on both sides of the house are rusted out and the metal square door that fits into the frame no longer fit so they are placed in front with a brick to keep animals out. Inside, huge mold problem covering the air ducting due to an oversized A/C unit that creates air leakage into and outside of the ducting. A/C company recommended this unit and now always complains about the mold and recommends up-sizing the ducts. Plastic on the ground covers maybe 25% of the entire underneath. In some spots found a near 1 inch gap between the sub-floor planks. I could see some kind of black material (insulation?) between it and the hardwood floors above. Lastly, no insulation anywhere. The house has vents open all the time. During a humid 85 degree day the crawlspace was just as cold as the house(72). I have no idea where to start or what to tell my dad.

Thanks I have concrete floor crawl space with heat in a back split house we’re you can enter inside what installation type do you put on walls moisture is 30 and does insulation cause Mold in behind thanks

You mentioned soda blaster. I guess that is to remove tough mold after treatment with a disinfectant? Have you heard anyone using high pressure water in your crawl space after using peroxide? Seems to me it's not a good idea to add that amount of water in a sealed crawl space

My crawlspace has no standing water, but one or two side of wall has some wet issue, how do I fix that?

Do you guys come to blue Ridge Georgia?

I'm in NW FL Destin area and recommendations who to use? Thank You Marlene

This video has a little bit of age on it but must said I'm jealous of this laser pointer.

encapsulate and vent

Hi there sir, I live in Long Island New York near the water, but we rarely get any floods here; but also because we are so low, the foundation is mostly wet. I'm brought 2 foundation companies to check out my crawl space And one of the companies told me to eliminate all access windows and leave only 1 and make the crawl space air tight, and put a moist barrier on the ground, foam spray on the walls and installation on the ceiling. The other company told me to leave all 3 windows and put automatic ventilation windows with a commercial dehumidifier and a sub pump, and he also told me to put the same floor barrier with foam on the walls, but he told me I don't need Insulation on the ceiling. Which one should I do? Also the first company told me that I should replace all brick support columns underneath with metal adjustable rods and the other company said to leave the support as it is. They are so opposite and I don't know what to do, and they are both experts with lots of years of experience with high reviews. What would you recommend sir?

My foundation is concrete. Will it let in moisture like cinder block?

How would you fix a open front porch area to the crawl space

Do you guys reply to comments from old videos? I hope so. I had a mold remediation company come out today and the guy recommended that I NOT go back with insulation once the old molded insulation was removed from the floor joists. He recommended blocking off the foundation vents and installing ground plastic w/a dehumidifier, saying that the insulation would just mold again in a few short years. I'm in Nashville, BTW, so similar climate to yours. Similar crawl space height to the one in this video, as well, w/very similar issues. Thank you!

Hi, what is the best way for crawl space on a cabin, not a primary home. We have a crawl space but what is the most economic way to do it because we are not there and to leave dehumidifier to work all the time doesn’t make sense. Thanks

Of I do spray foam in the floor joist wooden floor beams under the addition...what do I put on the soil? Can I put concrete pavers down ?

what kind of vapor barrier do you suggest?

Thanks so much for all the info! I just came across your videos...I live outside of the Cleveland Ohio area and bought a home with a crawlspace that can use some help. Do you guys have any franchises in my area? Thanks! 😊

Great video, Do you venture out to North Carolina...?

Why does the block wall have black areas on it? is that black mold? Thanks great videos

Do you have anything close to Granite city Illinois

Do you completely close off foundation vents?

If I remove my duct work and do away with it(going to ductless split unit) is there a reason to dehumidify? And close vents ?

Is there any way for a homeowner to be able to remotely monitor the humidity level and operational status of the dehumidifier in the crawl space after encapsulation? Seems doable to me. I'd also like to be able to remotely turn the dehumidifier off and on, as a safety precaution.

what happens to the moisture under the plastic once everything sealed and taped???

Do you guys have operations in Charlotte NC ?

Have any videos on 12" pain in the butt crawlspace? What do y'all say to people with these older tennessee houses that are almost unassailable?

Any tips with some lime stone crawlspaces?

Do you guys service Tennessee?

I’m gonna look at the plastic myself. I’m sure most viewers don’t know about mil and I myself can be wrong about the correct term pertaining to quality plastic vapor barrier. My question and love your channel you are a true passionate professional that’s not about the spew , you speak knowledgeable info backed up with data. Panda film I have a few boxes that is used for agro of course. My question is can this be used in a crawl space ? Also how are you on using a product such as hydraulic cement to be used as a coat over cinderblocks when the home owner sees water damage and is trying to stop the basement from being further compromised. Then adding foam board to joist and sealing walls with that r value. I’m in Georgia.

If a crawlspace vent are open? Yeah you might NOT want to shout out that High School Again....😂😂😂 9:30 I know it’s a simple mess up but I just had to have a little fun with that.

What does something like this cost? Great video

Just bought a house and I have a small crawl space (12x15ft or so) under an extension. Started watching your videos to get ideas on what I should do. It's a cinder block wall with a concrete ceiling: the floor above is a 6in slab. It looks like they walled up an old concrete patio. The driveway it literally caulked up against the cinder blocks and the basement. The roof drains half of the house onto the driveway and I can get up to 2-3 inches of water against the cinder blocks and poured concrete basement during a heavy rain. There is a ton of water intrusion into the crawlspace as a result which I plan to alleviate with a trench drain and a french drain. There is a sump pump in the basement and no serious cracks or water intrusion in the basement (house was built in 52). How important is it to seal the crawl space since there is no wooden floor joists? There is one small vent.

I'm looking for a video that shows very short crawlspace issues. It's maybe 14 to 16 inches high.

Was wondering if I could branch out in Idaho?? You guys got alot of central, and eastern area. Maybe having a plug in the Western area would benefit you?

So let me see if I understand. if you have vents in your foundation that is bad? if it is bad why are they still building houses with these vents? I just wanted to put some new plastic down to clean it up, but now I feel like I've got to redo every thing get rid of vents put barrier on walls etc. I'm very confused now but it was a good video.

Are you able to do Western Kentucky or recommend someone?

I don’t understand any of this. I have standing water under my house. We were just told to leave the vents open. At what point do you burn the house down and start over? Sorry getting ahead of myself there… 😞

What is the name of the stick I need the stick

Is it possible to cover the soil with concrete?

@crawl space ninja i live in ohio and there are vents in my crawl. Should i close them off if i dont have a dehumidifier. HELP

Do you have a Columbia, SC franchise?

You near Lebanon TN?

He really didn't talk much about addressing the source of the moisture / hydrolic pressure.

Do you have office in Chicago IL?

So, I see the mistakes, but just how can you find a good contractor? I am in SW Ohio.

Man, wish U serviced NW Ohio. Know any companies similar to yours that serves NW Ohio?

Personally we don't inspect crawl spaces we just demolish them haha

are you in NC

Are you in Beulaville NC 28518?

Anyone u know out here in california

Why can't you just use crawl space vents? My houses are in New Jersey not the south.

Best thing to do is leave the crawl space as is with vents.

I feel so bad for the people who own this house. They tried to do the right thing for their home.

Why can't you fix the water from coming in instead of trying to get rid of the water after it comes in