Moldy Crawlspace in Need of Encapsulation, Harvard, MA

Monday, July 10th, 2023 by Travis Kellogg

Challenge

This homeowner in Harvard, Massachusetts has a narrow section of crawlspace that is connected to the main basement. The homeowner has smelled the odor of mold coming from the crawlspace and wanted to find a permanent solution to their mold and moisture concerns.

The homeowners would like:

Mold to be removed or find something to prevent it from growing.
Clean up the crawlspace walls and floors.
Encapsulate the space

The homeowner called EFS for a free inspection of their home. Our Design Specialist John Prince inspected the basement and crawlspace of the home and recommended a few of our products that could protect the crawlspace.

John recommended installing the following items to help address the homeowners crawlspace concerns:

CleanSpace- Water and Vapor Barrier
Drainage Matting- Traps water underneath vapor barrier, allowing it to flow to proper drainage
TerraBlock- Floor Insulation
SilverGlo- Wall Insulation
Rim Joist Insulation - Seals drafts from entering through the rim joist
SaniDry- Dehumidifier

Solution

Our Installation Team led by Steve Dumais began the project by entering the crawlspace and cleaning out as much debris as possible. The team made sure the crawlspace was cleaned up before they first laid down 304 sqft of Drainage Matting and 180 sqft of TerraBlock onto the floor. After those were installed the team then installed 148 sqft of SilverGlo onto the walls before they encapsulated the entire crawlspace with CleanSpace. To encapsulate the crawlspace, the team installed 480 sqft of CleanSpace over the products that were previously installed. Specially engineered adhesive tape was used at all seams or edges to ensure no moisture could escape. The vapor barrier application also extended up the walls. After all of the CleanSpace was installed the team then sprayed 102 ft of Rim Joist Insulation around the crawlspace to prevent any unwanted moisture from entering the space.

By installing this vapor barrier system, not only was the moisture problem addressed, but the floors and walls are now also insulated and protected against the cold. A proper insulation system in any crawlspace should always focus on the perimeter of the space and preventing unwanted air flow from even entering the space to begin with. Some crawlspaces focus on just insulating the floor joists with fiberglass material, a situation that ultimately allows for cold or hot air to enter a space where it is not wanted at all.

After the crawlspace was fully encapsulated and insulated, our team installed the SaniDry dehumidifier in the basement to control the moisture in the air to not allow mold to build up again.

After the project was complete the homeowner was very pleased that they no longer have to worry about the moisture building up in the basement or crawlspace.