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Keeping your vapor barrier in good condition is essential in keeping a crawl space dry and healthy. Over time, as water tries to seep through and go over top of the vapor barrier, it brings in outside dirt and debris which rips and tears it apart. If the vapor barrier is torn, it can't protect your crawl space against any kind of water intrusion. At John's Waterproofing we make sure your crawl space will be able to withstand water by encapsulating with our CleanSpace vapor barrier.

Typically, a code-regulated vapor barrier is only a 6 mil thin liner. This means that it isn't strong enough to prevent it from easily being torn or moving in places that exposes the earth. When installing an encapsulation we want to ensure that this doesn't happen with our CleanSpace vapor barrier. CleanSpace is a 20 mil thick liner and is made with woven fibers. It is backed by a 25 year warranty against rips and tears because of its durability. The installation process of CleanSpace involves applying it along the base of the crawl space, up the foundation walls, and between the concrete footing and wooden posts. It's important to install CleanSpace between the footing and wooden posts because it helps to isolate and protect them from being able to absorb any water which can eventually cause the wood to rot and not properly support the home. After the CleanSpace is installed, we seal it in the crawl space with 4 inch thick waterproof tape to ensure no water can seep over top of it and enter the space. Our CleanSpace system differs from others because it is designed to be able to keep the crawl space dry and healthy so homeowners don't have to worry about water damage to their home.

This homeowner hadn't had their crawl space inspected in several years and were curious about the condition of it. They decided to reach out to John's Waterproofing about getting it inspected. Upon inspection, it was discovered there was standing water in the crawl space and the vapor barrier had been destroyed by dirt and debris brought in from the water. We suggested doing a Pipe Pump Plastic method so that there could be a proper drainage system and avoid standing water from continuing to flood in. 

When doing a Pipe Pump Plastic system in the crawl space, the first step is to remove the damaged vapor barrier because it is no longer able to serve its purpose of keeping water out. When water seeps in over top the vapor barrier, it usually brings in the outside dirt and minerals which rips and tears at the vapor barrier. After we remove the water damaged liner, then we go in and install a drainage system. This involves installing a perforated pipe along the interior perimeter of the crawl space that can collect water that tries to enter and offer a safe passageway to a sump pump. Then, we attach that pipe to a SuperSump Plus sump pump. This sump pump can take the water and safely push it out of the crawl space and away from the homes foundation through a discharge line. This is what helps to prevent future standing water. The last step is installing a new 6 mil vapor barrier. We install it along the base of the crawl space, up the foundation walls to the rim joist, and between the footing and wooden posts to isolate and protect. It is anchored up the foundation walls to further help guide moisture down below to the drainage system. After this entire process is completed, then the homeowner won't have to worry about a wet crawl space and can protect their home from getting water damaged.

This homeowner had a hill adjacent to the foundation of their home. Because of this, water was constantly seeping under the footing of the wall and they wanted a solution that could direct the water away from the homes foundation. They explained their situation and didn't want to commit to a full encapsulation just yet and found that the Pipe Pump Plastic method would be perfect at keeping the rain water out of their crawl space.

The Pipe Pump Plastic system involves installing a proper drainage system and a vapor barrier so that the flow of water can be controlled and the crawl space can stay dry. We first install a perforated pipe along the interior perimeter of the crawl space. It has holes in it to be able to collect rising groundwater and send it safely to a sump pump. The SuperSump Plus sump pump is able to take all the collected water from the pipe and push it out of the crawl space and away from the homes foundation. This sump pump comes with a high quality Zoeller pump, an airtight lid, and a WaterWatch alarm. Finally, after the drainage system is installed and water has a safe passage to be sent away from the home then we can install a vapor barrier. This is a 6 mil plastic liner that is overlapped at each seam to ensure no water can seep over top of it. We anchor it up the foundation walls which helps to guide water that tries to seep in down below to the drainage system. It is also installed between the concrete footing and wooden posts to isolate them and protect against water damage. Once this process is completed, the homeowner won't have to worry about the rain water trying to seep into their crawl space and can enjoy all the benefits of a dry and healthy home.

This home hadn't had a big water issue before. The owners said some moisture appeared on the walls periodically, but it had never been a big issue. However, this year the rains hit, and the basement ended up a a few inches of water throughout the entire space. They rushed to move items out of the water, and suffered loosing some of their items to water damage. They knew they didn't want to have this happen again, so they called up John's Waterproofing for a solution.

To begin we dug a trench around the homes interior perimeter. Within this we laid a bed of gravel and our WaterGuard drain system. This will collect water, safely allowing it to travel to the lowest point where a TripleSafe sump pump will send the water away from the home safely. We then installed our CleanSpace wall system, allowing any water or moisture to be guided down the wall to be addressed by the drainage system. We then installed a SaniDry dehumidifier which will ensure moisture in the air is kept at a healthy level. The homeowner is happy to know the space is properly waterproofed and they can once again use this space without worry.