Home Health Photo Album: Encapsulating for Healthier Homes - Gresham, OR

This homeowner started noticing strange smells in their home and wanted to figure out what was causing it. They inspected everywhere and still couldn't find the root to their problem. After doing some research, they discovered that sometimes crawl spaces can promote a bad smell in the home if they aren't insulated properly. They reached out to John's Waterproofing to see if that might be their case. Sure enough, their crawl space was in desperate need of a full encapsulation and they agreed for the health of their home and themselves. First, we had to remove all the loose fiberglass insulation that was falling from the sub-floor and take out the mud covered vapor barrier. When dirt and debris is covering the vapor barrier that indicates water has been puddling in bringing the soil from outside into the crawl space. Then, we install our durable drainage system along the interior perimeter with a perforated pipe that's designed to safely collect water and create a passageway for it to go through. This prevents standing water in the crawl space because it is sent to the TripleSafe sump pump. This three-pump system is installed at the lowest point in the crawl space and is capable of safely pushing water away from the homes foundation. Next, we install our TerraBlock insulation that is a waterproof 3/4 in. thick foam. Over top of that, we install a CleanSpace vapor barrier that is cut to perfectly fit along the base of the space and between the footing and wooden posts. While these all allow for insulation and protection against moisture, we also added a SaniDry dehumidifier that can pull moisture out of the air and keep the crawl space dry. The final step in the encapsulation is applying Spray Foam along all of the foundation walls to insulate and completely air seal. This process was able to perfectly encapsulate the crawl space so that is kept odors out of the home and allowed for breathable living spaces.