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Encapsulation
So what is the process?
Encapsulation is just what is says. We seal off the crawl space from the outside. The ground and humidity in the outside air is were moister comes from and by sealing these two areas off you cut off most all of the moisture. All your foundation vents are sealed. The ground and walls are covered with a vapor barrier. Then a form of mechanical ventilation is installed.
We will come out and take some measurements, remember it is just not the square footage but the heighth of your crawl space walls also. We will give you a written estimate and what will be done.
Then we will clear out any stored items, roots sticking out, etc and level it to were there are no big gaps or valleys in the crawl space ground. If any water problems are present, we will put drains, sump pump or what ever the situation may require.
There are a couple of options we will discuss with you. One is insulating the crawl space walls. If is to be insulated then it will be done at this point. We will discuss it with you and include it in the estimate if you choose to.
The other option is a commercial dehumidifier and circulating fans. The main difference in a commercial/industrial model verses a standard one is the temperature range the they will operate at. Standard models will run to about 50F before the coils freeze up. Commercial/industrial models will operate down to 33F. The dehumidifier models we install have a hot air system built in them, if they start freezing up they will blow hot air over the coils. Circulating fans are operated by a temerature/humidistat control. These are forms of mechanical ventilation to comply with building codes.
If any termite, fungi, mold treatments are needed. It should be done also before the barrier is installed. Your foundation vents are sealed.
The vapor barrier, a triple layer polyethylene film with a scrim reinforcement mesh in it for reinforcement is used. White is the best color since it takes advantage of the available light. Normally an 8mil is used on the wall liner and piers. The floor is covered with 12mil or 20mil. Depending on your conditions. All the seams are sealed. The top of the barrier is sealed. Any plumbing pipes, holes etc to the upper floors is sealed. This will improve the conditions in your home if you have any and keep it from occuring in the future. It will also allow you to store items you otherwise would not think about putting in the crawl space.
Below are some recent installs we have done. The before and after pictures.
 
 
 
 
 
 
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