Indiana Crawl Space Encapsulation

Protecting your home against mold growth, wood rot, musty smells, high moisture levels, and high energy cost starts with your crawl space. And the best method to accomplishing this is with a crawl space encapsulation system. Indiana homes that have a vented crawl space can be problematic. Vented crawl spaces can lead to higher than normal moisture levels in your crawl space, which in return can lead to mold growth, wood rot, and musty smells in the living area. This is even more true in the summer months due to the excessive amounts of moisture in the air during hot, humid days. This hot, humid air increases moisture levels in the crawl space and makes it harder to cool your home. A crawl space encapsulation system seals off the crawl space from the outside environment. Creating a clean, healthy, energy saving crawl space. To find out more about crawl space encapsulation systems in Indiana click here or call 317-294-5278 for a free Indiana crawl space encapsulation estimate.

Crawl Space Vapor Barrier in Indianapolis

Homeowners in Indianapolis and surrounding areas that live above a crawl space tend to have many of the same issues concerning their crawl space. One of the more common issues is a damp, musty odor coming from their crawl space and into the living area. A possible solution to this problem is a proper crawl space vapor barrier or a crawl space encapsulation system.
Most Indianapolis crawl spaces have a dirt floor. Moisture, mold spores, and even odors can travel out of the dirt floor and into the living area. This process is often referred to as stack effect. The two best methods of reducing this effect in the living area of the home is either by the installation of a crawl space vapor barrier or a complete crawl space encapsulation system. A crawl space vapor barrier is typically a 6mill plastic that is laid across the entire crawl space dirt floor. This helps in keeping moisture, mold spores, and even odors trapped underneath it, preventing them from traveling with the natural air flow of the home (bottom to top) and into the living areas. Occasionally a crawl space vapor barrier alone may not be enough to eliminate all these issues with moisture, mold spores, and odors. This is due to the fact that a crawl space vapor barrier does not completely seal the crawl space off from the living areas of the home. It simply seals off most of the dirt floor areas of the crawl space, which is better than no vapor barrier at all. To seal off the entire crawl space environment from the living areas, a crawl space encapsulation system is needed. The crawl space encapsulation system will typically be between 12-20 mill thick and will extend up the foundation walls and across the dirt floor. The top edge is then attached and sealed to the foundation walls. This provides a complete seal of moisture, mold spores, and odors in your crawl space, preventing them from coming into the living areas of your home.
If you are experiencing damp, musty odors in the living areas of home, click here or call SwainCo. today for a free inspection and evaluation at 317-294-5278.

Crawl Space Wood Repair in Indianapolis

A very common problem with crawl spaces in Indianapolis is structural wood damage. This type of problem also tends to be one of the more expensive problems to repair right. Many homeowners discover wood damage in their crawl space because of a some type of problem in the living area such as cracked dry wall or uneven floors. The reasons for the wood damage can range from wood destroying insects to moisture related issues, more times than not it's moisture related.

Homeowners can take preventive steps to minimize the chance of moisture related wood damage. The first step would be to make sure all downspouts are extended out away from the house and your yard has proper grade away from your foundation. Another step would be to make sure your crawl space does not get standing water. If you have a crawl space that tends to get standing water than a sump pump and/or drainage system may need to be installed to prevent standing water in your crawl space. Also, most crawl spaces in Indianapolis tend to have a dirt floor. This dirt floor naturally has moisture escaping out of it and into the structural components of your crawl space. This occurs whether you have standing water or not. To help minimize this moisture that escapes from your crawl space dirt floor a vapor barrier needs to be installed along the dirt floor. I would recommend at least a 6 mill vapor barrier installed. There is also the chance that your crawl space could be getting excessive amounts of moisture from block seepage or from outside air coming in through your crawl space vents. If this is the case than a complete crawl space encapsulation system may be needed.

If you are experiencing any signs of crawl space wood damage such as dry-wall cracks, uneven floors, or bouncy floors call SwainCo today for a free and honest crawl space evaluation.  Or if you are interested in the preventive steps mentioned above call SwainCo for a free estimate on all your crawl space needs or visit www.swaincollc.com for more information.

Crawl Space Insulation

Winter is here, and now is the time to start considering how best to insulate your crawl space. Especially if you are having issues with cold floors and cold rooms. A very common practice with Indiana crawl spaces is to use fiberglass insulation between the floor joist in the crawl space. Depending on the amount of water or moisture your crawl space gets, fiberglass insulation can sometimes do more harm than good. If your crawl space tends to get large amounts of water or moisture, fiberglass insulation will tend to work like a sponge. As the moisture rises with the natural air flow of the home (stack effect) it is absorbed in the fiberglass insulation. This will make the insulation much heavier allowing for a better chance of the fiberglass insulation to fall from the floor joist onto the crawl space floor. Moisture being trapped in the insulation also raises the concern for increased chance or wood rot. This is because the moisture is trapped in the insulation that is installed between your floor joist, increasing the moisture content of those floor joist. If your crawl space has very low amounts of water or moisture, than fiberglass insulation in the floor joist can be effective. Another form of insulation used commonly in Indiana crawl spaces is spray foam insulation. Spray foam insulation can be effective, but only if done on the foundation walls and not the structure wood elements. Spray foam insulation installed on the structure wood elements will allow moisture to be trapped between the spray foam and the structure wood. This will increase the chance of wood rot by a great amount. It will also make it very difficult to replace if it does rot because the spray foam will have to be removed. Foam board insulation on the foundation walls is a very good type of insulation to use in the crawl space. This type of insulation can be installed directly on the foundation walls. The seams can also be sealed with a waterproof tape. For more information on crawl space insulation or to find out if your crawl space needs insulation visit www.swaincollc.com or call 317-828-7897

Indiana Crawl Space Repair

Repairing an Indiana crawl space is one of the most important things an Indiana homeowner can do to their largest investment, their house. A proper dry crawl space can prevent many dangerous and expensive issues related to an Indiana homeowners house. A dry crawl space will help reduce the chance of mold growth, structural wood damage, and possible foundation failures. Many Indiana crawl spaces have moisture related issues that are unknown to the homeowner. Many times these moisture related issues are not easily fixed with just a vapor barrier or sump pump. Many times a full perimeter drainage system and possibly an encapsulation system is needed to prevent an Indiana crawl space from issues such as mold growth, structure wood damage and possible foundation failure. To find out more information on whether or not your Indiana crawl space has a problem please visit www.swaincollc.com or call 317-828-7897.