A Clean and Healthy Crawl Space

Dirty, wet, moldy, dark, nasty, musty. These are words most Indiana homeowners would use to describe their crawl space and rightfully so. It's a place that most dare never to go or see. But your crawl space doesn't have to be described this way nor do you necessary want it described this way. Your crawl space is one of the most important parts of your home. A wet, moldy crawl space can lead to very serious problems. A dry, clean, and healthy crawl space is not only possible but it's also something you need to preserve the structurally integrity of your home. One of the best, most effective ways in doing this is to encapsulate your crawl space. A crawl space encapsulation system helps prevent moisture causing wood rot and mold growth. It also eliminates musty smells coming from your crawl space and can help reduce energy cost by 15%-30%.

To have your crawl space transformed into a safe and healthy crawl space for both your home and family schedule a free inspection today. For more information on crawl space encapsulation or any crawl space repair problems 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.

DownSpout Extensions-Why and How

For many Indiana homeowners, extending your downspouts away from your home can have many benefits. Especially when installed correctly. One benefit of extending your downspouts away from your home is that it will greatly reduces your chance for potential foundation issues down the road. When downspouts are not extended the water is dumping usually right next to your foundation. This excess amount of water will expand, and erode soil around your foundation, which in return can cause structure foundation issues such as settling. Extending the downspouts can also help cut down on the amount of water or moisture that gets into your crawl space. As mentioned before, when not extended, downspouts allow large amounts of water to be dumped next to your homes foundation. This water can also tend to seep thru the foundation and into the crawl space. To give you an idea of the amount of water your downspouts can produce consider this. One inch of rain on a 1200 sq.ft. home produces about 750 gallons of water. That is a lot of water to be dumping right next to your homes foundation. Also you want to be sure that the downspout extensions your installing are done correctly. A few things to stay from when installing downspout extensions. First thing I would recommend would be to always use a solid form of pipe or tile to extend your downspouts, whether you extend them underground or above. I have seen many houses who have downspout extensions running into a perforated pipe or tile. This still allows the water to seep out next to the foundation. A solid pipe or tile will prevent this seepage from happening. Be sure to extend them far enough away so that the water isn't making its way back toward your foundation. As far as what type of solid pipe or tile to use really depends on your preference. I typically would recommend a solid 4" PVC type of pipe, such as a schedule 40. I recommend this because this type of downspout extension has a few more benefits than other forms of solid pipe, such as flex tile. Downspout extensions can tend to get clogged with roof debris and leaves. With a solid PVC type of downspout extension, they can easily be snaked to relive any type of clog. This is much harder with a solid flex tile. Also, if your downspout extension is going to be installed underground in an area where heavy equipment or cars may be crossing over, a solid PVC type of downspout extension proves to be much stronger as well. To find out more information on downspout extensions and other crawl space issues visit www.swaincollc.com

No Mold is Good Mold

A question I seem to get asked often when noticing signs of mold growth in a homeowners crawlspace is whether or not this mold is bad mold, or harmful mold. For this question to be answered one would have to know what type of mold it is. There happen to be estimates that range from thousands of different types of mold to hundreds of thousands of different types. So to be sure on the exact type of mold a homeowner has or even if it is mold, one would need to have it sent off and tested by mold growth experts to determine the type of mold it is. Without going through the headache and exspense of testing mold, perhaps a better answer would be to just simply eliminate any mold growth in a crawlspace best as possible. And of the most effective ways of doing this is to take away one of the things mold needs to survive, MOISTURE. Although their are all kinds of mold sprays or paints that are designed to stop current mold growth, they don't address the cause of mold growth. Meaning a homeowner has to continuously spray every so often to insure that they have no active mold. But if the cause of the mold growth reduced or even eliminated this could save a homeowner hundreds of dollars in the long run by not having to spray the mold so often, hiring a company every other year to do this. A homeowner may also save money by preventing damage to structure components of their home that can be caused by mold growth. But even better is the fact that a homeowner can have a better piece of mind knowing that the upstairs environment is now a healthier environment to live in when there isn't the presence of mold in a crawlspace. In the long run, preventing or stopping moisture issues in a crawlspace, out way the benefits of many other methods that deal with stopping mold growth. To find out more visit www.swaincollc.com or call 317-828-7897
Thanks,
Indiana Crawlspace Waterproofer

How Your Crawlspace Can SAVE YOU MONEY This Winter

For many homeowners the thought of their crawlspace saving them money is not one that happens to often. The fact is in many cases a crawlspace can be an area that homeowners can achieve the most energy savings in their home. This energy saving accomplishment can be achieved by installing a crawl space encapsulation system. Homes that do not have an encapsulation system in the crawlspace will traditional have much higher moisture levels than those homes that do have an encapsulation system. Homes that have higher moisture levels spend more money on energy. This is due to a few different reasons, one being the fact that it is harder to heat and cool air that has a high moisture level, making you furnace or a/c unit work harder than it needs to. Also, homes with high moisture levels have more energy going to drying out the air than needs to. Again making your furnace or a/c unit work harder. Many crawlspace homes that have these high moisture levels can attribute them to the crawlspace itself. High moisture levels in the crawlspace will typically mean high moisture levels in the home. The natural air flow of a home is from bottom to top. So essential whats in your crawlspace is also in your home and is carried up into the living area by this natural air flow or stack effect. So if moisture levels can be reduced or eliminated in the crawlspace this would at the same time do the same for the upstairs living area. And the most effective way of accomplishing this would be to completely seal off the crawlspace from the outside environments that are causing your crawlspace to have these high moisture levels. Moisture gets into the crawlspace from block seepage, moisture rising up through the ground, or unconditioned air coming through your crawlspace space vents. So by sealing off these areas the homeowner has eliminated the chance of moisture from these areas getting upstairs into the living areas. Thus saving on energy cost due the amount of energy that now has to be used to heat and cool a dry home, compared the amount of energy used to do the same on a damp, wet home. Although energy savings is an amazing and proven benefit of the encapsulation system, it is by far not the only great benefit of the system. Additional benefits include elimination of mold/musty smells, cold floors in the winter, future wood damage issues, creation of a much healthier living condition, drastically reducing the chance of mold growth, and so much more. To find out how you can save energy and benefit from all the additional perks of an encapsulation system visit www.swaincollc.com or call 317-828-7897

Indiana Crawlspace Problems

Being in this type of industry my entire life I have come to realize a few things about Indiana crawlspace. First thing, every crawlspace is different. There are no two that our the same. Second, Indiana crawlspace get water and lots of it. With the type of ever changing weather, heavy rains, and soil make-up that exist here in Indiana it makes every crawlspace a potential problem for many homeowners. Whether it be a health risk with mold, a structure issue with wood rot, or a realtor's nightmare for a sell. I not only hear about these problems on a daily basis, I see them first hand. Many of these problems start out small but the fact is many homeowners just don't go in their crawlspace to catch it in time. And why would they. It smells, it's wet and moldy, it's hard to get in and out of, to only mention a few reasons. The good news is that their are companys that do these kind of inspections for free. And that many crawlspace problems are permanently fixable. For example, water in a crawlspace can be addressed by many different solutions depending on the situation and causes of the water. These solutions can range from downspout extensions, grading outside to sump pumps, drainage systems and much more. The one thing to remember when realizing you have a crawlspace problem is that it can always be fixed.
For more information on great crawl space solutions visit www.swaincollc.com or call 317-828-7897