What Are The Key Advantages And Limitations Of Sealing A Crawl Space?
Do you often end up overlooking the crawl space of your house? If your answer is yes, you might be inviting more severe problems. Yes, you heard it right! The crawl space is the most crucial part of your house, and regular maintenance is vital to keep your property in good condition.
A moldy smell from your crawl space signifies that this area of your home needs your attention. Musty odors can lead to several health issues. So, you must address this problem soon to safeguard yourself and your family from several health hazards.
The crawl space of your home is a place that is prone to trapping humidity and moisture underneath the floors. The trapped humidity causes uneven temperatures in each of the rooms of your home. Moisture accumulation offers ideal mold growth conditions, generating a foul smell.
Dealing with such temperature fluctuation is complex, and turning the air conditioning or furnace will fail to solve this issue. Thereby, it will lead to higher energy costs. Discovering signs of rodents and insects in your crawl space is also common.
If you want to avoid all of these problems, then it is highly recommended to seal your crawl space which is also known as crawl space encapsulation. When done by a reputed roofing contractor, crawl space encapsulation offers an affordable means to deal with specific problems, including pest infestations, moisture, and humidity under your house.
It is a practical way to ensure the longevity of your property and enhance its overall energy efficiency. For moderate moisture concerns and proactive measures, DIY crawl space encapsulation can be a valuable solution. However, it is essential to assess the specific needs of your crawl space and consider consulting a professional if the situation demands it.
This comprehensive blog post will discuss crawl space encapsulation and its key benefits and limitations. So, let's get started with it:
What Is Crawl Space Encapsulation?
Crawl space encapsulation is the process of lining your crawl space with the aid of heavy-duty polyethylene. The polyethylene barrier offers a protective covering, thereby helping seal off the walls, floors, and ceiling of your crawl space. You can even compare this barrier with the lining you expect to find in some swimming pools. Heavy-duty sealing tape, in this case, assists in complete sealing and connecting the barrier pieces.
Encapsulating your crawl space could reduce moisture damage and prevent unwanted pests from entering your house. Some crawl space experts may even suggest you incorporate a dehumidifier to keep the moisture levels on the lower side. Adding a dehumidifier is a fantastic way to keep the air dry and humidity levels constant, i.e., under 60 percent.
What Are The Key Benefits Of Sealing Your Crawl Space?
Sealing or encapsulating your crawl space has many exciting benefits, such as it helps control moisture and humidity levels while being energy efficient. As discussed above, crawl space encapsulation can prevent the infestation of insects, rodents, and other vermin under your house.
Below, we will discuss other significant benefits of this for your better understanding.
-
Helps In Reducing The Levels Of Moisture In Your Crawl Space
Houses with crawl spaces are most likely to deal with humidity and moisture issues as these areas tend to trap moisture. It can lead to significant problems, such as fungus, mildew, and mold development. It also leads to serious health concerns, especially for individuals already dealing with asthma or allergies.
In such cases, you will need to rely on professionals involved in removing mold from your setting. But, if you want to prevent the occurrence of such issues, then it would be a good idea to encapsulate or seal your crawl space. However, before you opt for crawl space encapsulation, you must clean and prepare your area.
Once the crawl space of your house is sealed, you do not have to worry about all such problems. Sealed crawl space offers the utmost protection to your foundation by lowering the moisture levels, thereby preventing it from rotting. In this way, it helps in effectively protecting the structural integrity of your house.
-
Offers You With Extra Space For Storage
You would be able to create a great space underneath your house by choosing your crawl space. You can use that space to store any household items. Adding a seal and well-insulated door is suggested to access this area. It will be clean, airtight, and dry.
-
Aids In Offering Improved Energy Efficiency
Crawl spaces, if left unsealed, can leak cold and hot air, which will cause the temperature of your house to fluctuate. So, to cope with this, your home's HVAC system has to strive hard, which increases your energy bills.
However, when you choose to encapsulate your crawl space, you will no longer have to deal with such problems related to air leakage. And thereby, you would be able to save money on electricity bills as it helps in providing you with enhanced energy efficiency.
Are There Any Limitations Of Crawl Space Encapsulation?
Yes, crawl space encapsulation comes with some limitations. Let's talk about some of these in the forthcoming section:
-
Sealing of crawl space necessitates a significant upfront investment.
-
Once you have installed your crawl space encapsulation system, you will need additional inspections and maintenance throughout the year.
-
As crawl space encapsulation might restrict the air movement throughout your house, you might require upgrading your HVAC system.
In A Nutshell
Thus, despite some limitations, crawl space encapsulation can be a worthy choice for your house. Its benefits outweigh its drawbacks, contributing to this option's high popularity. A vast majority of homeowners are choosing this option to protect the structural integrity of their buildings.
Have you now decided to go for this option? If you answer yes, you need to contact a reputed company inclined towards offering related services like Atlantic Foundation & Crawl Space Repair. Their specialists will help enclose your crawl space, providing peace of mind. Contact them today to get more information about their services and their charges.
