Crawl Space Vapor Barrier Installed in Sparta, NJ
Challenge
The owner of this Sparta, NJ home contacted Quality 1st Basement Systems due to issues in his crawl space. He was experiencing cold floors above the crawl space. His water pipes would consistently freeze due to the cold air in crawl space. He also noticed that the crawl space had a damp smell that was coming through to the first floor. The crawl space was also full of insects and rodents. Upon inspection, Ken Peare determined that the dirt floor was the culprit of the crawl space issues. There was also a fair amount of construction debris, even more insects than previous expected, and lack of adequate crawl space doors.
Solution
Quality 1st Basement Systems removed the debris from the crawl space. The products that were installed to protect the crawl space were drainage matting, TerraBlock, CleanSpace crawl space encapsulation system, SilverGlo crawl space insulation, and EverLast crawl space doors. The removal of the construction debris was important to the crawl space environment because it reduced the amount of organic materials that were in contact with the damp dirt floor. Organic materials can grow mold, especially in a humid environment like this crawl space. The drainage matting provides a thermal break from the cold floors, allows air to move beneath it, and is even comfortable to crawl on. TerraBlock insulates the flooring and CleanSpace provides a vapor barrier around the entire crawl space ensuring that no water vapor can get in. SilverGlo crawl space insulation was used to insulate the crawl space, keeping it much warmer than before. The installation of EverLast crawl space doors seals the entryways and eliminates outside air from entering the crawl space. The EverLast doors also keep rodents and insects out!
The homeowner originally contacted Quality 1st Basement Systems in regards to insulating the ceiling of his crawl space. After meeting with Ken, he realized that was not his best option and would only be putting a band-aid on the actual problem. Insulating the crawl space ceiling is not insulating the source of the problem, which is the dirt floors. It would also mean adding organic materials to the crawl space which are susceptible to water damange, rotting, and mold growth. The CleanSpace encapsulation and insulation solved all of the problems in this crawl space. There was an immediate impact on the floor temperature and air quality upstairs. The homeowner is also very excited about his added home storage in the crawl space!
Project Summary
System Design Specialist: Ken Peare
Senior Foreman: Jonathan Neira
