Crawl Space Repair Mistakes
The Lack of Standards in Crawl Space Repairs
Crawl space repair mistakes are common because there is no real standards for crawl spaces. Crawl space mistakes could wind up costing you thousands of dollars or the sale of your home. Crawl space encapsulation is a great way to make your crawl space and the rest of your home dry, clean, and efficient.
Navigating Conflicting Advice on Crawl Space Repair and Waterproofing
The problem is there is no standardized methods for crawl space repair or crawl space waterproofing. It is sorta like the wild west when it comes to crawl space repair. Pest control companies tell you to add more ventilation. Crawl space guys say, “dehumidify. Remove the insulation before you address mold. Don’t remove the insulation. You don’t need insulation.”
Here is a list of some of the biggest crawl space repair mistakes we come across. Trust me there are a lot more but guarding against these five is a great start. If the company you are hiring recommends doing these, make sure you get another opinion.
Crawl Space Repair Mistakes #1
We don’t need to remove the batting insulation between the joists to address mold.
My question is how do you as a homeowner know the mold was addressed if the insulation was not removed. Mold can’t grow behind the insulation, right? Sure it can. Many times the insulation is trapping moisture behind the vapor barrier (paper attached to batt insulation). The paper on insulation can’t grow mold. Ehh (my buzzer sound), wrong again. We have seen thousands of square feet of kraft paper growing mold while attached to the insulation.
Whether you have rock wool, fiberglass or blue jeans all those materials can hold water plus dead crickets, mice feces, etc. Those items can grow mold inside the insulation even if the insulation material supposedly won’t. Make sure you remove the insulation to avoid this crawl space repair mistake.
Crawl Space Repair Mistakes #2
Just spray the mold, don’t remove it.
This is another issue we see a lot in our industry where a company convinces the homeowner to just spray the mold with a disinfectant without physically removing the mold. Those same crawl space repair people are also telling them to leave the insulation in place while spraying. So if you leave the insulation and spray a disinfectant you are saturating the insulation with a liquid and only treating 10-20% of the crawl space floor joists. No sub-floor, rim joists or sill plate is being treated. The weight of the disinfectant being trapped in the fiberglass can also start to pull the insulation from the sub-floor.
Consequences of Inadequate Mold Treatment During Home Sale and Inspection
Another problem is when you eventually try to sell your home and the home inspection shows a floor joist covered in mold. I am sure he will flag it in his report whether it is dead or not. Even dead mold is an allergen. We recommend removing and disinfecting the mold. Hand scrubbing or soda blasting are great ways to accomplish mold removal in your crawl space. Make sure you remove the mold to avoid this crawl space repair mistake.
Crawl Space Repair Mistakes #3
You don’t need to insulate an encapsulated crawl space.
This is an easy one because code requires all crawl spaces to be insulated. I guess the argument could be made that you don’t HAVE to insulate your attic either. Crawl space insulation can be applied between the joists or on the walls of the crawl space. If the crawl space is vented then joist insulation is recommended. If the crawl space is encapsulated either can be used but we recommend insulating the block walls. Make sure you install insulation to avoid this crawl space repair mistake.
Rim Joist Insulation
We and the engineers at BuildingScience.com also recommend air sealing the rim joists. Air loss from the crawl space into your living space is a huge waste of energy. The rim joists is one area where a lot of air exits your crawl space.
An alternate detail that addresses these condensation and air barrier details quickly and easily is known as the “critical seal”: spray urethane foam insulation is applied to the relevant surfaces, connecting them as an air barrier. In practice, our measurements have shown that this detail provides outstanding building air tightness (when combined with cavity-fill insulation above-grade walls with good air tightness detailing). ~ BuildingScience.com
Crawl Space Repair Mistakes #4
The dehumidifier kills the mold.
What? Who says that? Mold cannot be killed by removing water, moisture or humidity. We just went on a call where our competitor said all you need is a dehumidifier and the mold will die. If you think that is true please call Assured Bio Labs in Oak Ridge, TN and speak with one of the smarties (microbiologists) there and ask them that question. Mold can only be addressed with a disinfectant or soda blasting. Please understand that a dehumidifier is vital in preventing the mold from returning.
Also, if the sub-floor and joists are too wet they need to be dried before addressing the mold but a dehumidifier is not a mold remediator. Make sure you perform mold removal with soda blasting to avoid this crawl space repair mistake.
Crawl Space Repair Mistakes #5
Condition the crawl space with the HVAC system.
I would say 99% of the time this is untrue in East Tennessee. Here are two problems with using the HVAC system alone to control humidity.
1. If you have an existing HVAC system that was not sized to include the crawl space and then you add the square footage to the load of the unit, you just undersized your system.
2. If you do have a properly sized HVAC unit which does take in the consideration of the crawl space that is great. The other problem is the homeowner and the comfort level you like the home at during the seasonal changes. For example, you may keep your windows open in the spring and fall. That’s great if you do but you just bypassed your homes dehumidifier (the air conditioning system) and now your crawl space is getting no love. It’s humid in spring and fall even though the temperatures are cooler.
If you want to condition the crawl space with your HVAC system and get down there and change filters, no problem. I would still install a dehumidifier as a backup or at least put a remote humidity reader in the crawl space to make sure you know the humidity levels year round.
If you would like more information please feel free to read another article on 10 Bad Crawl Space Repairs. Some of the information may overlap but it has more details you may like.
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