All-Dry of the Carolinas Case Studies: Step-by-Step Crawl Space Encapsulation in Clinton, SC

Challenge

This customer in Clinton, SC had quite a lot of work done on their home. However, this project is much like many of the jobs we take on and complete. The great thing about this particular home is that we installed several of the products we use for crawl spaces, and have pictures of many of them! What stuck out about the pictures on this job is that they were not taken just before the job and after the job, but during the job as well.

Now that the "back story" has been told, let us get into what was wrong with the home and what All-Dry was going to do (and did) to fix it. This home had an unprotected crawl space floor. As with every home, this can cause serious moisture problems. Luckily for this customer, no permanent damage was done before they called us. They wanted to be more than sure that they would never have any problems with their crawlspace, so they went all out with the products that our Systems Design Specialist suggested to have installed. These products are also listed below, but our crew installed: a SmartSump sump pump, drainage matting, SilverGlo Insulation, CleanSpace Liner, a SantaFe Edge II Dehumidifier, and vent covers.

Solution

This is the fun part, where you will get to see why so many different products were and needed to be installed in this home. Our solution for any crawlspace that we enter is to keep the outdoors and the outside air out of the crawlspace. This job was no different, it just took a lot of different products to accomplish the job in an appropriate manner.

Our crew started out cleaning out any debris as well as removing the insulation under the home. Once the crawlspace is cleaned up and "prepped" for our products to be installed, we begin the work. The first product that was installed was the SmartSump sump pump, with a LawnScape outlet attached and installed outside the home. After the sump pump was installed, the next thing we did was to install the SilverGlo insulation. We install this before the other products because the CleanSpace liner will go over it.

Now onto the crawlspace floor! The drainage matting comes next! In this home, it was only installed in part of the crawlspace. It is rolled out and staked down. To keep everything locked in and to really seal off the crawlspace from the cold, dirt floor, our crew installed out CleanSpace liner. If a crawlspace is a hamburger, then CleanSpace is the meat. It is the best part because it is what really separates the home from the earth. However, all of the other products help make it even better.

But wait.....there's more! Even when it seemed like our crew was done, we still had a few more things to install. We also had to install vent covers. Vent covers keep the outside air from coming back into the freshly sealed basement. While a lot of water vapor comes from the earth, a lot also comes from outside air coming in through the vents and causing condensation. Last but not least, our crew installed one of our dehumidifiers, the SantaFe Edge II. This removes any moisture that does make its way into the crawlspace. Although our products and crews are great, there are always cracks and spaces around pipes or wires where air will seep in. That is what the dehumidifier is for, to make sure that whatever moisture does get it, gets taken out right away.

The pictures to the right of the text show a more visual representation of everything that was just written about. You can also check out more photos by clicking here or check out the Before and After of this job under the title, "Crawl Space Encapsulation & CleanSpace Installation in Clinton, SC".

Project Summary

Installing Contractor: All-Dry of the Carolinas

Systems Design Specialist: Alex Rogers

Project Foreman: Warren Moats

Products Installed: SmartSump, Drainage matting, SilverGlo Insulation, CleanSpace Liner, SantaFe Edge II, and Vent Covers