All-Dry of the Carolinas Case Studies: Swannanoa, NC Encapsulation
Challenge
Nothing is worse than the musty smell of mold. Imagine walking into your home after a long day of work only to be greeted by the overwhelming smell of mold. Not the ideal thing to come home to if you ask me. That is what was happening to this homeowner in Swannanoa, NC. Once the musty smell became too much to handle they called us at All-Dry of the Carolinas to get some help with this situation. We sent out our design specialist David Listovitch to check out the issue and figure out a way to make this home’s mold go away.
When David arrived at the home he was met with the musty smell that the homeowner had been suffering with. When he entered the crawl space he understood the reasoning for the smell. This crawl space was damp and cold, with dirt and old insulation littering the ground. David collected high moisture readings throughout the crawl space which was resulting in the mold growth. Mold speckled the floor joist and ceiling of the crawl space. This high level of moisture in the crawl space could’ve lead to more than just mold issues thought; it could have caused buckling hardwood floors, increased heating and cooling bills, foundation issues, and infestation of pest within the space. After talking with David, the homeowners decided to go with a full encapsulation of the crawl space to protect their home from the high moisture levels.
Solution
Our crew led by crew foreman Ray Petry, started working on this crawl space by cleaning out all trash, rocks, and other items that weren’t supposed to be there. CleanSpace is then added to the crawl space, covering the floor, walls, and any piers. CleanSpace is a vapor barrier that is made out of multi-layer polyethylene. This type of vapor barrier is designed to last, being made with polyester cord reinforcements that make the CleanSpace almost impossible to tear. It works to keep ground moisture from entering the crawl space and direct any water to the sump pump. This owner had the TripleSafe Sump Pump system installed into their crawl space for their pump option. TripleSafe is the world’s most reliable pump system, operating with three pumps. Pump A is the one that works all the time, if pump A ever fails or cannot keep up with water, pump B will activate to help out. In case of power failure, the TripleSafe Pump also had an UltraSump Pump added in it which is a battery operated pump. The TripleSafe system is designed to keep the crawl space dry under any circumstances. An Aprilaire 1820, which is a dehumidifier, was added to the crawl space as well to remove any moisture that would be produced from the pipes under the home. The dehumidifier is able to absorb any moisture in the air and drains it into the TripleSafe Sump through a discharge tube. To finish up the encapsulation, our crew sealed the crawl space with interior vents and an EverLast door which gives the crawl space an airtight seal. Making sure that the crawl space has an airtight seal in important because moisture comes from the air. If you keep the flow of outside air out of the crawl space it will decrease the chance of moisture.
Once our crew had installed all of these products, the crawl space looked like an entirely different space. Moisture levels began to drop and the mold smell went away!
