Before & After Photos

This family in Whittier, NC was struggling to control the moisture levels in their crawlspace. Mold had begun to form around the crawlspace due to the high moisture levels.

To solve this problem our All-Dry of the Carolinas team had to tackle the situation from different angles. To begin, the mold needed to be removed from the area. Our team used Mold-X, which kills mold and also prevents future growth. Our team then placed CleanSpace in the crawlspace, wrapping it around the walls, floor, and piers. CleanSpace is a 20 mil tick liner that is laid across the crawlspace floor and wrapped around walls and piers. This liner works as a barrier to keep moister that is produced from the ground out of the crawlspace. In addition to the CleanSpace a SmartSump was added to the crawlspace as a way of pushing excess water that enters from outside. The SmartSump has a WaterWatch system which is an alarm to let you know if water has reached the top of the pump. The SmartSump works in coordination with the Aprilaire, a dehumidifier which is used to collecting extra moister that is produced under your home. The SmartSump has a dehumidifier drain that connects the two machines to fully expel water from the crawlspace. From the machines, the water is pushed from the crawlspace through a drainage system to the LawnScape outlet.

Many times we have homeowners call in for a specific problem that they are dealing with in their basement or crawlspace. This problem is often about water getting into these areas, high moisture levels, or something similar to that. However upon further inspection our System Design Specialist noticed that parts of the home were sagging, which was being caused by poor support in the crawlspace. Our Design Specialist knew that we could handle the issues and offered a proposal to take care of both. 

The first picture shows off what the crawlspace looked like when our Specialist first went out to the home to help this homeowner with the high humidity levels. The crawlspace doesn't look too bad, but it definitely had some problems. It can sometimes be difficult to see high moisture levels, which is one reason they can go unnoticed. However, the girder was only held up by some cinder blocks and a few flimsy jacks, which is where the sagging floor was coming from. 

The after picture shows the same area, but with a much different look. The most obvious part is the CleanSpace that was installed in order to keep the water out of the crawlspace. It completely covers the floor and the majority of the walls in the crawlspace. The dehumidifier that was installed can also e seen on the right hand side of the photo. The dehumidifier helps to ensure that the humidity level of the crawlspace stays below the point where mold can grow. The crew also installed our SmartJacks and a new girder in order to provide the proper support for the home.

Nothing says ‘I’m not helping you’ like a plastic liner that’s pulled up in places and falling apart. We have an example of that here in this ‘before’ photo. And, to be fair, we can’t place all of the blame on the liner. It can’t help that it just wasn’t big enough to handle the job. Even while taking a cursory glance at the photo, we can see that there is plenty of dirt in the crawlspace left uncovered. If only part of it is covered, it’s about the same as having no coverage at all.

We’ve completely remedied this in the ‘after’ photo. This Bryson City, North Carolina crawlspace was given a whole new face lift.

We’ve taken our CleanSpace and covered every inch of the dirt crawlspace. Did you notice how in the ‘before’ photo that the old liner didn’t even touch the items? That’s not the case in our installation. We take the CleanSpace and seal it at least three inches up on every item in the crawlspace. Walls and hot water heaters are no different. This provides the crawlspace with a vapor barrier seal without any holes.

One way that water vapor can get into the crawlspace is through the door. This is actually pretty common, as many crawlspace doors have gaps around them, which allowing air to flow into the crawlspace where the water vapor will start to condense. Once the water condenses onto different areas in the crawlspace (particularly organic surfaces), mold can begin to grow, which can cause serious problems for the homeowner. 

The "before" picture shows pretty much exactly what was just explained. This certainly was not the worst crawlspace entrance, but we have certainly seen better! As you can see, the top and right-hand side of the door have pretty large gaps, which leaves a lot of room for air to rush in. The EverLast door will be even more effective since this door is almost even with the ground, which means in a flood, water could pretty easily get into the crawlspace.

The "after" picture shows the installed EverLast Door. It may not be as pretty or "rustic" as the old door, but it is certainly more effective at keeping the air out! The EverLast door creates an airtight seal when "shut", which you do by turning the knobs at the upper corners. This was a huge part of this job because it helps to keep the dehumidifier from working as hard because it keeps out unnecessary moisture.

Crawlspaces can be a great place for storage, because it is usually just as large as the rest of the house, just a little shorter. However, this space usually cannot be used because of the condition of the crawlspace. While not all crawlspaces have issues with water or moisture, at the very least most have a dirt crawlspace. 

This homeowner used their crawlspace to store quite a few things. The "before" picture shows off just a few of the things that they had stored under the home. While many of these items wouldn't be affected by a small amount of moisture, the longer the exposure, the more damage can happen. One of the reasons why this homeowner called is because of the water getting into the crawlspace through areas like the corner (behind one of the bikes).

The next picture shows the crawlspace after our CleanSpace liner was installed. The main material that can be seen is the white CleanSpace liner, but we also installed some clear CleanSpace wall so that any other contractors that may work in the crawlspace are able to see what is behind our liner. There is also a SaniDry Sedona Dehumidifier to monitor and control the humidity.