Crawlspace Encapsulation
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bunch of videos on there, not a bad diy depending on your crawlspace
RR
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Just curious what the number was? I'm considering it but haven't got a quote yet. Our house has a pretty large footprint so I'm sure it's more than I want to pay.
fishgutzy
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Encapsulation is overkill. Vapor barrier, seal the vents, install an industrial dehumidifer and pump.
This is assuming drainage is okay.
We had the previous owner pay for that due to mold found in the crawl space during inspection.
Large footprint house. $3800.
Basement co sales guy will try selling the full monty. Encapsulating can cause issues at sale time. It block termite inspection from seeing signs of termite trails on the bricks. I learned this from experience. Did the full monty on a prior home. Yes it looks really nice when done in white.
This is assuming drainage is okay.
We had the previous owner pay for that due to mold found in the crawl space during inspection.
Large footprint house. $3800.
Basement co sales guy will try selling the full monty. Encapsulating can cause issues at sale time. It block termite inspection from seeing signs of termite trails on the bricks. I learned this from experience. Did the full monty on a prior home. Yes it looks really nice when done in white.
OP
They told us they would leave 4 inches for termite inspection, its for 1800 sq ft and is for a sump, electrical wiring and dehumidifier, 20mil complete coverage...its right at 20k
Wanted 9-10K for mine for full encap. He didn't notice that I had a gas pack back up heat in the unit under the house. Said it would be fine. Told him to go home.
Chuckman
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When we bought our house, the crawl space was very wet, so we had the sellers do that (vapor barrier, dehumidify, and pump...when it was dry they removed the dehumidifier and pump, and it's been good for almost 15 years now).
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i did vapor barrier, sealed the vents, installed a Santa fe dehumidifier
never seen the humidity in the crawl space over 48%
if I recall it was ~$3500
one story house so my guess the crawl space is about 2500 sqft since the house is 3200 sqft
never seen the humidity in the crawl space over 48%
if I recall it was ~$3500
one story house so my guess the crawl space is about 2500 sqft since the house is 3200 sqft
fishgutzy
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[emoji90]
Our "vent seal", dehumidifier, and pump was $3800, and that included mold mitigation.
When we did the full seal at our Greensboro house is was $6500, including adding drainage, and punching a drain hole to run to the street.
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fishgutzy
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Cheap bass turds. Still have it in ours.
The Greensboro house wasn't just damp. There a puddle at the crawl space entrance for days after any rain. Hence having perimeter drainage installed too.
You could sleep down there after it was done. [emoji1][emoji16]
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Got a quote for under $4K 12mil white vapor barrier and sump pump. No encapsulation. They wanted $400 extra for sub to electrician to run a new 20A line for the pump. Going to replace the rain gutters with larger size to keep the rain from spilling over and getting under the house.
Mine’s a little over 2500 sqft. Foam board on the wall, reinforced white plastic on the floor, sump, dehumidifier, and a bit of mold remediation...$18,500 from Dry Pro.
Nothing magic about this stuff, but if you ain’t got time to do it yourself then you either don’t do it or pay.
There is supposedly a great guy over near Raleigh, but I couldn’t get him to travel.
Nothing magic about this stuff, but if you ain’t got time to do it yourself then you either don’t do it or pay.
There is supposedly a great guy over near Raleigh, but I couldn’t get him to travel.
We had Dry Pro do vapor barrier and wall vents last year. 1000sqft crawlspace for $1800. They didn’t try to sell us too hard on full encapsulation and were willing to break down the cost and select only the things we wanted.
Also had to have the gas company route the heater exhaust to the outside for $800.
Had an old small dehumidifier that we used.
Those combined have done wonders for the humidity down there. The crawlspace is half walk-in and has garage access so with that have additional long term storage for food and water.
Also had to have the gas company route the heater exhaust to the outside for $800.
Had an old small dehumidifier that we used.
Those combined have done wonders for the humidity down there. The crawlspace is half walk-in and has garage access so with that have additional long term storage for food and water.
two fingers
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We had to have the full deal installed. Barrier, French drain under the house, pump to pump out the water from the French drain AND a dehumidifier. (We live backed up to a marsh.)
1650 sqft crawl here. Vents already sealed and have a loose barrier and Dehu in place. Have gotten a few quotes on putting down the 20mil stuff and sealing it to foam panels on the block walls. Two were right around 4500-5500, another was close to 10k. Seems to be a wide range.
the current setup seems to be doing fine, but the dehumidifier definitely runs a lot and we are dependent on it. The first one (Seaira) croaked at 1yr and then again at 2. Replaced it with an Aprilaire that has been reliable since. If the dehu cuts off, we get to the 60-70% range pretty fast. Will most likely eventually do the full encapsulation.
the current setup seems to be doing fine, but the dehumidifier definitely runs a lot and we are dependent on it. The first one (Seaira) croaked at 1yr and then again at 2. Replaced it with an Aprilaire that has been reliable since. If the dehu cuts off, we get to the 60-70% range pretty fast. Will most likely eventually do the full encapsulation.
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two fingers
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Unless they have to do a 100ft home run to the panel the electrician will likely tie into something already under there.... and use about $5.00 worth of materials..... and take about 10 minutes to do it.
That is what I was quoted. I got them down to $17K. Our issue was a really bad musty smell bothering my wife. It did do a lot for the air quality in the home and keeping temp but then again it was an 90 year old farm house.
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I did this, plus french drains and sump pump. Back when I was ambulatory.
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16 years ago, our crawl space was determined to be tight (no water leaks), vents bricked up, taped vapor barrier on ground & up the sides of the walls, insulation and vapor barrier installed on walls, flooring insulation removed. No dehumidifier needed, because no leaks.
This is #3 on Harry Boody's list of priorities for making an existing house energy efficient.
This is #3 on Harry Boody's list of priorities for making an existing house energy efficient.
I agree. I don't think I will need a sump pump if I upgrade the gutters and downspouts and pipe the water away from the foundation.
Total encapsulation is a big job and 20mil is super thick. That is a fair price if done well and all on one level. Any dehumidifier with a long lifecycle starts at $1200.00. The best units start about $1500 or more. I've seen dead humidifiers after one year. Before you have it done have an electrician add light bases all thru the crawlspace. Its a small cost and will come in handy one day. Fix any plumbing issues before they arrive. May even want set off a bug bomb before.
I will never own a house again that has a crawl space, without a vapor barrier, foam insulation on walls with overlap on VB.
No foundation vents and the crawl will be conditioned.
Our county inspectors and people who wrote the ordinances on the crawl with a vent every two foot (seems like) are complete morons.
No foundation vents and the crawl will be conditioned.
Our county inspectors and people who wrote the ordinances on the crawl with a vent every two foot (seems like) are complete morons.
Ten years ago the International Building Code board wete headed to a conditioned crawl space but it never made it thru. I work under houses and cough fot days after breathing mold. Why more people don’t die is a mystery. Seems like older people have respiratory issues and headaches. If people really cared about their health they would rip out the ducting and sanitize the air handler. People are not going spend the money.
The guys I work for do full encapsulation. We put down a very thick vapor barrier that goes part way up the foundation, then the foundation gets sheathed on a foam, the vents get blocked and a serious industrial dehumidifier is installed. Price varies depending on a number of factors, not just area of crawl space.
Some folks just opt for the vapor barrier/dehumidifier route.
If you ever have to go in a crawl space to do some work, a crawl with full encapsulation is like working in a Clean Room/OR.
In my opinion, foundation vents that meet “code” are woefully inadequate.
Some folks just opt for the vapor barrier/dehumidifier route.
If you ever have to go in a crawl space to do some work, a crawl with full encapsulation is like working in a Clean Room/OR.
In my opinion, foundation vents that meet “code” are woefully inadequate.
Tarheel Basement Systems quoted us $12K for our crawl space...
Healthy Home Restoration has done two crawl spaces for us. They will evaluate your situation and make recommendations based on your needs and no more, even if they think you don’t need anything from them. We have been very satisfied with the work and would use them again if needed. Feel free to PM me if you have any questions. http://www.healthyhomerestoration.net/
two fingers
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I reached out to a couple of guys in this thread. I figured what the heck. I'll post it out in the open. (Mods if this is against any rules, please delete, or let me know and I will.
My brother works for Turner's Underseal. You may have heard the commercials on talk radio in Raleigh. He does both quotes and installations all over NC.
1) I get no kickbacks or other gain from his work.
2) I know little-to-nothing about his craft (other than the electrical end as I used to he an electrician years ago). But I know he's an honest guy. In fact, if he weren't so honest, he probably would have been a much more successful banker/financial planner years ago. And he's RIDICULOUSLY smart. (Please don't tell him I said that.)
He lives in Durham. The phone number is a Florida number because Mr.Turner has an office in Raleigh and one in Florida.
He'll be happy to answer any questions you have. And if you don't need his system, he'll tell you that you don't need one.
Bill - Turner's Underseal
(984)222-9416
He'll literally just chat with you and answer questions if that's all you need. He's done that for a couple of friends of mine in my area. One of them he talked OUT of getting a system.
My brother works for Turner's Underseal. You may have heard the commercials on talk radio in Raleigh. He does both quotes and installations all over NC.
1) I get no kickbacks or other gain from his work.
2) I know little-to-nothing about his craft (other than the electrical end as I used to he an electrician years ago). But I know he's an honest guy. In fact, if he weren't so honest, he probably would have been a much more successful banker/financial planner years ago. And he's RIDICULOUSLY smart. (Please don't tell him I said that.)
He lives in Durham. The phone number is a Florida number because Mr.Turner has an office in Raleigh and one in Florida.
He'll be happy to answer any questions you have. And if you don't need his system, he'll tell you that you don't need one.
Bill - Turner's Underseal
(984)222-9416
He'll literally just chat with you and answer questions if that's all you need. He's done that for a couple of friends of mine in my area. One of them he talked OUT of getting a system.
OP
He's visiting me this coming week. 😃
After talking with him for some time last week...im convinced this man knows his business. I'm actually quite excited to have him come and provide his thoughts and an estimate.
I went cheap and taped over the vents, ensured the plastic on the floor was in decent shape and installed an indoor dehumidifier piped into the AC air handler drain line. Set it at 65% humidity and let it go. Works pretty dang well and it's cheap. /nate
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I encapsulated mine myself, about 1500 sf. french drain, sump pump, all bricked in. 20 mil barrier and insulated walls, one vent on the plenum, 6 inch termite inspection gap. I use a cheap little 120$ dehumidifier, since once the space is dried there is not much moisture to remove. my dehumidifier did just recently die after running for about 10 years. if you have gas heat you will need to provide direct venting of intake/exhaust. lack of moisture can cause some shrinkage of the hardwoods FWIW
We got a quote for ours, like 3000sf. All in, the quote is like 17k for everything.
It looks crazy neat and clean afterwards in the promo literature. If the moisture is controlled, couldn't you store ammo in there ?
It looks crazy neat and clean afterwards in the promo literature. If the moisture is controlled, couldn't you store ammo in there ?
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9outof10mms
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I posted about this on the old Canadian forum about 3-4 years ago. A guy replied saying he was the head of the group that was pushing for sealed crawl space codes and specs. He was pretty helpful. Can’t remember his name. I’ll go search the old site to see if I can find it.
EDIT: can’t find it. And I can hold my breath only so long while browsing that wasteland. Sorry.
EDIT: can’t find it. And I can hold my breath only so long while browsing that wasteland. Sorry.
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two fingers
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He doesn't tell me any of his business. I'm hoping he took good care of you?