Crawl spaces serve many purposes in Southern homes. With basements often being impractical or even a liability, a crawl space can provide extra storage space, access to pipes and substructures, and lift the home up off the ground. Done right and depending on personal taste, it’s also a great way to improve curb appeal.
However, they’re not without their drawbacks. Moisture can lead to a whole host of crawl space complications. Guilford County is part of the Piedmont Region and averages 45 inches of rainfall a year, exceeding the national median by seven inches. A healthy crawl space is key to ensuring a healthy home.
How Does Moisture Enter A Crawlspace?
There are several ways moisture can make its way into a crawl space:
- Excessive humidity
- Groundwater intrusion
- Through cracks in the walls or floors
- Underground water
Increased moisture levels create an ideal environment for all kinds of issues, like mold and pests. Do you have hardwood floors? Wood is a natural material that’s sensitive to moisture fluctuations; excess humidity that comes up into the home through the crawl space can cause complications with both solid and engineered hardwood flooring. When this happens, water problems can turn into structural problems, causing issues like sagging floors.
Healthy Crawl Space, Healthy Home
When a crawl space needs repair, it affects more than just a home’s stability: it can also impact your family’s well-being. Mold, a common allergen, loves damp dark spaces and crawl spaces with moisture problems offer a perfect breeding space. According to the Centers For Disease Control, mold can cause “nasal stuffiness, throat irritation, coughing or wheezing, eye irritation, or, in some cases, skin irritation.”
In addition to the health hazards, unhealthy crawl spaces also contribute to other serious environmental problems in the home.
Some environmental hazards caused by a compromised crawl space foundations include:
- Unpleasant odors and high humidity inside the home
- Buckled hardwood flooring
- Nesting rodents or insects that come into the home
- Mildew and mold
- Wood rot that can compromise a home’s structural integrity
- Standing water and poor air quality down in the crawl space
The Stack Effect is a process that dictate rise of heat and hot air into your home. It’s simple physics, but it means that unpleasant musty odors will make their way from your crawl space up into your home, compromising air quality and even posing health risks. According to Home Energy Magazine, soil gases like methane and radon can be transmitted into your home through rising crawl space air.
What is Crawl Space Encapsulation and How Does it Work?
Encapsulation uses heavy-duty vapor barriers to seal the crawl space walls and floors. Olshan developed the SafeSeal™ System to provide the most comprehensive solution for crawl space moisture defense. Each heavy-duty reinforced vapor barrier is 7 mil thick, antimicrobial, and mold resistant, specially designed to keep moisture out.
Olshan takes encapsulation to a new level by going beyond the vapor barrier in order to take a more comprehensive approach to fighting water. Other options for prevention include dehumidifiers, interior drainage and exterior drainage, and sump pumps. A Certified Technician will take you through the options and help you customize your home’s best combination.
As part of the full crawl space recovery solution, Olshan uses commercial-grade dehumidifiers to circulate fresh air while keeping walls and building materials dry. Used in tandem with the SafeSeal™ system these dehumidifiers reduce mold growth and allergens, reduces stress on air conditioners which in turn lowers cooling costs, and deters pests. Installation is included as part of the solution package!
Why Is Crawl Space Encapsulation So Beneficial For Greensboro Homeowners?
A home’s health starts right at its lowest level and travels upwards. Crawl space encapsulation is no exception.
- It lowers humidity inside the home
- It improves your home’s livability (no more musty odors coming up from below!)
- It improves air quality
- It reduces mold growth
- It can save money by reducing heating and cooling costs
Olshan’s full range of crawl space solutions are designed for full-spectrum home health in Greensboro. Both your home and your family are in good hands, so you can rest easy knowing Olshan’s over 80 years of experience in the industry are ready to go to work for you.