What is Crawl Space Encapsulation?

If you have a crawl space under your home, it’s likely been a while since you’ve checked out to see what’s happening there. For the most part, crawl spaces tend to be dark and dirty spaces that may sometimes play home to rodents or other pests. But what if we told you there was a way to make your crawl space cleaner and dryer and improve your home’s indoor air quality?

Crawl space encapsulation can aid in eliminating moisture, rodents, and mold from underneath your home. Read on to learn about what crawl space encapsulation is, its advantages, when you should consider crawl space encapsulation, and why you should hire a professional.

What is Crawl Space Encapsulation?

Crawl space encapsulation involves adding a heavy-duty moisture barrier to the dirt floor in your crawl space or insulated walls. Crawl space encapsulation becomes most effective when the space is sealed completely.

What are the Advantages of Crawl Space Encapsulation?

Crawl space encapsulation has several advantages. Here are some of the main advantages of having accurate moisture and humidity levels from encapsulation.

Improves Indoor Air Quality

A decent portion of the air that makes its way into your home comes from your crawl space. Crawl space encapsulation is a great way to improve your home’s indoor air quality. By encapsulating your crawl space, you remove toxins and unwanted humidity in the air and the rest of your home.

When your home has good air quality, you promote good health by eliminating allergens, dust, and pathogen-ridden air vapor.

Protects the Structural Integrity of Your Home

If you have any excessive moisture buildup in your crawl space, this can weaken the structural integrity of your home by weakening any load-bearing foundations. With dampness, rodents, and mold combined, it can damage wood, metal, or even the concrete structure that holds up your floor. By having crawl space encapsulation, you can prevent this from occurring.

Keeps Rodents Away

Rodents, such as mice, rats, raccoons, or squirrels, can enter your crawl space. This dark and humid environment is very inviting to these pests and is the perfect place for them to make a nest and call home. When not dealt with swiftly, these rodents can carry and spread serious diseases and create a lot of damage by chewing through insulation or wood beams, building their nests, and leaving behind droppings that attract other pests and rodents.

Encapsulating your crawl space will close off rodents and eliminate the risk of infestations. Sealing off your crawl space is the best way to control rodents, along with rodent-proofing.

Prevents Mold and Mildew

Crawl spaces are another environment where mold and mildew can thrive due to unwanted moisture and humidity. When you notice a musty odor, this is the beginning of your problems. When mold grows, it releases spores into the air and other toxins that can cause respiratory problems and allergic reactions.

By encapsulating your crawl space, you can eliminate moisture and keep the air in constant circulation inside your crawl space so mold is stopped.

Saves on Heating and Cooling Costs

By having crawl space encapsulation, it adds a thick layer of insulation from your walls down to dirt floors. In addition, the vapor barrier which covers the dirt floor will create a decent amount of insulation. This insulation will protect your crawl space and the floors in your home from experiencing extreme temperatures and will keep the area cool in the summer and warm in the winter.

When You Should Consider Crawl Space Encapsulation

If you’ve started to notice problems with your crawl space, this is the first sign that you may need to encapsulate your crawl space. Some other signs that your crawl space needs to be sealed are:

You’ve noticed patches of mold and mildew
Your heating and cooling costs have risen
You’ve noticed your HVAC system working overtime
You’ve noticed dampness or condensation around your home
You’ve noticed noises coming from your crawl space due to rodents
You have moisture damage in the walls of your crawl space
You’ve noticed a musty odor

Truth is, by the time you begin to notice any of these signs, you more than likely already have a severe problem in your crawl space and might need more than just encapsulation. To avoid these problems from even starting, it’s best to encapsulate your crawl space in the very beginning.

Should an Encapsulated Crawl Space Still Need Insulation?

Yes, if your crawl space needs encapsulation, it should also have insulation. While encapsulation will help with foundation leaks, it does not help with thermal transfer. That means you will have cold rooms and floors if you don’t create an air seal.

One of the best crawl space insulation options is Batt insulation. To learn more about crawl space insulation, you can visit here.

Why You Should Choose Master Attic For Your Crawl Space Encapsulation

Having a moisture barrier encapsulation in your crawl space is the most-effective and long-term solution for your crawl space and any other issues that may arise in your home. Our team of professionals only uses high-quality liners that come in 6mil, 10mil, and 20mil and will secure it to your dirt floors. From here, our team will use specialized moisture tape, concrete washers, and nails to secure them to the walls of your crawl space properly.

Our main goal is to provide a service like no other, with quality, safety, and comfort being a top priority for your family. If you have any concerns about your crawl space, call and contact our expert team about encapsulating your crawl space today.