Chapel Hill Crawl Space Encapsulation with Aprilaire Dehumidifier

Most homeowners never think about their crawl space - until something goes wrong. A musty smell coming through the floors, higher energy bills, or floors that feel soft in spots. By then, moisture has usually been doing damage for a while. That's exactly the kind of problem this Chapel Hill home needed solved.

Here's what we were working with: an unencapsulated crawl space with no real moisture control in place. Our solution started with a full vapor barrier installation using our insul-barrier foundation blanket system. The barrier runs wall-to-wall across the ground and up the foundation walls, sealing the space off from ground moisture that would otherwise work its way up into the home's structure and subfloor.

The piers and support columns got wrapped too. No shortcuts. When we do a crawl space encapsulation, the goal is a complete seal - not just a partial fix that leaves gaps for moisture to sneak back in.

Once the encapsulation was in place, we installed an Aprilaire E70 dehumidifier. It's chain-mounted directly to the floor joists, with a dedicated drain line running out so it empties automatically. No buckets, no babysitting. The E70 actively pulls excess humidity out of the encapsulated space and keeps it controlled year-round - which is especially important during humid Carolina summers when moisture levels spike.

Together, the vapor barrier and dehumidifier work as a system. The barrier blocks ground moisture from entering. The dehumidifier handles whatever humidity makes it into the space through other means. The result is a cleaner, drier crawl space that protects the wood framing, the HVAC equipment running through that space, and ultimately the home above it.