Full Crawl Space Encapsulation and Dehumidifier Install in Durham

Most homeowners never think about their crawl space - until something goes wrong. A musty smell coming through the floors, humidity that feels off, or energy bills that keep creeping up. Those are usually signs that the space underneath your home is working against you.

Here's what we were working with on this Durham job. An unprotected crawl space with no real moisture barrier in place. Ground moisture was free to work its way up into the space, and without anything stopping it, that humidity had nowhere to go but up into the home's structure.

We came in with a full encapsulation package. That meant laying down a heavy-duty vapor barrier across the entire floor and running it up the foundation walls - sealed tight so moisture from the ground stays out for good. On top of that, we added an insul-barrier foundation blanket to the walls, which helps with temperature regulation and gives that extra layer of protection against heat and cold transferring through the foundation.

The last piece was the Aprilaire E70 dehumidifier. It's mounted up and running, set to actively pull moisture out of the air inside the now-sealed space. That's important because even with a great vapor barrier, humidity can still find its way in. The dehumidifier keeps the relative humidity in check on an ongoing basis so the wood framing, insulation, and everything else down there stays dry long-term.

When all three of these pieces work together - the vapor barrier, the insulation blanket, and the dehumidifier - the crawl space stops being a liability and starts being a protected part of the home. If your crawl space feels damp or has that musty smell, it's worth getting eyes on it sooner rather than later.