Water in crawl space, price to fix ?

[Gerald]

This all started when I noticed a squeak in the kitchen floor.
I crawled under the house to see if I could fix it. Oh boy, all
the mold and mildew on the wood. No water leaks just wet
dirt. I called the local crawl space expert and got a quote
of ............ready for this....$11500.00 to fix it with "Clean
Space, Crawl Space Encapsulation System". Anyone have an
idea if this price is right? It is a big house 3000 SF all on one
level. The house is very nice and it needs to be fixed right, but $11500.00!
There goes the new truck I had been dreaming about! No
new finishing mower for Gerald this spring!
Anyone have an idea how much this should cost? I hate to
sound like Clark Howard "Cry Baby", but $11500.00!!
Any advice? /forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif
Thanks, Gerald

 

[tawilson]

I've got a few wet crawlspaces myself. Before I spent that kind of money I would definitely check around and consider some other options. I'm not sure what that encapsulation system is and that may be a good price for it, but maybe a couple of sumps and dehumidifiers would solve your problem. Sumps can be put in dirt crawlspaces. There is some digging and concrete work involved. Of course plumbing and electrical. You put a dehumidifier next to the sump so the power is there and you just drain it to the sump.

 

[Highbeam]

We have a lot of wet crawlspaces here in the valley where I work. The most common way to deal with it is with a sump pump in a chamber. The chamber has a lid and the pump is hardwired to the homes wiring. The pump discharges to the storm system or some other low point drain, discharge to sewer is prohibited but difficult to detect. I work for a city.

The latest thing we see is the foundation and stem walls are poured then the dirt is graded so that it is either flat or slightly graded towards the sump pump chamber(s). Then pea gravel is pumped in to a depth of 4 inches or so. The whole works is covered by the required plastic vapor barrier. This system provides conveyance to the pump, removal of standing water, and a barrier to moisture vapor leaching into the crawlspace air. This system combined with the code required crawlspace vents keeps things very dry even in the wet areas. It also prevents the homeowner from ever seeing standing water since the gravel contains it.

Make sure you have a good plastic vapor barrier and a low point to collect water. Add a sump pump at the low point in a chamber, even a 5 gallon bucket with holes in it will work. The final step if you feel it is necessary is to load in the gravel, this is optional but does allow water to move towards the sump under the vapor barrier.

That will take care of the water. The damage already caused by the water is another deal. I would pull the insulation down where the water damage is apparent and assess the damage. Kill the mold, let it dry, then intall new dry insulation.

I have never seen a dehumidifier installed in a crawlspace. Might be wise while you are trying to dry out the floor and joists.

 

[Michael_S]

I looked at the clean space system. Couldn't get them to give me a firm price, so I did a little digging (pardon the pun) and found the source of the 6 ply pvc reinforced vinyl and the tape to stick it to the walls and seal it to itself. My house is about 3600 hundred sq. ft. I paid a little over a $1000 for the materials. If you are a do it yourselfer, I can let you know where to purchase the stuff you need.

 

[dmccarty]

Gerald,

Try the following links to learn about mold and what you should and should not do.
New York City Guidelines. Kinda dry no pun intended.

EPA Web Site. Has links to more usable info that can help you.

You might need to control the water flow around your house as well as putting down water barriers in the crawlspace. For instance if your roof is dumping water on the uphill side of your house and that water soaks into the ground its not going to help your crawlspace problems.

A good resource is, JLC Online.. I think you can research their old articles and view summaries. To see the full articles you will have to sign up for the site and or magazine. JLC is the Journal of Light Construction and is aimed at the building trades. Its a very good resource.

Later,
Dan

 

[gsganzer]

I have the same problem here in North TX. My problem has more to do with the wicking action of our black clay then water actually coming up under the house.I'm planning to pipe all my gutters away from the house, add some french drains around the perimeter and install a sump in the crawl space. If that doesn't fix it, then I'll lay down some 6 mil poly as a vapor barrier.