Our basic crawlspace encapsulation service involves cleaning the crawlspace, insulating the skirting, sealing the crawlspace and installing a humidity and temperate control system.
Why encapsulate?
Leaving the crawlspace to face the elements is one of the leading causes of damage to mobile and modular homes due to the moisture causing issues with floor insulation, blocking rot, mould and air quality issues, ground to get saturated and sink in addition to the cold winter wreaking havoc on the plumbing systems below the home.
Sealing the home
Research has shown that as much as 40% of the air in your home is made up of air from your crawlspace. It is normal for the living space to have a vapour barrier, but most mobile homes lack a proper floor vapour barrier.
Since the crawlspace is considered “outside” since it is fully vented it doesn’t require a vapour barrier. It is now common practice to add a vapour barrier below the home on the ground to try to help reduce moisture from the ground coming into the crawl space.
This can help, but the common 6mil vapour barrier bought from a hardware store is made of recycled polyethylene and within a few years starts to degrade and its permeability increases in addition to reports of it causing an unpleasant smell commonly confused as cat urine.
Not only does the ground poly not seem to last, the fact that the crawlspace is vented to the outside causes a couple of issues as well.
During the summer hot humid air comes into the cool crawlspace and as the temperate of the air decreases the relative humidity increases and can actually cause a build-up of moisture under the home leading to wood rot and mould growth.
During the winter, humidity isn’t an issue, but by allowing cold air to sweep under your home you risk plumbing freeze-up issues as well as heat loss through your floor system where all your heating ducts are.
Crawlspace Encapsulation battles both of these issues by insulating the skirting, completely sealing the crawlspace with heavy-duty virgin polyethylene white plastic sheets with overlaps and taped seams.
A computer-controlled ventilation system is then installed which can provide ventilation from outside when favourable or from heated air from the home to control the properties of the air in the crawlspace.
Should I encapsulate?
There are countless benefits from encapsulation, but we believe good indoor air quality, warm floors, no plumbing issues are a luxury everyone should enjoy at a minimum.
Encapsulation is always part of our Premium Service Package as it is a key component to having a safe, worry-free crawlspace.
We would encourage you to get a feasibility study if interested in finding out how you can further improve and protect your crawlspace and home. In many cases encapsulation is just a part of a larger scope that includes other repairs and improvements to get your home the best protection and longevity from the elements.