Call Us Today

(515) 318-7176

Call Us Today

(515) 318-7176

Iowa Crawl Space Encapsulation

Home crawl space repair

If you have a water or humidity problem in your crawl space, look to the professionals at Iowa Foundation Pros to help you find the perfect solution. We cover all aspects of crawl space repair and crawl space waterproofing making sure you get the most effective services in the area. The crawl space is a location that many homeowners do not spend much time thinking about. It is important to know that the conditions in your crawl space can have an impact on the rest of the home. Standing water or high humidity here can lead to the growth of mold and mildew and can also cause damage to wooden support beams and floor joists. We have often found that most homeowners don’t do anything to protect or care for their crawl space until they are faced with a serious problem.

wet crawl space

Leaky/wet crawl space

When you discover you have a leaky or wet crawl space problem, you’re going to need to get in touch with our crawl space waterproofers. Excess water in your crawl space is always going to lead to a problem. Standing water or high humidity in the crawl space can cause serious damage to wooden materials, and this includes the things that are responsible for holding up the weight of your home, including support beams and floor joists. When these start to warp and rot, you may notice that some areas on the first floor actually feel like they are sinking when you walk across the floor. What’s more is that all this rotting wood is inviting to unwanted pests that you don’t want taking residence below your home, such as termites, roaches, and mosquitoes.

Wet crawl space will also ultimately lead to the growth of dangerous mold which can cause health problems for you or your family. Mold is dark green or black in color, and there are some types of mold that have been known to cause: respiratory or breathing problems, intense headaches, fatigue, skin rashes, asthma, allergies, cold/flu-like symptoms, and other potential health problems.

Crawl Space Support

sagging floors/joists

Sagging floor joists in your crawl space are a serious structural problem that can cause a lot of costly damages to your home. When walking through your home, if you notice any of the floors are not level or are soft in spots, this can be caused by moisture in the crawl space. Often times, homeowners don’t realize how important it is to keep their crawl space free of excess moisture and high humidity. Controlling this space can help prevent these problems from happening.

Water is not a friend of wood, and when you have standing water or high humidity in the crawl space, it can cause the floor joists to warp, rot, decay, and deteriorate. This weakens the beams, and is the cause of the sagging in your home from your sagging floor supports. If this happens, you may worry that the only way to fix this problem is to get the floor torn out and replace the joists and floor. This is not only expensive to do, but it’s also does not fix the cause of the problem – humidity in the crawl space.

Damp Crawl Space

damp/moldy crawl space

When you discover you have a leaky or wet crawl space problem, you’re going to need to get in touch with our crawl space waterproofers. Excess water in your crawl space is always going to lead to a problem. Standing water or high humidity in the crawl space can cause serious damage to wooden materials, and this includes the things that are responsible for holding up the weight of your home, including support beams and floor joists. When these start to warp and rot, you may notice that some areas on the first floor actually feel like they are sinking when you walk across the floor. What’s more is that all this rotting wood is inviting to unwanted pests that you don’t want taking residence below your home, such as termites, roaches, and mosquitoes.

Wet crawl space will also ultimately lead to the growth of dangerous mold which can cause health problems for you or your family. Mold is dark green or black in color, and there are some types of mold that have been known to cause: respiratory or breathing problems, intense headaches, fatigue, skin rashes, asthma, allergies, cold/flu-like symptoms, and other potential health problems.

Crawl Space encapsulation

Our trained waterproofing experts have performed this process again and again on homes over the years. Crawl space encapsulation is one of the best options to prevent water and moisture from getting into the area and sealing the space off from the outside environment. Having a crawl space that regularly floods can lead to a number of potentially serious problems.

Below, there are a number of potential issues that can arise from an open crawl space. As you will see, encapsulating and closing off this space is very important and the process begins with us installing a vapor barrier and floor liner to permanently seal this space off from the outside environment so that moisture, humidity, and unwanted critters can’t get inside to cause problems.

Wet crawl space will also ultimately lead to the growth of dangerous mold which can cause health problems for you or your family. Mold is dark green or black in color, and there are some types of mold that have been known to cause: respiratory or breathing problems, intense headaches, fatigue, skin rashes, asthma, allergies, cold/flu-like symptoms, and other potential health problems.

solutions for crawl space problems

Luckily, this is not a problem that you are stuck having to deal with. We have a variety of wet crawl space waterproofing & encapsulation products available that will help to keep this space below your home dry, safe, and healthy.

encapsulated crawl space

vapor barriers

As outlined above, a vapor barrier is the first step of the encapsulation process. It is a thick, plastic material that will be securely attached to the walls and floor of the crawl space. It prevents the exchange of humidity and keeps water from entering the area. The barriers we use have been thoroughly tested and implemented, and time and time again they have proven to be effective at keeping moisture out of the crawl space. When there is a level of control over the moisture and humidity below the home, you will not need to worry about it causing damage to your wooden floor joists, or to the health of your family because of the growth of nasty black mold.

The encapsulation process involves the use of vapor barriers, floor liners, sump pumps, and sometimes dehumidifiers depending on what kind of problems this area is experiencing below your home. All of these products will help to create a dry environment that is free of mold growth and wood damage. When this area is sealed off, it’s going to keep critters out, and it will also help to improve your energy bills each month since conditioned air from inside won’t be able to get out through here and cause your HVAC systems to work much harder to keep your family comfortable throughout each season of the year.

Crawl Space Stabilizers/Support Beams

To fix the sagging joist problem, we can install special crawl space support beams and stabilizers which are able to support the weight of the first floor of the home, and prevent the floors from sloping. This will not only preserve the structural integrity of your home, it will also prevent any future sagging.

Dehumidifier for Crawl Space Mold

Mold can only grow when three things are present, high humidity levels, organic materials to feed off of, and oxygen. The problem is, these three things are usually found in any kind of crawl space environment before it is sealed. To take care of the humidity issue, we can install vapor barriers and floor liners as well as a specially designed dehumidifier made for crawl spaces. By removing excess humidity from the air, we remove the main component that causes the growth of mold. Once the mold growth is controlled, the indoor air quality will be improved and your home is going to smell much nicer and fresher as a result.

waterproofing your Crawl Space

When it comes to waterproofing the space below your home, an encapsulation system will create a fully waterproof area. The wall and floor liners are both durable and can seal the crawl space off from the outside environment so that moisture, humidity, and unwanted critters can’t get inside to cause problems.

is Crawl Space Repair Costly?

When we are discussing this with most homeowners, they worry that it is going to not be cost effective to seal their crawl space. However, when one considers all the potential added cost of not having the problem taken care of. Whether this is sagging floors, having a musty-smelling home, or mold growth causing potential health problems for your family, there are many advantages to getting crawl space repair and encapsulation work done below your home. We believe it is absolutely worth the cost to have this done by trained professionals. Call us today to get a free, no obligation evaluation performed on your crawl space to see if encapsulation is a solution for your problems.