Energy-Efficient: A Green Solution For Your Crawl Space

Crawl space vents are causing a housing epidemic all across North Carolina, including Wilkesboro, NC. Since their first installation, crawl space vents have grown infamous for turning crawl spaces into moldy and inefficient spaces.

Unfortunately, they’re often dismissed as a necessary evil in the home. This doesn’t have to be! Tar Heel Basement Systems’ crawl space waterproofers have created a long-lasting and environmentally sensible solution that will save you money and repairs for many years to come. For a FREE estimate on a crawl space encapsulation, call or contact us online today!

A Crawl Space’s Worst Enemies: Rot and Decay

The root of the problem plaguing traditional crawl space construction in North Carolina is crawl space vents.

Vented crawl spaces were long believed to provide cross drafts in a crawl space and building officials believed this would increase evaporation of moisture; however, scientific testing confirmed that air movement in a home is upwards, escaping through roof venting. This movement naturally sucked more air into a home through any opening, like crawl space vents, providing no cross drafts at all. As a result, warm, moist summertime air would be sucked in ALL vents and increase the relative humidity in an already moist crawl space.

This makes a lot of sense. If crawl space vents worked the way they were designed to, then rot and humidity couldn’t be the problem it is, right?

In addition, cold winter air can also circulate through a home through these crawl space vents. The cold air pulled in will affect everything in the space, including water heaters, hot water pipes, furnaces, and heating ducts. These utilities will be forced to work harder just to do their daily work, and the added cold air cools the floorboards above, making an uncomfortable floor above. The end result is more money spent during the cold months.

During the humidity and heat of summer, the problem is much worse.

Instead of drying your crawlspace, the summer air that flows in adds an enormous amount of humidity. As this humid air enters the space, its temperature drops to about 50 degrees, and its relative humidity rises. This leads to condensation throughout the crawl space, including on wood, support beams, metal, and floorboards. As this condensation builds and saturates the area, it will lead to rot, mold, and a higher risk of infestations of termites, ants, beetles, rodents, and other pests. This humid air creates a drain on air conditioners in the space, as humid air is much more difficult to condition than dry air.

Crawl space rot in North Carolina will quickly mean sagging floors, a compromised structure, foul odors, and mold allergens in the home. If the crawl space is allowed to decay to the point where the materials need to be replaced, the homeowner will have to find a contractor willing to repair it. Finding a good contractor willing to crawl into a disgusting, unhealthy, and narrow space like a rotting crawl space is not easy. Finding one who will rip out the rotting boards and replace them with new ones is no small task. The result is expensive, wasteful, and just not the best option.

Environmentally Friendly Crawl Spaces in NC

With the current building practices, we now know that crawl spaces with vents will become rotting, moldy places that offer a continual drain on your utility bills.

However, this does not need to be the case in your home. By sealing off your crawl space vents, you can ensure a drier, longer-lasting, and more energy-efficient space.

Encapsulating the crawlspace in North Carolina with airtight crawl space doors and vent covers and lining the walls with a tough, durable crawl space vapor barrier is the answer.

The moisture barrier will keep outside air and humidity out of the crawl space. This not only creates an unattractive environment for rodents, insects, and other unwanted pests, but it also makes it more difficult for these nuisances to get into the crawl space.

The CrawlSeal crawl space vapor barrier provided by Tar Heel Basement Systems includes a 20-mil polyethylene liner that can block moisture from entering the crawl space and includes a comprehensive warranty that ensures a dependable long life for the product. The liner has been designed with a white visible facing that’s best for taking advantage of available lighting, and it’s durable enough for the homeowner and servicemen to use without ripping or tearing the liner. An UltraFresh antimicrobial additive used when designing CrawlSeal helps to keep the liner free of mold, and once installed, the CrawlSeal encapsulation system even makes the crawl space a usable storage area!

To make the most out of your crawl space encapsulation in NC, be sure to include an energy-efficient dehumidifier. This will help remove any moisture and humidity present in the air, wood, or other materials while protecting from any possible future humidity as well.

To help with your crawl space dehumidification, Tar Heel Basement Systems provides the Tar Heel crawl space dehumidifier.

This amazing machine is Energy-Star rated, measures the dew point (a better indicator of moisture than relative humidity), samples the air every hour to determine whether to begin the dehumidification process, and has a warranty against failure.

This crawl space and basement dehumidifier include a special air filter that will remove particles as small as 2 microns- small enough to remove pollen, mold spores, and dust mite waste from the air. With a convenient self-draining design, it requires very little upkeep or maintenance.

If you’d like to learn more about installing a green crawl space encapsulation in North Carolina, contact Tar Heel Basement Systems today. We can encapsulate your crawl space quickly and effectively- usually in less than a day. The end result will save you money, make your home more comfortable, add storage space, and help you avoid expensive repairs in the future. For a Free Estimate on a crawl space vapor barrier, call or contact us today!

Holly Richards-Purpura

Content Writer

Holly is a Content Writer for Groundworks who has written and edited web content for the foundation services industry for almost 10 years. With a background in journalism, her passion for the written word runs deep. Holly lives in Columbus, OH, with her husband. Along with educating homeowners, she also has a big heart for the Big Apple.