Crawl spaces are often the weak point in any home or building in the Pocono Mountains region. The collection of water and moisture can lead to extensive damage if not addressed properly. Spray Foam Technologies has been providing the most comprehensive crawl space repair service for decades.
Recover, repair, and restore your crawlspace. Only a professional evaluation will reveal a lasting and cost-friendly solution. Determine if your problem is water or moisture. Evaluate vapor barrier presence and effectiveness. Stop moisture infiltration, and dehumidify if needed.
Is Your Crawl Space Issue Water or Moisture Infiltration?
We first need to determine if you have water or moisture getting into Poconos your crawl space. This is the critical first step. Some questions you can explore before getting an inspection are:
- Do you have properly working gutters and down spouts?
- Is water diverted away from the house through pipes or channels?
- Is your ground graded away from the house?
When gutters are not functional, water problems in basements and crawl spaces become very common if not the norm. We highly recommend you check your gutters in both the spring and fall to keep them clear, flowing, and working properly.
You should pay close attention to areas underneath decks and cantilevers. Reverse grades and depressions that direct water to the house can wreak havoc on your crawl space or basement, bring mold, mud, rodents, bugs and all kinds of other unwanted things.
Once water from rain and other sources is properly controlled, we can explore if sumps and internal water control systems are also needed.
Is a Vapor Barrier Needed in a Crawl Space
All crawl spaces should have ground cover that encapsulates the top of the footer. You may or may not already have a vapor barrier, but it must be installed correctly or it is basically worthless. As you may know, many homes in the Pocono area were not built properly by various builders due to incompetence or lack of due diligence. An effective vapor barrier is installed by burying the footer which prevents water from running down the footer and re-introducing water into your crawl space. When we come to your Pocono location, we always inspect to determine if you have a vapor barrier that has been installed properly and is intact and doing it’s job to seal out moisture.
Moisture Infiltration
Moisture infiltration through the block from ground saturation in the Poconos is easily controlled with closed cell spray foam. Closed cell spray foam insulation has an extremely low permeability rating. This prevents moisture from easily penetrating as it cannot pass through the foam’s closed cell structure.
The spray foam also doubles as a thermal protection layer which eliminates extreme cold in winter and heat in the summer. That’s why this dual form of protection is perfect for crawlspace repair & remediation and serves as an insulation water barrier to prevent future issues.
Do I Need to Dehumidify my Crawl Space
Dehumidifiers or strong fans are almost always needed in Pocono crawl spaces to prevent the inside air from hitting the 45% relative humidity (RH) mark or above where problems really start. The absolute best environment for a crawl space is a consistent state of exactly 60 degrees fahrenheit and 45% Relative Humidity. This generates a dew point of around 39F.
The Dew Point is actually very easy to control when spray foam is used as your insulation in the space. Spray foam very beneficially nearly completely minimizes the condensation of water pipes and tanks to help consistently maintain a dry, safe environment.
If you’re suffering from crawl space issues that need to resolved in your Pocono home or business, reach out to us today to get a free inspection and quote on the crawl space repair you need. Our experienced and friendly, family led team will come to your location and assess your exact needs.