How To Partially Encapsulate a Crawlspace | Lowe’s Pro How-To

This demonstration is intended for professionals only. Homeowners should not attempt these projects without first consulting a licensed professional.

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[Bossman_]

I see a lot of the pros chiming in on this diy stuff and I do agree if a homeowner can afford your prices then by all means hire a pro to do all of this work, bottom line y'all's prices are just too damn high for us homeowners. Most people can't afford 15 to 30k to repair a bad crawl space. I do understand that this is very labor intensive, but there is a whole helluva lot of mark-up in the materials too, so please forgive us diy'ers for trying to save some money !

[jkutis]

Good tip on ducting the dehu to the tightest area of the crawl to create a convective current. I'll be doing that as I complete my project soon :)

[bmusician]

Pretty informative! I am going with Ventilation Fan with keeping other vents open during non-winter times first, if it doesn't work I am going to use a humidifier. I have a meter and already brought the wood moisture to 15% in North Carolina!

[thetruthchannel]

Having done this for almost 20 years, I agree with fogging the crawlspace 100%. I've used RMR-86 and it takes a piece of lumber that is totally black to looking brand new. The house I was working on was vacant. It is very "bleachy". I can't see using RMR-86 except on homes with a few bad spots. If there's more than that, it will need soda blasting. (In my opinion) but if they want some tremendous amount for soda blasting, I'll use 2.5 gallons of the RMR with my electric sprayer and let the odor go away. I did a very black piece of plywood in 2017. I'd love to see it today, but the homeowner is somewhat hostile. I did the job for the seller and the home was vacant. We did one heck of a job, really. Just starting out making a name for ourselves, etc. well, the new homeowners called and said they had to send a plumber into the crawlspace and the dehumidifier wasn't working. Wasn't working? Someone (and I think I know who) caused the leak and turned over our dehumidifier, ruining it. While I was installing a free dehumidifier, the wife walks down and says, don't bump that wire down there. I had to pay $175 to fix that wire after you guys did your work. It was a rusted, 75 year old, 220 volt wire that had exposed copper. We saw it on day one and made damn sure we didn't "bump" it. We put a bicycle rope lock on this one and they'll never see us again, no matter what. Unless it's in court. I made videos. The person we did the work for and the real estate agent were delighted, it passed a VA LOAN inspection and they're tough. Rambling !!!

[ZacandCompany]

Insulation is better on the OUTSIDE. On the inside it can trap moisture in the wood. The foundation wicks water up onto the wood so the spray foam creates a vapor barrier sealing it inside.

[leeauburn]

As a termite professional, I recommend anyone should check with the company that has your termite bond before ever using spray foam.

[allpointsorganized]

I've been researching my crawl space and learning for 3 years. Foundation and crawl space contractors are opportunists. They're also without shame, taking advantage of consumers and charging exorbitant amounts of money to consumers. It's wrong & they know it, but at an average of $10, 000 for 1000 sq ft crawl space, and basic menial labor which is not complicated work. Just a bit intimidating until you get used to your crawl space. I recommend fully lighting up your crawl space first, before you commence any work. Working in darkness, with a single little light is a whole different ballgame & intimidating and difficult, versus working in bright lights. The work is easier, you can navigate and see well, and it feels welcoming! After all is said and done, you will spend a fraction of what the opportunistic crawl space contractors would charge you.

There is massive markup with the materials by contractors & their labor rates are abhorrent. So I've learned plenty. You just have to compartmentalize the project in phases. I've got three phases.

Phase I: Repair any structural weaknesses in posts, beams, etc. And clean up crawl space of debris.

Phase II: Install French Drains, for more efficient drainage. Install sump pump, and 15 Gal. sump pump basin and connect sump pump to outdoor drainage system.

Phase III: Remove old torn up and tattered vapor barrier. Grade out flat, the extra dirt that was dug up for the French drains in the crawl space soil area. Install new vapor barrier.


Materials & Planning. Prior to installing the new vapor barrier, you'll need 10 or 12 mm thick one piece Vapor barrier. Draw up with schematics, and then properly pre-cut the Vapor Barrier prior to going down into the crawl space for each section. Have on hand more material than you think you will need. That would include 4 inch wide seam tape, butyl tape for adhering the plastic to the concrete wall surfaces and plenty of vapor barrier to overlap 6 to 12 inches. In addition to that for phase 2, you will need the right amount of linear feet of perforated 3 inch or 4 inch pipe for the French drains. For a 1000 sq ft. crawl space you'll need 2 to 2.5 yd of rock. Smooth, round 3/4 River Rock will work well for a French drain in a crawl space. Get a utility sled, so you can slide the heavier rock down the crawl space lengths, so you can transport the heavier objects to and from where you need to go. You'll need short Trench shovels, short rakes and plenty of patience. Wear a mask, get some really high quality knee pads, and coveralls so you don't get too filthy. Pace yourself. Take your time and enjoy the process. Plan, plan, plan, and plan some more. Make a bullet list. Draw up detailed schematics. And give yourself a pat on the back for becoming a very competent homeowner.

It's nice to work with someone else too because this is a difficult job underneath your home. You can vet five or six different contractors and pick one that's very reasonably priced, trustworthy, good follow up, punctual, and honest, anywhere from $30 to $50 an hour to help you with the heavy heavy work. That is, a general contractor that Do Not specialize in crawl spaces or foundation work. You can find ones that will work with you, for a reasonable price and then you'll have a second person to help you do the job just steer clear from foundation and crawl space contractors, they charged exorbitant amounts of money that are unfair to the consumer and not ethical.

[TPainWhatitDo]

Where do I buy this magic tape that sticks to bricks and concrete?

[jasonthomas]

I've been in the encapsulation business for years. DO NOT tape any poly / liner to concrete piers or concrete foundation walls. It will not stick over time and will shortly fall off. You are better off using concrete anchors every 3-5 feet on the top edge and then sealing with a 2" double sided butyl tape, a polyurethane caulking, or spray foam. The anchors will keep the top edge permanently up and your sealing method will keep it air tight. Also please be aware that fogging your crawlspace will cause a lot of that product to go upstairs as your HVAC duct work, subflooring, plumbing penetrations, electrical penetrations all allow air from the crawlspace to go upstairs. Also you should cover as much of the foundation walls as possible and support columns. Concrete wicks moisture and to go up only 4 inches on the wall allows for evaporation off that concrete. Just leave at least 4 inches of foundation wall exposed at the top to make the termite companies happy for inspection purposes. If the homeowner doesn't care about a termite inspection gap at the top then just seal up the entire wall to maximize mitigation of evaporation which high humidity causes mold and fugal growth.


Also this is not a DIY project, hire a pro

[Just.A.T-Rex]

Us termite professionals cringing hard at the mention of spray foam directly on wood members. Good luck getting a thorough WDIR.

[kfox]

Lowe’s: “install a GFCI in the crawl space.”

Also Lowe’s: *installs regular outlet*

🤣🤣🤣

[maryannekorkut]

Is it possible to place supports and plywood to make the crawl space a useful storage area?

[btccoins]

You have to hire right people and that is hardest part, this guys in the video, they are amateurs. Why would you spray foam insulation in the crawl space? Even you want to spray it, they should of removed the insulation before they spray it. The reason why you don't want to spray foam it is b/c it will trap a moisture. At 4.17 mark, you could see the mold present on the wood. Before you hire anybody, educate your self so that you know who to hire

[edwardconley]

1:31 "Lowes made this GFX possible to exist in this world"! Hilarious.

[multiple_miggs]

Is there a way to not use a dehumidifier? I had 50% moisture reading on the wood in my crawl space. I don't have $10, 000 or whatever it will cost for encapsulation and machinery. Can I use Thompson's water seal on the wood and concrete sealer on the walls?

[longface]

Will the plastic used under the foundation dry up crack into pcs . And get poke pcs of plastic all over.. i thought the vent dry out the moisture

[tylerhines]

Definitely go through a local insulation company! I’ve done way to many jobs where homeowners do really crappy jobs and it almost 90% of the time we get the call to fix it after they “tried” witch makes it more difficult for us.

[baxt]

I’ve seen both and now I’m confused to which it should be. Should I put my vapor barrier on top of my rigid insulation on the walls or behind?? I’d be kind of concerned of putting the rigid insulation behind the vapor barrier because I don’t want soil vapor to have access to the rigid insulation and eventually keep wicking up through even though it’s high density XPS and so won’t absorb much I just don’t want it to be able to absorb any

[truthseekerKJV]

It looks like they are applying the spray foam before removing the mold.

[philipdove]

How does a dehumidifier work draining water when its 40 below zero!