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Thanks for the video!! I just had a failed mold remediation and after hiring a REAL professional, he explained to me everything you covered in this video. Thankfully there are still some honest people in this tricky business. Thank you

I appreciate the info! I live in Raleigh...is there a suggested type/brand of foam board you like to use that's available to consumers? Does there need to be concern for fire resistance?

I figured $10k was the ball park all-in. Now when it comes to drainage, are you always going to install a sump pump, or is it case by case? Also, is this a cheaper install on new construction?

How about for new construction...? Could most of the work be done before framing....? 2000 SQFT concrete walls around 3 to 4 feet high.

Short, concise, and to the point. Excellent info my friend, thank you!

I am plan to spray foam all my subfloor area except for areas close to plumbing where pex goes up into the house.

Informative video .. thanks you.

Rock wool?

Wish you guys were in Louisiana, would love to have yall do my house!

Do you service Gaston County?

With spray foam, you're supposed to leave a space all around the crawlspace (3 to4") to their mud trails. Foam does a good job of air sealing the crawl keeping warm moist air out during summer season. Not insulating the crawl is like not insulating walls.

Can you put the foam board right over the fiberglass insulation?

Of course, someone in this business is going to tell you that the best solution is to encapsulate. That’s what they’re in business for.

If you put a plastic before pouring the concrete the humidity is gone...is better that having the vapor barrier that you have to replace

Realize this is a year old but hoping someone will reply - up north, if you were to insulate the walls (so as to be able to run pipes and drains in the space and not worry about freezing/bursting) would there be value in also insulating the ground (would it be under or over the plastic barrier?) and one heat line and one cold air return to the furnace to keep air moving (cold in summer, hot in winter) - is that the right or wrong way of thinking?

No. Not true. Worked for contractors my entire life who do end to end. And never have issues these people are trying to rip people off. And encapsulation of the block huh?? What do you think it's sitting on duh...

One thing that can’t get through concrete would be rodents. My crawlspace was constantly being used for rodents to tunnel from the outside, under the cinder block wall and surface through the dirt floor in the crawlspace. All they had to do next was chew through the vapour barrier, and now they have a nice place to call home. I spent years searching for holes on the outside and inside, filling them with steel wool, copper mesh, expanding foam and finally concrete. I contacted a contractor who specializes in encapsulating crawlspaces, and a concrete floor with a dehumidifier was his recommendation. He said that in situations like ours, it won’t totally eliminate rodents getting in (it’s an old house after all), but it should prevent 90-95% of them. That’s the route we are going with.

5 ⭐️ for UnderStructureRepair in Bristol. $3 per square feet of area. + 500 set up fee + $1900 top dehumidifier. They were 1/2 what the others were but proved they were superior. Low overhead. Super Professional.

I was told that gravity feed to outside from a dehumidifier will allow stuff to eventually clog up the tubing creating a condensation backup. Therefore, a pump is necessary to keep the water moving out instead of just letting it dribble out by gravity. Your thoughts?

What if used the spray foam but left a decent sized gap around the top for termite inspection? I live in north Alabama. Any help would be appreciated.

Why do you prefer steel beams over wood drop girders?

Reviewing your videos, you appear transparent, honest and reliable. My question here is you state you previously installed these systems and apparently by being preferred you installed numerous systems in many homes; what did the company do after they realized the negative effects? How did you respond, if any, to customers you had sold and installed these systems into their homes? Thanks!

That seemed incorrect for some reason

Great information. Thanks

I had a company called Southern dry fully encapsulate my crawlspace under my house that was built in 1963. About a week after installation I noticed the dehumidifier had been running non stop since. I crawled in there to check the dehumidifier which was set to 50% but it was still 71% in the crawlspace. I called them the next day to ask if that was normal for it take awhile to get it to the set humidity, the gentlemen I spoke with said the moisture content of the wood was very high and as long as its been exposed to that environment, it could take 60-90 days get the humidity to 50%

You don't have a vapor barrier on ground

what if you had two fans installed on opposite ends of the crawlspace working at the same intensity and ... would you create a vacuum inside the crawlspace? hmm...

It's foolhardy to even suggest that there shouldn't be a drainage system installed anywhere in the United States in any residential home. When it rains and if the grade is not correct a drainage system will be needed. Let's take an average of 1100 square foot crawl space like mine. So that means doing a lot of planned in advance. Then on perimeter trenches, lots of digging in the crawl space and other areas where you know the drainage is needed, and hauling out a lot of dirt. It takes 54, 5-gallon buckets to remove one yard of soil. Each bucket weighs about 55 lb. That's many thousands of pounds. And then the intense labor to dig the trenches, haul nearly 3 yards of 3/4 rock down into the trenches with 3 to 4-in perforated pipe, with a very porous fabric around the pipe. This then with 2 to 3 inches of rock atop perforated pipe in trench, covered by 2 to 3 inches of rock. So, Trench, then the fabric along the surface of the soil trench, then the rock then the pipe then more rock covered flat along the grade. Once that's all done and it works correctly, it all channels into a sump pump pit and proper 15 gallon basin that's perforated and back filled with three to four inches of rock around the sump pump basin with a proper sump pump like a Zoeller. So when this guy says $6300 to $7,000, that's untrue. Add another $5,000 if you have a contractor do the drainage system. Then add a new sump pump & basin. And if there's any structural work needing to be done, that needs to be taken care of before anything else. That includes replacing posts, removing old insulation and so on. All told, if you have a company do all this, it'll be over $20,000. If you do it yourself with structural work, drainage system included, and then a good 12 to 15 mm Vapor Barrier partial or full encapsulation it'll run you anywhere from 4 to $6,000 but you'll need to hire a team of two guys to help you because three guys minimum needs to do this job. If you do it yourself you run out of steam, make mistakes or quit. There are rare occasions of course that one guy can do it but it's really make sense to hire a couple of guys that are General Contractors that follow your plan to the letter. Tooling up and supplies will run you at least $1,000 alone. Spend at least 6 months to 12 months planning this on paper. Have contractors come out and look at it, you'll learn a lot but never use them. You'll pick up some helpful tips from them for free. Some will give you bad advice but you learn to know what's good and what's bad advise. You'll need to Electrify your crawl space as well so you can see. Otherwise you're not going to do a very good job. That runs anywhere 300 to $1,000. The longer you research the easier to get. You can't research this in a few weeks and expect to do it next month. You'll fail. Otherwise plan out, find a couple of general contractors to charge anywhere from $30 to $50 an hour. Their labor alone will run you around $3,500. Hope this helps!

Nice surface to work on if you have to go underneath. protects the vapour barrier from damage Keeps critters out.

Bad video. We need to see the work and the problem, not your face bro.

Hmmm. Good points here. I had not heard this explanation. I still like the idea of a flat surface under my home and in my mind the combo of the vapour and concrete together is added conditioning......but good point that a vapour barrier would be needed either way and if cost is a consideration then maybe stopping at the vapour makes sense.

What would a professional do to prevent this?

very helpful my dude. Straight to the point

Thanks for all the great advice. I hope you can help me with an issue. The crawl space floor is concrete. There are 2 pony walls. The walls are open 2x4’s, 32” high. One is about 48’ long, the other is about 27’ long. They sit on a concrete curb that varies from 2” up to 6”. How do I deal with installing the sheet plastic in/around these walls to get an effective encapsulation? I don’t want to close them off as I need to be able to pass thru the walls to access plumbing/electrical in the future. Thanks, Jon

Or other new alternative resources that people use to build homes now? What do people do for tiny homes?

Would this work with an earth rammed house?

Will this help take the smell out of the house?

Thank you so much for the information!

I was quoted 13,800 for a sump system installation by a local company in my area, included was the sump, battery backup and demo of the border in an 800 square foot basement.

HELP. i live in a condo on the first floor. My crawlspace has zero mould issues. im looking for a solution to extreme cold winters here in Canada. the floor of the crawlspace is concrete, and when the concrete get cold it radiates cold air causing my floors to be very cold. I have had the crawlspace spray foamed but the air becomes trapped and gets colder and colder. Any ideas?

That’s great to know cause i was just about to do just that!! Thank you

Appreciate the video, lots of good points. I think what's missing and could be added to future is mention of climate specifics, many of us live in states where dehumidifiers are a waste of money, anywhere. Southwest is best example of place where DH is a bad idea, waste of good money both upfront and ongoing costs, SouthEast & HI are great examples where this approach would probably work well. natural ventilation or very low powered exhast is a better approach IMO where your climate lets you get away with it, but that same approach will get you sued in FL or HI locals.

What did people do for the last 100 years before encapsulation became a thing. It’s great if you can afford it

I am guessing a dehumidifier and a sealed crawlspace is often the better answer, but that involves a lot more up front money, operating costs and maintenance than fans. i bought an old house with 70 years of crawlspace humidity issues and it shows big time. My humidity sensor will show 60% or less RH outside and RH in the high 80s in the crawlspace. If i can get fans to get that outside air replacing that humid crawlspace air, I will be in a whole lot better situation. You still have to get the right fan set up for that to happen and that i am afraid is easier said than done.

What if you have a wrap around porch that covers 1/3rd of your crawlspace ? New vapor barrier, open vents (8), just added two fans to keep air circulating. I was having issues with my hvac lines and ductwork sweating and causing water to pool only in those areas. Should I be trying to reinstate all of that? Or have I taken the proper measures at this point ?

😊👍🏿👍🏿

I've heard professionals recommend a ventilation system not to REPLACE a dehumidifier, but to add to an encapsulated crawlspace to prevent radon from having nowhere to escape but up through the house. Can you speak to this at all?

U need a fan end of story

I’m going to use that paint, but I waterproofed my basement from the inside first

What would be recommended for a crawlspace in a flood zone where hydrostatic pressure is a concern and from what I can tell FEMA requires a vent to relieve that pressure