Musty Crawl Space Causes
A musty crawl space is likely caused from moisture, leaks or humidity problems. However, crawl space odors can also be caused from improper construction or even nature itself. Decaying material is very common in crawl spaces. Whatever the cause of your family's crawl space odors, Anchored Walls is ready to help.
Finding the cause of musty crawl space odor is not enough to ensure the area is free of future problems. However, when a crawl space is properly encapsulated, all external moisture issues are gone for good. The traditional crawl space vents are closed off completely to exterior climate and elements. A vapor barrier is used to seal off the ground moisture. A sealed off crawl space is also a big energy saver and works to insulate your home.
House Settling and Your Crawl Space
Older foundations were built differently than the foundations found on newer homes in Iowa, which can lead to some house-settling problems. Our foundation repair company can perform an inspection and evaluate the crawl space damage caused by your home settling.
A foundation wall that has started to settle or shift will require the need of our foundation repair services. The contractor will probably need to shore up the house framing above the repair area, while the soil is stabilized and wall sections are rebuilt. In some cases, it may be required to replace a portion of stone or brick foundation with poured concrete. Our foundation repair contractor will discuss the pros and cons of each foundation repair procedure we offer.
Inadequate Intermediate Support for Crawl Spaces
In the majority of homes, the floor joists of the first floor that rest on top of the foundation walls are also supported by a post and beam-style of framework, which extends down to the center of your home's crawl space. In older homes, these posts may have rotted, or they may not have adequate footings. This causes your home to settle differently. Our foundation repair company can either work to reinforce the original post and beam assembly or replace it with new and properly sized footings.
Crawl Space Moisture Control
Many homeowners overlook their windows, doors and vents as a potential entrance for moisture. By properly sealing off windows, doors and vents, you can help prevent cold air, moisture and humidity from making its way into your crawl space. With the proper crawl space encapsulation process from Anchored Walls, your crawl space will have its moisture levels reduced, along with your energy bills.
How to Get Rid of Excess Moisture in Your Crawl Space
Vapor Barrier Installation
Once the moisture, water and excess humidity is eliminated from your crawl space, you won't have to worry about the growth of mold and mildew. You also won't have to worry about damage to the structural integrity of your home due to excess moisture.
A crawl space vapor barrier can be installed to help with the elimination of crawl space moisture. A crawl space vapor barrier is designed to block out water from getting through your crawl space concrete walls or floor.
Selecting a Dehumidifier
Many dehumidifiers for crawl spaces are inefficient. Most crawl-space dehumidifiers are not powerful enough and their collection trays are insufficient. Our crawl space repair company provides powerful dehumidifiers that remove high levels of humidity in your crawl space.
Improper Crawl Space Construction
What Is Wood Rot?
Older homes were generally constructed with dirt crawl spaces. So, if you live in an older home with a crawl space, you probably have moisture problems. Moisture and dirt combine to negatively affect the indoor air quality of your home, as well as the structural integrity.
Wood rot forms due to a tiny organism related to the fungi group. Fungi tend to thrive and produce when the right amount of moisture, oxygen and food are present.
How Are Older Homes Typically Constructed?
Many older homes are built with cinder blocks surrounding the crawl space. The cinder blocks were believed to have provided safety, as well as security for the home's structure. However, the floor of crawl spaces in older homes were generally made with just dirt.
Nature and Your Crawl Space
When an older home has a dirt-floor crawl space, the entire area beneath the home is susceptible to dry rot, wood rot and various other problems, which can lead to the deterioration of your home's structural integrity.
A dirt crawl space floor is easily affected by outside elements, including rainstorms, snow falls, summer heat, and moisture. Most of the time, when moisture mixes with the dirt floor, it can lead to the rotting away of sill plates, floor joists and other components of your home.
Repairing Old Crawl Spaces
A dirt crawl space can be repaired, but excess humidity will always be a problem, unless you have a crawl space vapor barrier or dehumidifier installed. Before installing a vapor barrier or dehumidifier, it is wise to repair all water-related problems beforehand.