What are Some Common Crawl Space Issues?
When you think of your crawl space, what comes to mind? Many homeowners would say that their crawl space is an area that they don’t think of often. However, ignoring your crawl space can lead to serious issues that could have costly and long-lasting effects on your house. There are common crawl space problems that tend to pop up regularly but there are also ways to fight back against these problems with crawl space repair solutions so they don’t keep coming back.
What is the purpose of a crawl space?
A crawl space sounds like the name — it’s a small space, no taller than four feet in height, under your home. In areas where a basement isn’t feasible or is too expensive, a home will be built with a crawl space to allow easy access to important utilities like water, electricity, and insulation. Workers will have to crawl into the space under the home to access any utilities for maintenance. While you can finish a basement, you can’t finish a crawl space. The rudimentary nature of a crawl space leaves it vulnerable to all sorts of problems that require crawl space repair.
Common issues that require crawl space repair.
Wood Rot
In addition to providing maintenance access, crawl spaces also help to boost air circulation throughout your home. There’s a catch, however – ventilation can allow water to get into your home which can lead to water damage and wood rot. Too much humidity in your crawl space can lead to wood rot that weakens the supports under your home, causing all sorts of problems that need foundation and crawl space repair.
Mold and Mildew
Excessive moisture can also lead to another common problem: mold and mildew. Fungi and mold are attracted to dark, damp spaces and will eat away at your foundation until it’s weak and unstable. Mold growth and mildew can also cause serious health issues to you and your loved ones.
Pest Damage
Crawl spaces are the perfect home for pests that want to make a home under your home. Sometimes, rodents or other large creatures can get in through the vents, or bugs like termites can sneak in and eat away at the wood that makes up your house.
Foundation Settling
When water and moisture get into your crawl space, either by leaks through the vents or flooding, they can seriously weaken the ground below your foundation, which causes settlement and sinking. This will show up in other areas of your house as wall cracks, gaps and spaces around your doors and windows, and uneven concrete stairs and stoops, to name a few issues. Crawl space repair is the first step to addressing foundation settlement before it gets really bad so that you don’t have to worry about more issues down the road.
Choosing the right crawl space repair for your problems
No crawl space repair method is perfectly foolproof, but addressing issues caused by water damage early on is important in preventing them from becoming a much more serious problem. Crawl space encapsulation treats the issues caused by too much moisture by isolating the crawl space so that it isn’t affected by outside weather or temperatures.
Encapsulation uses a vapor barrier to keep moisture, pests, and other common crawl space issues from invading your home. Not to be confused with plastic sheeting, a vapor barrier is a strong defense against water damage and other crawl space issues because it is difficult to puncture and has low water permeability.
Contact My Foundation Repairs today to get a free quote for crawl space repair. We can help you identify your crawl space issues, the best course of action, and preventative methods that meet your family’s budget and situation.