Summer has passed, and fall is finally here! We’ve waited so long for the hot weather to slowly transition into cooler days. Who doesn’t love fall? It’s a great time for walks in the woods while appreciating trees turning their colors to red and orange or taking your grandchildren to a pumpkin patch at your favorite local farm. Hot apple cider, chili, pumpkin bread, mums, pumpkin carving — you name it!
The fall is a great season to start slowing down and refocus from outdoor activities that we did during summer and start putting attention to indoor projects. The nights get chilly, and with low temperatures, we can immediately feel the need to wear socks while walking around the house. It’s because the wind and cold air can get in the crawl space and house through the tiniest little cracks. If you’re not sure where to start, here’s a checklist for you:
- Turn on the heat to make sure it works, so you won’t have any unpleasant surprises when the temperatures drop to freezing point.
- Inspect and seal around the windows and doors.
- If your house has hardwood floors, you may want to consider laying down rugs or runners in the most frequent areas where you feel cold air getting through.
- Check the vents on the walls of your crawl space. They are probably open after the summertime. You want to close them to control the cold airflow from getting in the crawl space area because that cold air will move up into the main area of the house.
- Make sure the insulation in your crawl space is in place and tightly secured between the floor joists. If you find wet or rotten insulation, replace it with a new layer.
If you feel like this is too much work and you are tired of checking all these steps every year, then Frontier Foundation & Crawl Space Repair has a permanent solution for you! With just a few easy fixes, we can turn your crawl space or basement into a permanently sealed-off, healthy space. Here’s what we do:
- First, we remove all water if there is any found in the crawl space and seal all cracks around the vents, HVAC, and plumbing.
- We remove all insulation. Fiberglass insulation tends to soak up moisture and humidity, which causes mold growth and a mess of fallen insulation in the crawl space. This type of insulation causes headaches for the homeowner and more work when homeowners have to fix it. Once our encapsulation system is in place, there is no need for the old insulation anymore!
- Then, we separate the house from the earth by using drainage matting, which creates an air gap and lifts up the encapsulation system off the ground. Our specially designed encapsulation system is installed on top of the drainage matting and on the walls. The wall vents are closed off to condition the space.
- As the last step, after the space is conditioned, we install SaniDry Sedona Dehumidifier that ensures the humidity stays below 65%, which prevents mold growth in the crawl space.
Encapsulating your crawl space will keep your feet warm in winter and your house cool in summertime!
Each house is different, so for the best results, schedule a free, no-obligation inspection with one of our design specialists, who will thoroughly inspect your crawl space or basement and present you with the best solution that works for you!
Martina Brindley, Marketing Coordinator, Frontier Foundation & Crawl Space Repair
