Basement Waterproofing and Crawl Space Repair in WA

The Case Against Crawl Space Ventilation in Washington

Thu, 04 Mar 2010 10:37:42 -0500

Open Crawl Space Vents

For far too many years, homeowners have tried to use outside air to dry out their humid basements and crawl spaces.

In many areas of the country, crawl space vents have been written into building codes, and while those are changing, the conventional "wisdom" is that if outside air is allowed to pass through the space, it will keep the space dry.

Rainy Day Basement Systems has the solutions you need for a dry basement in crawl space. if you live in the Oak Harbor, WA area and would like a FREE dry crawl space or basement estimate, call or contact us by e-mail today!

Ask yourself these three questions:

Who is paying to condition to air I'm blowing out of my home?
When it's raining or humid outside, how dry can that air keep my space?
If venting crawl spaces and basements works, why are they still rotting and growing mold?

To put it simply: venting basements and crawl spaces does not work.

Problem 1: Vented Basements and Crawl Spaces Mean Money out the Window

Drafty Crawl Space Door

Except on the most pleasant days, you won't want the air outside your home to be the same temperature as the air inside.

You pay a lot of money to cool your summer air and heat your air in the winter.

If you have a fan in your basement or crawl space that pulls air from that home and sends it outside, then the air that you paid to condition is literally going out the window.

Even if that fan is energy-efficient, this method cannot effectively dry your basement or crawl space enough to make it worth your increased utility bills.

If you have a vented crawl space and do not seal the vents in the winter, then you're inviting cold air into your home. As the cold air enters, it will immediately cool down all warm things in your crawl space, including heating ducts, hot water pipes, water heaters, and furnaces. While these utilities are working harder to maintain their temperature, the cold will rise upwards, cooling your floorboards and creating an uncomfortable, drafty home.

Problem 2: The Air You Vent Your Home with is Not Dry

A Grated Basement Window Opening in Shoreline that was Eventually Sealed Off After Leaking with Rainwater

If it's raining outside, how dry will the air in your basement or crawl space be? Not very, you can count on that.

And during a summer, when warm, humid air is pulled into the basement or crawl space, it's brought into below-grade space. This cools the air, and forces its relative humidity level to rise dramatically. For each degree the air is cooled, its relative humidity will rise approximately 2.2%. Once the air's relative humidity rises past 100%, the excess moisture will be deposited on all cold surfaces in the crawl space. That's not creating a drier home.

Also, letting humid air into your home in the summer will significantly affect your home's cooling efficiency. Air thick with humidity is harder for air conditioning units to cool, as part of the cooling system's job is to dehumidify the air. That's why air conditioners drip. More humidity means more work for the system, and more money for you to spend.

Problem 3: Venting Crawl Spaces Leads to Rot, Mold and Structural Issues

Crawl Space Walls Stained with Years of Flooding and Moisture

If crawl space vents worked, wouldn't the crawl space be dry?

Crawl space rot is a serious problem, and its repercussions can affect the entire home. Crawl spaces with rotting beams and wood will begin to sag, leading to dipping, uneven floors upstairs. Installing crawl space jacks will temporarily aid in supporting and reinforcing the structure, but sooner or later, the rot must be stopped to maintain structural integrity in the home.

Additionally, because air moves upward in the home as it warms, leaving out the attic and upper levels, some of the air in your home is pulled up through the basement and crawl space. If there are mold spores and dust mite waste in these spaces -- even when it's growing behind your drywall -- it will enter the air in your home.

Crawl space vents are also openings in your home that are very close to the ground. This leaves an open invitation for a wide variety of pests to come in and feast on your rotting wood, including termites, carpenter ants, and mice. Other creatures, such as snakes, spiders, and beetles, will also find this to be a comfortable home.

How to Properly Dry a Basement and Crawl Space

Basement With Vapor Barrier on Walls and Floor and Airtight Windows

An Encapsulated Crawl Space with Sealed Vents

Refer to the trinity of healthy below-grade spaces: Vapor Barriers, Dehumidification, and Inorganic Materials.

First, seal off all vents and close all windows. Then, install a plastic vapor barrier on the walls and floors in the basement or crawl space to keep moisture from passing through the concrete and entering into the space. Once the space is sealed, dehumidify the area to pull any remaining moisture from the space and to keep the area dry. If you're finishing the basement, follow up by using as many inorganic, waterproof materials as possible.

Additionally, vinyl basement windows are important, as they can keep drafts and leaking water from the space. And if you want to install an extra bonus, covered basement window wells can keep cold air away from the glass basement windows while also reflecting in valuable natural sunlight to cheer up the space.

A dry basement and/or crawl space means a healthier, more comfortable home. You'll save money on your home in energy-efficiency, and your home will be protected from structural damage due to mold and rot.

Rainy Day Basement Systems wants to help you create a dry basement and crawl space environment. If you live in or near the areas of Bellingham, Mount Vernon, Oak Harbor, Redmond, Everett, and Shoreline, call or e-mail us today for a FREE dry crawl space or basement estimate!

Does Humid Air Go Up or Down in My Washington Home?

Thu, 04 Mar 2010 09:17:10 -0500

If humid air sinks, where do clouds and rain come from?

There are two classic arguments used to explain where humid air goes in a home in Bellingham, WA and the Northern Washington area.

Argument 1: Wet air is heavier than dry air. Ventilate and dehumidify the basement to solve this.

The idea here is that as air becomes humid in a home, it becomes heavier, causing it to sink down into the basement and lower levels of the home. Therefore, it will ventilate the basement with outside air to circulate this humid air out of the home and keep the basement dry.

Problem 1: Humid air is less dense than dry air.

Dense things sink and less dense things rise, right? Well, according to Isaac Newton, in his book Opticks, (and USA Today) humid air is actually LESS dense than dry air.

It makes sense. If humid air didn't rise, why would rain fall from the sky when the temperature drops?

So, in a home, humid air rises upward, not downward.

If humid air sinks, will this groundlevel vent keep the basement dry?

Problem 2: If humid air WAS denser than dry air, basement vents still wouldn't work.

Let's pretend for a minute that dry air IS lighter than wet air. Where are the vents going to be in the basement and crawl space? At ground level, right? If humid air did sink, wouldn't it flow downward into the basement through the vents?

Problem 3: Outside air isn't always dry.

If it's raining, humid, or damp outside, how dry will ventilated outside air make your basement? Not very, right? And what happens to your utility bills if you're venting cold air into the home in the winter, or hot air in the summer? You can count on some heavy utility bills.

We seal this air out of our home because we don't want it in the house.

Argument 2: Sealing off the outside air and dehumidifying the space will keep it dry.

Other basement contractors will seal off the area from outside air as much as possible. Once the space has been isolated from the outside, they will install a dehumidifier to remove any extra humidity and to maintain the proper humidity level in the future.

To seal off the space, all vents in basements and crawl spaces must be sealed. Crawl space doors and entrances should create an airtight seal when closed to keep out outside air.

Is this vent keeping the basement dry and mold-free?

Moisture can also pass continually through the porous concrete, mortar, or dirt, entering a basement or crawl space straight through the walls and floors.

Along with the moisture, water brings a white, powdery mineral salt called efflorescence. If you seal the walls with a paint, this salt will build up behind the seal, causing it to blister and peel.

Instead, mechanically fasten a sheet of plastic- at least 25 mil in thickness- to the walls. This will keep moisture out of the space, helping you fight mold and moisture damage in the home.

A dehumidifier is a great idea as well. Be sure to pick one that is self-draining, powerful enough for the entire space, and is Energy Star rated to keep your utility bills low while protecting your investment.

Dry Below-Grade Spaces

There's only one good way to keep your basement and crawl space dry: seal the space and install a dehumidifier. If you're interested in taking your basement to the next step, Rainy Day Basement Systems of Northern Washington would like to help you. We offer FREE basement and crawl space waterproofing and damproofing estimates in areas like Mount Vernon, WA. Call or contact us online today to get started!

Protect your basement from flooding with IceGuard.

Tue, 13 Jan 2009 04:30:45 -0500

Until recently, when your sump pump discharge lines were frozen and clogged with ice, there wasn’t much you could do about it.

You could try to flush it, but most of the time you were left with only one option… watch the water rise in your basement as the sump pump was rendered useless.

Now, there is a simple extension called IceGuard, developed by Basement Systems, that will keep frozen discharge lines from causing basement floods.

This inexpensive and clever attachment will keep the water flowing if the discharge line freezes.

Click here to see how IceGuard works as an additional layer of defense against basement flood.

We at Rainy Days Basement Systems know that some times the difference between a dry basement and a flooded one is in the details.

We make sure we take care of them all. Contact us to see how easy and affordable it is to have a basement dry all the time!

Halloween Special: Creepy Crawl Space Stories

Wed, 15 Oct 2008 12:20:59 -0400

It is amazing the amount of blogs posts you find over the internet, about creepy things people find in their crawl spaces. They are usually accompanied by the most disturbing images.

Crawl spaces are, for the most part, a place no one checks unless it is really necessary, and the necessity usually presents itself in the form of pest infestation, foul smelling decomposing carcasses, mold problems and rotten debris, structures and insulation

However, way before those problems become detectable, they are already contributing to deteriorate your home, your health and your bank account. Filthy vented crawl spaces and a health hazard, and a big hole in your budget, due to the energy loss they cause, especially if you run ducts through them.

On the other hand, a clean, healthy, conditioned crawl space, can save you big bucks on cooling and heating, and provide some extra storage space.

When you compute all the benefits of having your crawl space encapsulated, you will realize that there is no reason to let your home become the set for yet another crawl space horror story.

Contact us for a Free Estimate and find out.

Check out Contractors Before You Hire

Tue, 14 Oct 2008 03:09:34 -0400

Washington Attorney General's Office urges homeowners avoid falling victims of contractor scams, with a list of important measures they can take to protect themselves.

A list that the Attorney General asks you to print and tape to your water tank or electrical panel, so that you will have the information at hand when you need emergency repairs.

The list basically tells you to make sure you know the person and company you are about to do business with, by checking licensing information and business reputation. It also has a list of red flags you should watch out for.

A must read for every homeowner in Washington.

Keeping the basement dry is important to your home's health

Tue, 10 Jun 2008 10:54:36 -0400

By Debra Smith
Herald Writer
(Read this article on the Herald site...)

Many people are horrified when they see what the underbelly of their homes looks like, said Dan Malsch.

It's his job to wedge himself into dank crawlspaces and musty basements so he can find a solution to the mold, standing water and musty smells lurking in those places. He brings a camera so he can document the leaking water, mold, rat carcasses and shredded, hanging insulation for his customers.

"People are in shock," said Malsch, who owns Arlington-based Rainy Day Basement Systems with wife Lovisa Malsch.

Malsch spends lots of time educating customers.

"It's a mystery to people why their basements are wet and it's not that complicated," Malsch said.

Conventional wisdom in the construction business is the way to solve moisture issues is to add more vents to the crawl space and basement. Malsch said research has shown that's not true, that vents contribute to the problem by allowing cold air and moisture into the house that gets sucked upward into the home.

The solution is sealing off the basement or crawlspace, he said. The living environment should be separate from the damp earth and concrete under the house. The company uses a special heavy, seven-layer membrane tough enough to crawl on. Malsch compared it to a pool liner The membrane is caulked, sealed and fastened to the walls so moisture can't get through.

The company custom designs a solution based on the needs of the home and the customers wants, Malsch said. Sometimes that means digging trenches, installing a sump pump to keep water out or adding a dehumidifier to filter out mold spores, odors and particulates the air.

Up to 40 percent the air in the average rambler that people are breathing comes from a vented dirt crawlspace under the house, Malsch said. Many of his customers have allergies or health problems. Sealing off the basement or crawlspace and adding dehumidifier improves air quality and reduces humidity in the home, he said.

The company also will prepare basements to be finished. If sheet rock is installed directly on concrete, it will whick moisture and that causes mold to form on the sheet rock. The company installs a vapor barrier inbetween to prevent that problem.

The company doesn't remove mold and Malsch said he isn't certified in pest control. The company's services remove the conditions in the crawlspace or basement that can lead to those problems.

Malsch's business is the regional dealer for Basement Systems Inc., A Seymour, Conn., company with hundreds of independent contractors across the country. Big names in the construction business like Bob Villa of This Old House have touted the company's products on television, and that exposure has led many local customers to his Web site, Malsch said. He serves a territory that stretches from Highway 2 north.

The cost of his services varies depending on the size of the job and the extent of the problems. Sealing off a relatively dry crawl space on a smaller home might cost $4,000. The most expensive job to date was a large home that had duct work flooded with 18,000 gallons of water. That job cost $40,000 to pump out the water and correct the problem that was causing it. But at the completion of the job, Malsch said the homeowners were some of his happiest customers.

"It's a nasty dirty job," he said. "But we're making a big difference for people."