Rainy Day Basement Systems Case Studies: Encapsulation and Drainage for Arlington Home

Challenge

In their Arlington, WA home, Alan and Kristy B. were experiencing musty smells. Their crawl space was damp, and rodents were making themselves cozy, ripping down insulation and creating nests amongst the water, rotten wood, dust mites, and mold.

Solution

After the homeowners called an exterminator, Rainy Day moved forward with a plan to create a drier and healthier crawl space, giving the entire home a cleaner environment.

First, we cleaned out the debris, getting rid of the fiberglass insulation, broken wood pieces, rodent feces, the old tattered vapor barrier and other rubble.

Then, we installed two SmartDrains, each equipped with a WaterWatch Floor Alarm. Now, if water intrudes into their crawl space again for whatever reason, the water will flow into the SmartDrain basket, setting off the alarm. This tells Alan and Kristy there is a leakage issue and gives them enough time to fix the leak before water damage occurs.

Prior water damage and high humidity levels underneath the home caused some of the wooden support beams to rot and warp inside of the crawl space. So, we installed 18 high-capacity steel piers called SmartJacks to give the floor beams more support and make the floors above sturdy and level once more.

To help keep the pests and moisture out, we covered the 8 open vents around the crawl space with CleanSpace Vent Covers, creating an air-tight seal and helping insulate the area. We also installed two EverLast Doors, helping keep out unwanted water and living organisms and make the air dry and clean. In addition to helping keep moisture under control, mold, and rot from occurring, pests from entering and wood fixtures from warping, these inorganic vents and doors themselves will never rot, need paint or come off the house on their own.

Following, we installed CleanSpace on the floor, walls and around the base of the piers and SmartJacks. CleanSpace is a 20 mil. thick durable inorganic plastic liner composed of 7 layers.  Having the ability to isolate homes from the earth, and being flexible and puncture resistant, this inorganic liner with an antimicrobial additive is the perfect addition to Alan and Kristy’s crawl space. On top of the CleanSpace, we installed SilverGlo wall panels. Each polystyrene insulation panel is infused with graphite that reflects heat and lowers conductivity. The panels will reflect heat back into the crawl space, making floors warmer and reducing heating bills, giving Alan and Kristy ultimate energy savings.

To complete the dry healthy-home setup, we installed a SaniDry Sedona, an Energy Star rated dehumidifier that can remove up to 100 pints of water per day out of the air and will move over 300 cubic feet of dry air per minute. Taking out over 2.9 liters of water per kilowatt hour of electricity, the SaniDry Sedona is perfect for the moist Washington air and common rainfall.

Now, Alan and Kristy can rest assured that the health of their home is in good hands. They have controlled moisture levels that will save them money on their heating bill and keep mold from forming, pests will have a harder time entering, water will be emptied automatically from the dehumidifier, alarms are in place to alert if water starts forming again, the air from their crawl space is clean and their foundation is level and more secure.

Alan and Kristy were pleased with the job, saying that they “loved” Rainy Day, and that Rainy Day was “very efficient” and that they “felt confident that all [their] needs would be taken care of.” You can view the homeowner’s 5-star review here!