Rainy Day Basement Systems Case Studies: Preventing Moisture Related Damage in Clinton Home
Challenge
Maya M. was very concerned when she noticed her new wooden floor began cupping. Her Clinton home had just been remodeled and she couldn’t figure out what could have been the cause. She had an inspector out to the house, who informed her that the source of her warped wooden floor was the humid crawl space beneath it. The crawl space was enclosed when she purchased the home, but new vents were added during the remodel. The new vents were contributing greatly to the high humidity causing damage in both the crawl space and the home. In addition to the cupped floors on both levels, three of Maya’s wooden foundation posts were rotted and no longer supporting the home.
Solution
We replaced all three of Maya’s rotted wooden posts with SmartJacks to restabilize her foundation. A SmartJack is an adjustable galvanized steel pier that was designed to stop a home from settling and even raise the floor back to its original position. Next, we sealed off the outside air once more to prevent the high humidity levels that were causing Maya’s cupped floors. We encapsulated her crawl space in CleanSpace, a crawl space lining that greatly reduces moisture levels. The CleanSpace is highly durable and is installed by attaching it directly to the foundation walls with fasteners. The lining won’t shift or tear and creates an impermeable barrier between the home and damp Earth below. Finally, we installed a SaniDry CX Dehumidifier to further control the moisture in the crawl space. The SaniDry CX is completely automatic and will activate, deactivate and empty its reservoir with little attention from the homeowner.
