Prevent mold, rot, and odors in Dickson TN.

Challenge

Sometimes it is hard to get excited about getting foundation work completed on your home. A Dickson Tennessee family called to have a free inspection on their crawl space. The family had lived in the home for 8 years and had noticed some problems with mold and mildew for the past couple of year that they knew of. The problem was getting worse and affecting the flooring of the home. The home owner only went in the crawl space about twice a year so he was not very familiar if there were any leaks but did claim the home had a musty, damp, or moldy smell upstairs. Other family members do suffer from allergies and asthma adding to the concern. Rotted wood had already been replaced once before. The soft spots in the floor suggest there was more.

The homeowner’s accomplishment list was to control the moisture from the Earth in the crawl space. Prevent mold, rot, and odors. Save Energy and lower utility bills. Of course fix sagging or rotting floors. Gaining storage space was an added benefit.

The inspection revealed mold, wood rot, condensation, duct leakage, open vents, and insects. The relative humidity was 81.9%. The recommended relative humidity of a crawl space is 40% or less, mold thrives by 70%.

Normal Wood moisture content is 6-11%. Wood flooring cannot be installed at levels over 12%. This home measured at 19%.

Solution

Our inspector recommended removing the existing debris from the crawl space and reinforcing the structure with sister floor joist and Smart Jacks. He also recommended, encapsulating the crawl space with proper vapor barrier to control the temperature and humidity levels protecting the materials the home is built with. The encapsulation will include a drainage matting, pump liner with TripleSafe Pump, back up alarm, 20 mil vapor barrier liner, insulated crawl space door, and spray foam of the rim joist.  This healthier environment will also help manage the family’s allergies.