Concrete or CleanSpace?

[brian scott]

I live in Georgia and have a 20 year old two story home over a 1300 sq. ft. dirt crawlspace. I have humidity and odor problems that I attribute to the crawlspace. I have had two estimates/inspections done to correct the situation. Both contractors found no visual signs of mold, water infiltration, pipe leakage or groundwater problems. The problems appear to solely be from the vents and moisture in the ground. The contractor that will concrete the crawlspace also shoots closed cell insulation to completely seal the crawlspace. He indicated no need for dehumidification. The CleanSpace contractor will dehumidify along with the ground barrier. The cost for both systems is with $600 of one another. I am finding it hard to get an unbiased opinion of both systems as my only source of information is the contractors themselves. I just want to get the best product to eliminate the humidity and odors. Trying to decide in the next couple of days. Your input would be appreciated. Thanks.

[Crawl Space MD]

Hi,
Dehumidification would be needed more often than not in your area. Pouring concrete will not address the wall moisture problem.CleanSpace will isolate the home from the Crawl Space and sealing off the vents is a must. CleanSpace will outperform this competitor.

Crawl Space MD

[J.B]

I am exploring my options to closeup my crawlspace also. I have been getting bids from many contractors and am between doing the 'Cleanspace Encapsulation' or with placing a 10 mil plastic down over the clay, placing blue board over the plastic, placing 4" concrete, and having closed cell polyurethane spray foam applied. This I belive is what Brian is playing around with also. I will be getting an estimate on the 'Cleanspace' next week. My concerns are: 1) Will either eliminate mice from coming in crawlspace? We live on a farm and have completed harvest. This has disturbed field mice homes and are now looking for new homes for the winter. Our exterminator put out poison, but we can smell one when it is dead. Can (or will) the mice eat thru the plastic or the foam? 2) I like the idea with the 'Cleanspace', but donot like the idea of plastic as the floor, and how would you rid the wrinkles from time to time? From the pictures, I have not seen one yet that looked smooth. I may opt for the 'ThermalDry Floor Matting' if i go this route.
3) Neither company has sold me on how they plan to keep the outside acess door 'sealed' when having to go thru it to acess the crawlspace when needed. I would think this would be the most important to be air tight. Upon coming in and out the door to retrieve stored items in the crawlspace, this seal is bound to wear in a short time. I am ready to go with one of the options ASAP, if not yesterday, but I want all questions and concerns answered before hand, and who is going to stand behind their warranty the best.
Brian- What option did you decide on, if you have chosen already?

[richard]

J.B.,

CleanSpace is a great, simple, cost-effective solution to solving dirt crawl space issues, lowering humidity, and eliminating odors.

1. However, CleanSpace is not a pest control system, and mice could chew through it. Your exterminator is the solution to this problem.

2. As for the wrinkles, CleanSpace is a 20 mil liner, it may not lay perfectly smooth, but this is a thick plastic liner with cord reinforcement that is stiff and really tough. We do not pull it tight like carpeting, but there's no real need to do this.

3. I'm surprised to hear that a competitor has a sealed access door. Ours is sturdy, but I suppose with a real lot of usage this could be a concern that the gasket would get damaged. If you were to go in and out a few/three times every day, it may wear out over a shorter period of time. Under typical usage conditions, it will last a long time.

Thanks for the questions,
-Richard

[J.B]

Thanks for yor reply richard. My wife and talk every day as to what will be the best solution to our problem and will last (durable) for future without a hefty cost later for a better solution. Our main concerns are both dampness, and the smell of dead mice. These two are the top of our list. We completed building in August of this year. We have two other houses on the farm (built 5yrs ago). Both families have crawlspaces with vents and neither has had any complaints or repairs. Mice do get into there house, but they keep two good mousers. Mice are not getting into our house (yet), but the smell from them dead in the crawlspace can be smelled in diffrent areas of the house. Another question is that we have our well line and pressure tank in the crawlspace. How will this 20 mil liner be securly sealed around the water line (that goes under the house to the well) and any other utilities and still maintain a proper seal or enclosure from gaining humidity? Also, the entrance to the crawlspace is along the outside of the house. If we were to go with the 'Cleanspace', we will want to store things and utilize this new cleanspace. So in doing so, this entrance door along the outside will be getting used. Is opening and closing (sealing) going to be a problem, and how hard and how much is it to replace the gasket.
Thanks for your feedback. I have read through alot of the threads here, and some questions have been answered. I hope my questions help others in their delimas also.

[richard]

J.B.,

We're trying to seal out MOST of the outside air, and then condition the crawl space with our SaniDry dehumidifier and air filterer. We'll never attain an air tight seal, but we can stop most of the outside air from coming in and then it becomes realistic and cost efficient to be able to dehumidify the air down to a 50% relative humidity (or somewhere in the 50-60% range -- because we know that most molds won't grow below 60% RH).

So we seal around utilities as best we can and actually go up the walls within 2-6 inches of the sill plate, but don't seal to it so as not to create a moisture trap against the wood, as this could cause it to rot.

Opening and closing the CleanSpace door is done with 2 to 4 wing nuts (depending on door size), so it's pretty easy to get open. The gasket is adhered to the door, so replacing it would not be difficult -- and so long as it's not abused, the gasket should remain good for some time (I don't have any sort of factual data on the longevity of this gasket, but I've never heard of one coming off or wearing out).

Thanks for your questions. CleanSpace is not an overly complicated system, but we believe the best to address crawl space moisture concerns. It is easily repaired if you were to puncture or tear it dragging stuff in or out of the crawl space (but if you've felt it, you'd know that it wouldn't be easy to puncture or tear).

Hope this answers your questions.

-Richard