Before & After Photos

Crawlspaces are often necessary. In addition to this, many people believe venting a crawlspace is a necessary evil. This is both true and false. Venting a crawlspace is evil—that’s for certain. However, it is not necessary. Many people decide to do this because they have a dirt crawlspace, which, in itself, is problematic. Dirt crawlspaces cost more money to heat and cool. Because of the dirt, the crawlspace has damp air and the humidity levels are through the roof. All of these issues add up to bring more moisture issues and water into the space. If you ever wonder why you may be experiencing water issues, this may be the leading cause right here.

Let’s use this crawlspace as an example. This Hartwell, Georgia homeowner was having considerable trouble with their crawlspace area. They were witnessing an explosion of water issues from which they could not determine the origin. They were at their wit’s end when they decided to give All-Dry of the Carolinas a call. We were able to send out our Design Specialist, Jonathan Geddie, to take a look and get to the bottom of everything.

The “before” photo has a sample of what he found. The first thing he noticed was the plastic liner on the floor. Now, don’t get me wrong, the liner was definitely a good idea. However, without it being sealed it’s not doing its job. This means that the liner is completely sealed to the wall, without any holes or patches exposed. Once this happens, none of the moisture from the earth can escape into the crawlspace air. Moreover, the liner wasn’t particularly thick. It was layered, but it did little else but hide the clay dirt floor.

Now, in the “after” photo, we see the changes made. Here, we’ve installed our patented CleanSpace. This is a 20 mils thick liner reinforced with polyester cords. When we install this product, we cover the entire floor and everything else, including supports. All of the edges are sealed using a variety of methods designed to keep the liner in place. The end result is what you see now, new and improved. Not only does it take care of the dirt floor problem, but it also brightens the space. Our crew, led by Foreman Raymond Petry, did an amazing job It looks better than it ever did before, and our customer surely agrees.

It’s difficult to maintain a crawlspace when it’s not a space we often frequent. Unlike a basement, this area isn’t usually used for storage or recreation. Because of that, the space falls into disuse and any problems it has are swept beneath the rug until they begin to affect the rest of the home. It always happens like this. Now that doesn’t mean that there’s anyone to blame, it only means that this is bound to occur. It just is. Water Issues will arise as long as the dirt floor is exposed and the walls are porous.

Take a look at our “before” photo, this is a prime example of a crawlspace that is afflicted with moisture issues. The walls are stained with efflorescence and the floors are barely covered by the thin sheet of plastic. It was a valiant effort by the homeowners to attempt to rectify this problem, but that sheet simply wasn’t good enough.

The problem no longer exists in the “after” photo. In this photo, we’ve cleared out the problem. The entirety of the crawlspace is covered by our CleanSpace plastic liner. This liner is far superior to the original liner in the crawlspace. It is 20mils thick, and reinforced with polyester cords. This cording makes it nearly impossible to rip or tear the fabric. Also in this photo, there is the SuperSump pump that catches the any potential water the space may experience due to flooding or heavy rains.

This Hartwell, Georgia crawlspace has never looked better.

Pictured as the “before” is the crawlspace before All-Dry of the Carolina began the process of moisture proofing it. It has all the tells of a bad, humid situation. Insulation is hanging on to the ceiling by a thread. The plastic liner they have is saturated with water and dirt. The air itself smells horrible and is not fit for man or beast.

Meanwhile, the Clemson, South Carolina is given a new lease on life in the “after” photo. This is only part two of a staged process. Here, the old liner has been removed. Along the walls, we’ve installed the first wave of our patented, 20 mils thick CleanSpace liner. Across the dirt floor, drainage matting has been fitted and installed. The purpose of this dimpled material is to guide the water towards the sump pump. The following stage is to place CleanSpace on top of this material.

The final stage should give this crawlspace a total encapsulation.

This customer, as with many other of our customers, had a moisture and mold problem in their crawlspace. The best way to remedy this is to call us to figure out exactly what you need! In this case, our system design specialist recommended Mold-X in order to get rid of any existing mold, and a CleanSpace Liner in order to prevent any further moisture from entering the crawlspace.

The "before" photo shows what moisture has done to this crawlspace and insulation. When there is excess moisture in the crawlspace, the insulation gets heavy and begins to fall. This is what has happened in this photo.

The "after" photo shows the same area our crew had installed the CleanSpace Encapsulation system. You can see that the customer opted to remove all of their installation, because of this we installed our Silver Glo Insulation, which helps cut down on heating and cooling costs. The customer can decide later on wheather they would like to reinstall insulation or leave it the way it is!

Crawlspaces can be a great place for storage, because it is usually just as large as the rest of the house, just a little shorter. However, this space usually cannot be used because of the condition of the crawlspace. While not all crawlspaces have issues with water or moisture, at the very least most have a dirt crawlspace. 

This homeowner used their crawlspace to store quite a few things. The "before" picture shows off just a few of the things that they had stored under the home. While many of these items wouldn't be affected by a small amount of moisture, the longer the exposure, the more damage can happen. One of the reasons why this homeowner called is because of the water getting into the crawlspace through areas like the corner (behind one of the bikes).

The next picture shows the crawlspace after our CleanSpace liner was installed. The main material that can be seen is the white CleanSpace liner, but we also installed some clear CleanSpace wall so that any other contractors that may work in the crawlspace are able to see what is behind our liner. There is also a SaniDry Sedona Dehumidifier to monitor and control the humidity.