You may not know it, but your crawl space influences your entire home! A neglected crawl space can cause you, as a homeowner, a lot of grief. Prioritizing the encapsulation of your crawl space will allow for a dry, clean, mold and pest free crawl space.
The positive effects can even be felt soon after you encapsulate and insulate your crawl space: cleaner and odor-free air in your home, elimination of cold drafts from the floor in the wintertime and decreased humidity during the summer.
We have found the most significant change can be felt in your wallet. Unlike a home that is built on a slab, or even over a basement, crawl spaces are seldom conditioned. This allows energy to leak out, driving your utility bills up. According to the Department of Energy up to 40% of energy loss can be contributed to air infiltration. When you encapsulate and insulate your crawl space, it allows your house to be more energy-efficient, typically with energy savings of 15-20%!
How Crawl Space Encapsulation Works:
First comes DryShield® Crawl Space Liner, an encapsulation system that covers the dirt floor and foundation walls in your crawl space. All of the seams are sealed, creating an impenetrable barrier against moisture.
This system:
- Uses a multi-layer, 12-mil-thick material similar to a swimming pool liner.
- Reduces entry points for radon gas.
- Is fire retardant.
- Meets requirements of the 2012 International Residential Code
- (IRC).
- Is environmentally friendly.
- The clean, light-colored surface brightens the crawl space and
- turns it into a usable storage area.
The second part of the Dry Basement® crawl space solution is the SantaFe® Air Filtration System. This is a high-efficiency crawl space dehumidifier and air filtration system. For crawl spaces, we recommend the Santa Fe® – Advanced II.
This low-profile device:
- Dries the air in spaces up 6,000 square feet by 3 feet high.
- Removes up to 400% more moisture than an average crawl space
- dehumidifier, without using any more energy.
- Automatically empties collected water into the sub-floor drainage
- system or down an existing drain. If a gravity drain isn’t available,
- a condensate pump can be installed to remove the water. Either,
- way there’s no pan for you to empty.
- Uses a two-stage filter: a rinse-clean filter for removing large
- particles, and an easily replaceable filter that removes
- mold and dust particles down to 2 microns.
- Makes your heater and air conditioner work more efficiently, since
- drier air is easier and less expensive to heat and cool.
Encapsulate Your Crawl Space Today!
Dry Basement® Foundation Repair wants to help you save money, improve the air quality of your home and make your home more energy-efficient. Contact us today for your crawl space encapsulation assessment and a free estimate. We serve the Iowa, Kansas, and Missouri areas with offices in Kansas City, Des Moines, Columbia, and Wichita. Click the links below for more information on each location.