Crawl Space Waterproofing: Why You Need It

When constructing a home, it needs to have the essential components to ensure everyone can live in it without a problem. You have several examples of systems such as HVACs, plumbing, and electrical. However, one part of the system rarely gets attention, and that is the home's crawl space. 

You can find many buildings aside from houses with crawl spaces because they are an integral part of keeping the interior free from problems like the concrete ground getting soaked up with vapor. However, a time will come where the crawl space will get damaged because of moisture. That is the perfect time when building owners would waterproof their crawl spaces. Once you provide waterproof crawl space, you should expect several benefits for your building.

1. Avoid Moisture Problems

Your home or building's crawl space will end up getting damaged when neglected for a long time. Other building owners would suffer the consequences of paying tons for repairs, which they could have avoided if they took better care of their crawl space. Usually, the most common issue for neglected crawl spaces is moisture.

A crawl space gets moisture damage through various ways, including plumbing leaks, water seeping from the soil from heavy rain, or condensation. You should know that humidity condenses on cold or snowy surfaces like ducts and drips onto the crawl space floor. Most building owners find it challenging to determine if there's moisture invading the crawl space, and the only way to know is when someone goes into the crawl space and does a thorough inspection.

The only way to prevent frequent crawl space maintenance and repairs is by waterproofing it. When you waterproof your crawl space, it significantly reduces moisture that damages materials such as bricks, wood, and even metal. If you want to make your crawl space more convenient to access, don't forget to install crawl space access doors.

2. Enhance Indoor Air Quality

Besides avoiding costly expenses, waterproofing your building's crawl space can provide another benefit, which is improving indoor air quality. At least 50% of the air in a crawl space can find its way into your interior building. Since you now know that moisture damages your crawl space, you should expect issues to happen like molds. 

No person should directly inhale the molds' fumes because they are incredibly toxic and can cause severe respiratory problems. Once you start to notice that there's an odd smell emanating from your building's ground floor, you shouldn't think twice about hiring inspectors to check it and provide the best solution to eliminate the molds. 

3. Strengthen Your Building's Structural Integrity

Too much crawl space moisture can cause significant damage to several integral building parts. You may start to notice moisture damaging your building's interior when your wooden floor starts feeling soft and soggy for no reason. The moisture from the ground has found its way to seep through your floor and cause damage, which may require an entire floor replacement because of the irreparable damage. Once you add a vapor barrier between your building's floor and crawl space, you won't have to think about moisture finding its way to your building's interior. 

4. Minimize Electrical Issues and Dangers

Your contractors might have installed electrical wiring right above your crawl space's surface, which is dangerous without efficient waterproofing. Most electrical wires have a rubber compound that protects the wire's inside from any form of moisture. But even the slightest opening on the wire can cause the moisture to damage the wire and potentially cause building fires. If you want to prevent electrical fires, ensure you contact contractors who can crawl space waterproofing. 

Never take your crawl space for granted if you want to enjoy a problem-free home or building. Once you waterproof your crawl space, don't forget to have it regularly inspected because the waterproof coating will wear off at some point. And if you ever need help with supplying high-quality construction materials, you can rely on Best Access Doors all the time! Call us now at 1-800-483-0823.

Guest Contributor: Chris Jackson