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Moisture Barrier for House Crawl Space
Posted on 2/4/25 at 8:46 am
Posted on 2/4/25 at 8:46 am
Just bought a house in New Orleans Metro area with a conventional pier and beam foundation. House was built around 2010 so relatively new bones, but am considering adding a moisture barrier in the crawl space which currently just has a dirt floor, like i imagine most do. It was something my inspector pointed out during the buying process, saying it might preserve the beams in the long term, and my previous house also had a Visqueen type barrier underneath.
Is this something worth looking into, and can i do it myself? Are there companies that do this stuff on the daily and quick? Are there different degrees you can take this to, or should i just let it be the next guy's problem?
Any insight is appreciated!!!
Is this something worth looking into, and can i do it myself? Are there companies that do this stuff on the daily and quick? Are there different degrees you can take this to, or should i just let it be the next guy's problem?
Any insight is appreciated!!!
7
Posted on 2/4/25 at 8:52 am to bigeasy225
Really needs to be done. If the house is high enough you can do it. If it’s only a foot or so off the ground - I would hire someone. Be aware though, it’s quite possible if you hire a jackleg they might not do as good a job as you would like knowing you ain’t gonna crawl under there to inspect it. They are liable to think “that’s good enough, he’ll never know”.
Posted on 2/4/25 at 2:29 pm to bigeasy225
It’s conventional to do so, but I’ll offer the following caveats:
1.) If there’s ANY chance of water intrusion in big storms, it’s going to sit on top of that barrier forever. So be sure property grade and drainage are perfect.
2.) Same if you ever bust a pipe, water stays forever.
I had a pier and beam house for 12yrs and pulled our barrier out because both of the above happened. If I had kept the house, I would have installed a very good barrier and a professional dehumidifier designed for crawlspaces and fully encapsulated.
1.) If there’s ANY chance of water intrusion in big storms, it’s going to sit on top of that barrier forever. So be sure property grade and drainage are perfect.
2.) Same if you ever bust a pipe, water stays forever.
I had a pier and beam house for 12yrs and pulled our barrier out because both of the above happened. If I had kept the house, I would have installed a very good barrier and a professional dehumidifier designed for crawlspaces and fully encapsulated.
Posted on 2/4/25 at 6:34 pm to bigeasy225
Gutters and sloping is most important
Posted on 2/4/25 at 7:24 pm to bigeasy225
vapor barrier greatly help keep the humidity lower under a home. Like hugely. Bare dirt is constantly emitting moisture.
But you need to have some kind of underpinning to animals out from tearing it up and more importantly, proper slope grade to keep water from flowing under the home and standing on vapor barrier.
The only way to go sans vapor barrier in the humid south is to have extremely good ventilation under the home. Like no underpinning at all or lattice/wire. And even that gets iffy when it gets reallllly humid out.
In fact, if summer dewpoints keep creeping up, non-conditioned crawl-space homes could all start seeing problems. An 80* dewpoint with a subfloor at 70* from the A/C is going to be problematic.
But you need to have some kind of underpinning to animals out from tearing it up and more importantly, proper slope grade to keep water from flowing under the home and standing on vapor barrier.
The only way to go sans vapor barrier in the humid south is to have extremely good ventilation under the home. Like no underpinning at all or lattice/wire. And even that gets iffy when it gets reallllly humid out.
In fact, if summer dewpoints keep creeping up, non-conditioned crawl-space homes could all start seeing problems. An 80* dewpoint with a subfloor at 70* from the A/C is going to be problematic.
Posted on 2/6/25 at 8:15 am to bigeasy225
We live in Memphis, but have a pier and beam foundation on our home built in 1904.
Last year I replaced a ton of rotten joists and had the house releveled. We tore out hvac ducts in the crawlspace so the foundation company had room and replaced them with hard ducts. After, I encapsulated the crawlspace, put in a new sump pump and a crawl space dehumidifier.
Made a huge difference. However we encapsulated the ground, rather than pinning the moisture barrier to the floor joists if that makes sense; we instead had a company come and spray some waterproofing and inspect repellant shite on the subfloor and joists that initially looked like thinned tar. We're happy with how it came out.
Last year I replaced a ton of rotten joists and had the house releveled. We tore out hvac ducts in the crawlspace so the foundation company had room and replaced them with hard ducts. After, I encapsulated the crawlspace, put in a new sump pump and a crawl space dehumidifier.
Made a huge difference. However we encapsulated the ground, rather than pinning the moisture barrier to the floor joists if that makes sense; we instead had a company come and spray some waterproofing and inspect repellant shite on the subfloor and joists that initially looked like thinned tar. We're happy with how it came out.
Posted on 2/6/25 at 10:20 pm to bigeasy225
quote:
Are there companies that do this stuff on the daily and quick? Are
There is a company in Mississippi and Louisiana that does marvelous work. Check out MidSouth Crawlspace Solutions. They will answer all of your questions.
Posted on 2/7/25 at 7:40 am to bigeasy225
I would look into foam insulation on the underside of your house. Closed cell fixed my issues.
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