Crawlspace Insulation Austin - Expert Encapsulation

According to statistics from EPA's Energy Star Association, energy bills can be cut by 30-50% with a properly sealed building envelope versus a vented one. The initial cost of the spray insulation should be seen as an investment as it will pay for itself over time in heating and cooling costs.

Absolutely! Depending on how much groundwater we are trying to manage, we may or may not need several aspects of the Basement Systems CleanSpace Encapsulation. When you meet with your Solution Specialist, we will make recommendations as to exactly what crawl space repairs are needed to solve the problems you are experiencing with your Austin crawlspace insulation. 

All Austin crawl spaces are different. The price depends on the size of the crawlspace, scope of work required to do it right, and the difficulty of the work. We have fixed pricing and do not charge more for nicer parts of town. Everyone gets the same rate. With that said, you can see the 3 main project types pricing above. 

There are many methods and products that are available that can help to improve a humid crawl spaces as well as help to mitigate the issues that excess moisture causes under the house and in your living space. Some of them are more effective compared to others.

Some people simply place a vapor barrier (crawl space encapsulation plastic) over the crawlspace floor. Vapor barriers prevent humidity from moving from the wet ground into the crawl space. This probably does help. However, it doesn’t do anything with the humid air that comes into the vents or prevent mold growth which is bad for indoor air quality and can create structural damage. How can that be dealt with?

Other people lay down a vapor barrier, and then seal up the ven and add a dehumidifier. This is an improvement. However, it still doesn’t address the air leakage coming from the concrete walls or joist bays. The walls have a tendency to soak moisture up from the surrounding ground all year long.

This particular “solution” also can cause your dehumidifier to have to work overtime and cause your energy bills to increase.

Crawl space encapsulation is the only foolproof way of fixing all of your crawl space issues including managing your heating and cooling costs. This process basically transforms your Austin crawl space into an insulated, dry space.

The following are some of the steps that are involved with a proper crawl space encapsulation:

1. Eliminate the water with crawl space encapsulation. And then keep it out permanently! Before you make any major changes to your home, first you need to get rid of any standing water and deal with any drainage problems. SmartSump is our sump pump for crawl space drainage.
2. Remediate the crawl space mold. Removing old from the floor joists and cleaning any air ducts that may have mold on them is a good first step to take. Otherwise, you might seal mold up inside of your crawl space. We have a proprietary Mold-X that we use. It kills and neutralizes mold and prevents it from being able to release spores.
3. Install a crawlspace vapor barrier. Your best option is using our 20 mils CleanSpace vapor barrier and installing it over the crawl space support piers, walls, and floors. It is then sealed on the edges in order to prevent humidity from being able to creep up over the side.
4. Seal up the crawl space vents. You need to make it as if they were never there to begin with. That way, humid air will not be able to easily circulate. We have Everlast vent covers that we use that do not crack, rot, or warp.
5. Insulate the rim joist bays and crawlspace walls. That is an effective way to regulate fluctuations in temperature inside the crawl space and to save on your energy bills. The walls are insulated with closed cell spray foam insulation, so you can do insulation removal with the old fiberglass batts in the floor cavities as well.
6. Seal up all crawl space floor penetrations. Now that the fiberglass batts are gone, you can easily find all of the places where the pipes, wires, and ductwork penetrate the floor. The gaps can then be sealed using our ZypFoam product.
7. Dehumidify the crawlspace mechanically. How can your crawl space be kept dry after you do all of this work? We have a SaniDry Sedona dehumidifier that we use. The energy-efficient units will maint our crawl space at 50% to 60% RH all year long This way, it will be nearly impossible for any mold to grow there.

What is the result of crawlspace insulation Austin?

No musty, smelly air. The indoor air quality is greatly improved. Fewer problems with allergies. The HVAC is more efficient. Energy bills are lower. Not as many gigantic cockroaches.

Austin crawl spaces are notorious for having mold growing and musty odors. The problem is that moisture wicks up from the ground. Cold air meets warm air and condensates. The moisture then creates a great environment for the decomposition of organic materials.

Some Austin crawlspaces also have standing water that leads to even worse odors.

At Stellrr we use a variety of tools to make your crawlspace dry to slow decomposition of organic materials (floor joist, subfloor, piers and more).  

We commonly use sump pumps to get groundwater out. Then we use our CleanSpace vapor barriers to stop moisture being wicked up from the dirt. We seal the skirting walls and rim joists with closed cell spray foam. And we install a SaniDry Dehumidifier to keep mold from growing, and making a healthy home for your family in Austin Texas. 

Crawl space encapsulation will not eliminate all of the odors you may smell. But it is the correct first step. 

At times after full crawl space encapsulation we have installed our Aspen Whole Home Air Scrubber that keeps the air moving inside the home. 

While we have created the right environment to manage odor,ding materials in your floors, your walls, and other areas that you cannot manage without also continual there are still decomposed builly cleaning the indoor air as well. This makes for a healthy home. The ultimate indoor air quality solution for Austin Texas. 

While we have not needed to do this procedure in Austin TX, several of our Radon Mitigation friends in other parts of the country will install radon control decompression to put the crawlspace under slightly negative pressure. This can help move some of the odors at the floor down into and out of the crawlspace. But it takes with it the warm air and cold air that you paid to condition.  

We usually address crawlspaces with a procedural approach. We can take stage 1 encapsulation, then stage 2 air purification, and stage 3 decompression. and stage 4 closed cell sprayed to the subfloor. Which is the last thing you want to do for health of the home and the occupants.