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Old 02-29-2016, 02:28 PM
 
Location: Chapel Hill
2 posts, read 1,883 times
Reputation: 10

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We have a crawl space that is fairly wet - At one level it is almost 7 feet from dirt to above floor joists - at another not so high. We already installed a french drain around the permiter and sloped the dirt away from the house in the front and on the sides. In the back of the property there is a large mound of dirt against the garage wall - my mom is concerned it is actually bringng more moisture into the concrete area/garage where she lives and works as an artist. That has no crawl under it -

The rest of the house has the deep crawl - water puddles up in certain areas and does not drain out - even though there seemed to have been drainage pipes ( and a hole) initially created at the lower sloping end of the area. We have a creek nearby as well. Our neighbors are above us and when it pours all the water seems to come down towards our creek and into our yard - so we know we have some moisture issues al; around the deal with.

The crawl is our biggest concern now. Bought the house less than 2 years ago and now there is mold etc. We have gotten quotes that run from $5000 - $13000. Some say we need a sump-pump - others say no need. Some say encapslate floor and wall and put in dehumidifer = some say do not. We would like to use the area for storage and even maybe a work-out room - it does not need to be fully conditioned but of course breathable air is important - right?

I have read so many forum posts on here but many were 4 - 6 years ago. Please forgive my ignorance on all this - it is just so overwhelming. Do we need sump-pump plus plastic on floors and walls or wil the vapor barrior be fine? Can we later install a floor and or walls over the plastic?

Also - our heat pump - water heater and well pump are all located in this crawl space area as well. Any thoughtful advice would be great - and please be kind - I am a newbie at understanding all this.

Thanks
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Old 02-29-2016, 02:46 PM
Status: "Made the Retirement Run in under 12 parsecs!!!" (set 21 days ago)
 
Location: Cary, NC
43,176 posts, read 76,815,786 times
Reputation: 45533
1. Find the source of water, and divert and prevent as much intrusion as possible. This may require grading so surface water runs away, reworking gutters and downspouts so water from the roof is diverted far from the foundation, and looking at the driveway to see if it is chanelling water towards the house.
Some homes have open porch decking that allows rain to enter directly into the crawlspace.
Regardless, removing water from the crawlspace is only a backup to preventing intrusion in the first place.


2. Draining water from the crawlspace.
If the drains are plugged up with dirt, they will let water lay in the crawlspace. You need to have the drain pipes checked that they are properly sloped, and open to drain away from the crawlspace.
The interior of the crawlspace should be graded so that the puddles drain towards the outlet drain.
Sump pump? Should only be needed if water has to be lifted to the exterior. If the crawlspace drains have adequate slope to drain without pumping, a sump pump is probably unnecessary.


3. Encapsulate?
I like it, but I would only do it if I thought I had water intrusion and drainage addressed. Encapsulation is for high humidity situations, not for puddles and pooling water correction.
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Old 02-29-2016, 03:11 PM
 
Location: Richmond VA
6,874 posts, read 7,851,412 times
Reputation: 18199
My crawlspace is lined completely with plastic and has a dehumidifier. It is dry most of the time, but will flood with heavy rain, then drains out rapidly. I know I need a new gutter downspout, but I don't worry about it. The dehumidifier does the job and keeps it dry.

In NY I had a sump pump and it was absolutely critical, even when it was NOT raining. IMHO if your crawlspace constantly has water in it, that might have merit. But you can always try the Dehumidifier to see if it will dry out those standing puddles.

my 2 cents!
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Old 02-29-2016, 04:50 PM
 
Location: Chapel Hill
2 posts, read 1,883 times
Reputation: 10
Thank you - not draining from driveway - do have possible issues with downspouts... have high humidity and since it has been raining a lot more this year - hard to say how much it puddles without major rains. Outside walls ( most anyway were drylocked to the foundation footings -however not drylocked inside or on wall nearest wet yard... deck above it - so water may be coming down that side as well.
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Old 02-29-2016, 06:26 PM
 
4,130 posts, read 4,842,253 times
Reputation: 3870
Talk to Dave Morris (a/k/a Sacredgrooves) at Crawlspace Tech if you haven't already done so.

Crawlspace Tech, Inc.
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Old 02-29-2016, 07:37 PM
 
Location: Fuquay-Varina
4,000 posts, read 10,822,174 times
Reputation: 3303
I sent a private message over, happy to answer the questions for you. Thanks for the recommendation DeWayne (Starglow)!
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