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There's currently a vapor barrier under the house (atop a bunch of sand), and that was all done by Terminix (hired by the prior owner) about about 10 years ago. It's 10-mil plastic and there are a few gaps here and there around the piers, but it looks darn good to me.
Following the monsoon season we had last week in Norfolk, VA (it rained for eight days straight), Terminix came out and said I had 18% moisture content in the wood, and that was just too high. I told the guy, "That doesn't sound too bad, given the amount of rain we've had here."
Well, they sent out the sales guy who said I needed to replace the existing vapor barrier and PERMANENTLY close up the foundation vents (with operable louvers, which they installed ten years ago)...
I'm quite puzzled by all of it, and I'm not so sure that I need a new vapor barrier and/or to have all those vents permanently closed. The house is on a crawl space and about three feet off the ground, so it's good and high, but...this is Tidewater, and it's mighty damp around here. I'm at maybe 20 feet above sea level and I live on a lake.
Opinions?
Are vapor barriers good for anything, or is it just a ruse?
It is a p*ssing match between those who advocate complete encapsulation and those who still like the idea of vents. Spend for the upgrade if you want. I wouldn't given your moisture level after rains (although in that area you do need regular termite inspection and protection).
Might be worth your time to invest in a wood moisture meter yourself so you can keep an eye on things and Know that the moisture levels are only up due to the rains.
I went the DIY encapsulation route (Georgia, but well away from any bodies of water) because when I bought the house there was standing water clinging to Most surfaces... and that was without AC running. Kick on the AC and there was even Worse condensation issues. When I first put a temp and humidity sensor down there, I was in the +90% relative humidity range all the time. Sealed up with a small room-sized dehumidifier (freebie off craigslist) and it never goes over 50% now. It's drier in my crawlspace than in my house. :/
Anyway, without more knowledge on your part it's hard to say. Maybe that's normal for moisture levels and had nothing to do with the rainfall. How can we know? Maybe it's just Terminix trying to upsell you for some cashflow... again, too little info. It *Might* actually be the best course of action for your house... but, you guessed it, there's just too little information.
You need to quit calling the morons at Terminex. I wonder if the dimwit that told you that 18% moisture in the wood is too much has a clue that air dried lumber at the mill is dried to 19% to get the grade stamp put on it. Kiln Dried lumber is dried to 15% and will pick up moisture while in transit and usually runs 17-20% once acclimated to the environment. In the early days, lumber we got was green. It literally would splash water as we were nailing it up. You need to remove Terminex from anybody you're calling. All they are doing is milking you for money. Yes, I carry a moisture meter in my truck.
If you have major moisture under the home and have any kind of fall to the lot, you probably need to have an engineer come out and advise you in regards to a french drain. That is a system that removes subterranean water/moisture from an area. Have a professional that has clue tell you what you need.
I'm not sure I understand the call to Terminex anyway. Why would you hire a termite sprayer to do anything but spray for bugs? You wouldn't have Terminex build the house, would you? You wouldn't call Terminex to remodel the home, so quit calling a company to do work that is outside their field of expertise. It's kinda like calling a nurse to do electrical work.
I'm not sure I understand the call to Terminex anyway. Why would you hire a termite sprayer to do anything but spray for bugs? You wouldn't have Terminex build the house, would you? You wouldn't call Terminex to remodel the home, so quit calling a company to do work that is outside their field of expertise. It's kinda like calling a nurse to do electrical work.
Well, with a LOT of lenders a yearly termite inspection is a mandatory condition to the loan. Those termite letters require a pest company to "evaluate" before issuing (there's some liability attached). It's a non-negotiable aspect of home loans are a racket in and of themselves... And for others it's a condition of having a sort of "termite insurance" through a given pest control company... but that's why people call and have this sort of information/dialogue.
But it seems like you weren't Aware of this. Might want to consider what else you Don't know before making comment on it....
Like I don't know anything about normal wood moisture levels and didn't comment on that aspect. I now know a little more thanks to your post though.
Yeah, I don't know much considering I've only been in the home building industry 54 years. So I'm sure I've never dealt with a lender in all of those years. I've never even heard of any lender REQUIRING a termite inspection annually. It's a required termite treatment at slab pour around here and probably so in areas where termites are known. But there is no call for termite inspections after that. At sale, yes, lenders want a termite inspection. I have a WDI license and have performed 100s of inspections for lenders at time of sale. But this poster has Terminex performing work outside their expertise. They spray bugs, that's their job and field of expertise. They are not builders, remodelers, or engineers. They have no business doing work like this as it requires special knowledge that only a civil engineer is going to have. Terminex, at least this franchise, is porking this poster. I highly doubt they have done any soil samples, coring, perk testing, etc to even know if there is an issue. Most likely they just told the OP that there was a problem and get the checkbook out. The bug spray industry as a whole has a reputation more slimmy than a used car salesman. Take a gallon of Dragnet termiticide costs about $120.00 and makes 100 gallons of chemical. That will do the average home. Throw in a pack of Timbor just for fun which is about 12 bucks and another 50 bucks for whatever. Yet the termite companies are charging folks thousands to do the job. A fully equipped spray rig can be had for about $3500. around here, new. You can put it in the back of a pickup. It's a low cost/investment job with incredible returns. And then to get an annual inspection they charge hundreds of bucks and what does the owner get, a clown walking around with a flashlight and finding nothing. The renewals are nothing more than a major money maker. Yeah, I know the industry well.
Rosemary, you might want to purchase an inexpensive hygrometer (you can buy them at WalMart, btw) and set it in your crawlspace to find out the humidity level there. If it is less than 50% on average, I wouldn't worry about a new vapor barrier. I also live in a very damp area a little farther north of you (the Northern Neck of VA) and I'm close to a river. I chose to encapsulate my crawlspace completely because the water table is very high on my lot, plus the ambient humidity is high here as well. The key, imho, is if you close up your air vents, to be sure and have a dehumidifier installed as well. Simply closing the air vents can lead to excessive humidity in the closed crawlspace, which can then lead to mold and mildew. My crawlspace humidity now runs around 45% (I have a wireless hygrometer installed there), which is usually less than the inside house humidity, except in the winter. BTW, you might want to have a firm called JES, which services your area, give you an estimate if you do decide to go with encapsulation. They specialize in the work, and do good work. They didn't do my initial encapsulation, but did my french drain and my two sump pumps, and have done repairs to the special lining material for the vapor barrier.
Moisture does not = Ground Termites. It is simply a more favorable environment for them.
I used to live in an area that had so many termites that they were simply playing defense and tenting homes every 3 years. Nearly every home with clear lumber (instead of metal framing) more than 10 years old had damage (including mine).
I think they are just selling a profitable service. You can get yearly inspections for termites and not spend that much money for many many years.
I love the kiln dry moisture lesson but as one poster said, a dehumidifier has worked wonders in our basement.
Isn't it against code now to have dirt crawl spaces? But the adjustable louvers - you want air under there in most seasons, don't you?
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