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If he was measuring wood framing members, 20% is easily achievable and a good number to shoot for. But yeah, just general air in a crawspace you'll never get to 20% in NC.
And I wouldn't open the crawlspace door either.
Yes, you're right. If the guy was checking the wood, then 20% makes much more sense. In that case, you'd want to get the wood moisture level down a bit to ideally below 15%.
We had a terminx guy come for termites inspection free estimate. He checked no termites but said the moisture was 9% and should be in the 20s. He talked about dehumidifier and replacing the vapor barrier in the crawlspace for $5k.
We have vents in the crawlspace may 10 of them. When it is hot i usual open the crawlspace. I heard that is a no no. So I guess i will keep the door closed. Should we close the vents too?
I would say the vapor barrier in the crawlspace is thin. Maybe finding someone to replace it.
Is the humidifier necessary? What is the best gadget i buy also to test the moisture/humidity in the crawlspace
For some reason the guy sounded like a true sales man which i dont trust.
In the crawlspace we have the AC air handler and 2 water tanks.
How do we control the moisture. For some reason i feel like getting second opinion.
I live in your area, have inspected over 10,000 houses, and also own a crawlspace moisture mitigation business that has repaired over 1,000 crawlspaces. My first advice is fire Terminix. They are basically worthless as termite inspectors, masters of the upsell, and a major factor in starting our crawlspace business as we were tired of our inspection clients being lied to. I would recommend Swift Creek Exterminating or Custom Termite and Pest in our area.
20% is fine, ideally you want it a little lower (15% is the sweet spot, too dry will cause other issues), but that is still below the threshold for mold and well below the threshold for wood damage. The first thing to do is close your vents. The main source of moisture in the south is from humid air entering the much cooler crawlspace, and condensing. That is free. If you have in the ballpark of 100% ground coverage with vapor barrier, and it isn't 20 years old and deteriorating, that is fine. Even with that said, a new barrier and dehumidifier is about half of what they are charging, and that includes a commercial unit rated for crawlspace use, and the electrician for the outlet.
Send me a message and I will be happy to give you all the advice you want in great detail.
The percentage they are referring to is wood moisture content as opposed to relative humidity as an fyi.
I live in your area also. If you do go with a commercial dehumidifier, I'm VERY skeptical of the ones that all the crawlspace companies in this area use, which is the Horizon dehumidifiers, the Titan line. I have a Titan XP90 which looks awesome on paper, but it has been breaking down every few months. It was installed in 2015, and it has been back to the factory for warranty work twice already, and it has broken down a third time last month and very painful to get it repaired again for the THIRD time.
Extremely disappointed. I'm running a temporary store dehumidifier in my crawlspace from Costco and it pretty much runs non-stop - I'm sure it will fail in a year.
I'm not even sure what to do next with this extremely heavy paperweight that cost me around $1300. If I have to buy a new unit myself, I might get a Santa Fe Advance 2.
I live in your area also. If you do go with a commercial dehumidifier, I'm VERY skeptical of the ones that all the crawlspace companies in this area use, which is the Horizon dehumidifiers, the Titan line. I have a Titan XP90 which looks awesome on paper, but it has been breaking down every few months. It was installed in 2015, and it has been back to the factory for warranty work twice already, and it has broken down a third time last month and very painful to get it repaired again for the THIRD time.
Extremely disappointed. I'm running a temporary store dehumidifier in my crawlspace from Costco and it pretty much runs non-stop - I'm sure it will fail in a year.
I'm not even sure what to do next with this extremely heavy paperweight that cost me around $1300. If I have to buy a new unit myself, I might get a Santa Fe Advance 2.
I can personally vouch for the Santa Fe Advance 2. When I first had the crawlspace conditioned, I had a Santa Fe unit installed. It worked very well for a number of years, but eventually wore out. The crawlspace company I was using installed another unit, NOT a Santa Fe, and it was horrible - the thing sounded like a 747 jet when it started up. I got rid of it after one year and installed the Advance 2 that I have now. This unit is very quiet, especially important since I have a small house and only a 2 ft. high crawlspace, so sound can travel upwards easily. Also, it has operated at temps much lower than indicated by the specs. And as wet and humid as it is here, with a high water table, it really keeps the humidity nice and low.
One day i was home during the week and the guy stopped by knocked and i did not answer he left. The price he gave me to put the poison for termites to get started $350 and then $295 annual. I have an appt with someone to give me an estimate for termites and moisture barrier.
$350.00 to spray correctly for termites is not going to happen. It'll cost the guy more than that unless he waters down the spray or doesn't put anything in the water at all except some ammonia. The renewal at $295.00 is also a scam. All a renewal buys you is an inspection and of course, he isn't going to find anything otherwise he'd be out the money to retreat the place. You need to avoid clowns like this one. To do a termite job for a crawl foundation is not cheap and it isn't easy.
$350.00 to spray correctly for termites is not going to happen. It'll cost the guy more than that unless he waters down the spray or doesn't put anything in the water at all except some ammonia. The renewal at $295.00 is also a scam. All a renewal buys you is an inspection and of course, he isn't going to find anything otherwise he'd be out the money to retreat the place. You need to avoid clowns like this one. To do a termite job for a crawl foundation is not cheap and it isn't easy.
He said 350 was to put bait in the bait station. We already have the stations from previous owner but they are all empty.
Do you want to draw termites or kill them? That's what you'll get for the $350.00. He's doing next to nothing and it won't prevent a termite from coming to your home. Bait stations are a joke, a real bad joke. Skip this BS and spray the house yourself. You can buy Ibifen at Amazon and use a hose end sprayer for under 30 bucks. The treatment will last at least a year and as a side benefit, you won't have bugs in the house either.
Do you want to draw termites or kill them? That's what you'll get for the $350.00. He's doing next to nothing and it won't prevent a termite from coming to your home. Bait stations are a joke, a real bad joke. Skip this BS and spray the house yourself. You can buy Ibifen at Amazon and use a hose end sprayer for under 30 bucks. The treatment will last at least a year and as a side benefit, you won't have bugs in the house either.
Ibifen what is it? searching for it? I agree with you. I would rather have them spray than bait station.
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