Another area of our expertise at Lomax Termite is installing moisture barriers underneath your home. The problem with a dirt or muddy soil crawlspace is that as warm air rises in your home, it brings up with it the air that was previously in your crawl space, including moisture and white surface fungus, as well as anything else that may be airborne down there. As this air rises in your home, replacement air enters from the lowest part, your crawlspace. This replacement air is made up with unconditioned outside air that enters through vents and other leaks, and air that is actually sucked from the crawlspace floor, either dirt or concrete, which is typically filled with lots of moisture. This natural upward air movement is called the “stack effect” – this is how chimneys work. Consequently, whatever is in the air at the lowest point eventually flows up into the living sections. Up to 40% of the air we breathe on the first floor of our home comes from the crawl space. A concrete or dirt crawl space with a crawl space vent is a never-ending source of moisture. Even if the dirt’s surface seems dry, digging down a few inches usually reveals moist earth.
A crawl space vapor barrier is an essential component of waterproofing your crawlspace that aims to keep moisture and white surface fungus out of your crawlspace and ultimately out of your home. A vapor barrier is designed to prevent the movement of moisture from one area to another. The vapor barrier is a physical barrier that must cover about 90%+ of the subarea soil. Crawl space vapor barriers not only can help keep moisture out of your crawl space and home, they help to insulate better and can save you on heating/cooling costs. Moisture barriers keep moisture where it belongs – in the soil. This helps protect the subfloor and surrounding joists, and also helps keep termites below the ground. Additionally, it is an important step to take towards eliminating or limiting white surface fungus. Our moisture barriers are made to last. We carefully cut around all pier blocks and foundations using 6 mill black or clear vinyl plastic and endeavor to cover the entire accessible ground surface in your subarea.
