Before & After Photos

These homeowners in Virginia Beach wanted to replace their existing crawl space access well, which was full of dirt and rocks and was allowing outside air and moisture to leak into the crawl space where the well meets the crawl space door.

Our solution was to install The Turtl crawl space access system, designed for below-grade crawl space access. The Turtle provides a clean and convenient access to the crawl space while keeping debris like leaves and rocks out of the way. This durable and lockable access door is made from rigid plastic, which will not rot, rust, corrode, or require new paint and is weathertight.

This Williamsburg, VA attic has several dormers. As part of air-sealing and insulating the attic space, we needed to install PVs (the gray rectangles you see between the rafters) to ensure that no insulation fell into the soffits and so that proper ventilation can be maintained in the attic. Then we installed an R-38 of Cellulose Insulation. 

Moisture and high humidity in this crawl space resulted in mold and mildew growth and damage to the insulation. The homeowner wanted to encapsulate the space, so our team set to work cleaning out the crawl space, air sealing vents, the rim band, sill plate, and any other openings through the foundation wall to the outside. They treated the microbial growth with an antimicrobial, installed a new CleanSpace Vapor Barrier, applied Foam Board insulation to the foundation walls, and installed a dehumidifier to regulate the relative humidity. 

After sealing and insulating this crawl space, we need to make sure we control the relative humidity. This is achieved by installing a dehumidifier with a hygrometer. The dehumidifier will be set to cut to on when the humidity reaches about 55% our goal is to prevent it from getting high enough that microbial growth can occur in the crawl space. We don't want the space to be too dry either because that can be damaging to the home's structure as well. A hygrometer is provided to the homeowner that allows them to monitor the temperature and relative humidity in the crawl space from inside their home. 

This homeowner contacted us because their "current insulation [was] over-compressed and not doing its job." This is very common in older homes, insulation settles over time and doesn't help keep your home cool in the summer and warm in the winter. We removed the old ineffective insulation, air sealed the attic, and installed a fresh blanket of blown-in cellulose to help make this home more comfortable year-round.