High Moisture in Crossett, AR

Challenge

Homeowner Mike C called Crawl Space Solutions of Arkansas due to high levels of moisture in his crawl space. His crawl space had so much moisture that his floors inside his house began to buckle.

Solution

Finding high moisture in a crawlspace can lead to a homeowner's worst nightmare. When high moisture is found it usually is associated with molds, mildews, wood rot, termites, standing water, etc. Once it is found, then comes the decision on what to do about it. Install a sump pump, mold treatments, replace insulation, vapor barriers, dehumidifiers, seal the crawlspace? And the list can go on and on. 

Just like most things in the crawlspace of a house, the homeowner may not know about or understand them, mostly because the homeowners are not under these areas on a regular basis. High moisture is very common in our area due to the amount of rainfall and high humidity we get every year. Anytime you have high moisture in an area where cellulose (wood) is found, problems can occur. When talking about moisture in the crawlspace I like to break it down into two separate problems: Liquid water (I know it sounds weird) and water vapor/humidity.

Liquid

This problem occurs when water is penetrating into the crawlspace through the foundation wall. This will typically cause moisture staining on the foundation wall (dark, wet areas), efflorescence on block/brick foundations, standing water, and erosion.

Water Vapor

Here in Arkansas, we have a lot of problems with high humidity. High humidity means an increase of water vapor available in the air for the wood in the crawlspace to absorb. High humidity is the number one problem that we encounter during our inspections and home inspections of crawlspaces