Protecting Your Home By Encapsulating Your Crawl Space
The crawl space of your home can be an area that is surprisingly vulnerable to developing water damage and other issues. Due to these realities, it can be extremely beneficial for a homeowner to invest in encapsulating this area of the house.
Myth: Crawl Space Encapsulation Only Refers To Adding More Insulation
During the process of encapsulating the crawlspace, there is a chance that the contractor may add more insulation to the walls of this area. While this can be an important step in reducing drafts and regulating the humidity, it is not the only step in the encapsulation process. For example, the contractor may also need to apply waterproofing barriers and sealants to prevent intrusions as well as install ventilation upgrades. A thorough assessment of the home's design and the surrounding terrain will be needed to ensure that the encapsulation is as thorough and effective as possible.
Myth: Encapsulation Will Decrease Your Home's Air Circulation
Having good air circulation throughout your home can be an important quality of life factor to consider. Unfortunately, there are many factors that can decrease the airflow through a home, which can lower the air quality as well as reduce the effectiveness of the HVAC system. Luckily, encapsulation is unlikely to have a negative impact on the air circulation of your home. In some cases, this may even improve the air circulation in the home as it will eliminate drafts or other unintended sources of drafts for the home. Older homes may benefit among the most from this particular feature as they may have crawl spaces that are poorly designed for preventing drafts.
Myth: Encapsulated Crawl Spaces Are Not Susceptible To Pest Problems
A secondary benefit of crawl space encapsulation is that it can significantly reduce the ability of pests to target this area of the house for an infestation. While this upgrade can reduce the chances of your home developing a pest problem, it will not fully eliminate it. In fact, you will still need to have the crawl space regularly treated for pests. If you find that there is a pest problem in this area of the house, you may want to have an encapsulation checked by a professional. There is a chance that the pests may have damaged the encapsulation upgrades, which could degrade the protection that the encapsulation work is providing. Fortunately, it is usually fairly affordable to repair the damages that pests may have caused as long as they are neutralized before they can spread throughout the encapsulated area.