We’re beginning our first full production run of our patented vapor barrier and pier and wall liner. What makes it unique is the ability to cost effectively install it on a crawlspace wall without the need for mechanical fasteners or toxic and flammable adhesives.
Using a furring strip or plastic fastener increases the installation labor exponentially. Anyone who has ever used a masonry bit to drill a hole in concrete, even using a hammer drill, know what I’m talking about. Try to imagine drilling one of those holes every two to three feet around the perimeter of a crawlspace foundation wall. That increases the time necessary to install a wall vapor barrier by hours as well as creates a lot of dangerous concrete dust.
One of our primary business concerns has always been the health and safety of our customers and their families. The patented YourCrawlSpace wall liner is applied using a low VOC, water-soluble adhesive. No potentially explosive and flammable adhesive fumes in your home. No drilling holes in concrete or having to use a Ram-Set nail gun. The only thing necessary is a relatively inexpensive tube of nontoxic, non-flammable, water-soluble adhesive that you can buy in most any hardware store.
The patented wall material is easily installed by two workers. One leads the way by placing a 1/4” to 3/8” bead of adhesive along the top of the crawlspace wall and the other follows by pushing the gluing-strip of the wall vapor barrier into the adhesive. I personally wrapped more than 20 piers and installed the wall vapor barrier in a large Charleston, SC home in just a couple of hours.
Whether you’re a professional installation contractor doing two or three encapsulations per week or a homeowner interested in making your home a healthier, safer and more economical place to live, give us a call to discuss the availability of our patented wall liner. We can save you a lot of time and save you money in the process.
Tuesday, October 18, 2011
Friday, September 23, 2011
Patented Crawlspace Encapsulation Wall Liner Is Going Into Full Production.
There has been some controversy over the past couple of years about the best way to seal crawlspace walls and piers when doing a crawlspace encapsulation.
Many companies claim that there is no way to attach a crawlspace wall liner without mechanical fasteners. True, a bag of mechanical fasteners do not cost much – only a few dollars for enough to do a typical crawlspace. But, not only do mechanical fasteners add enormously to installation time and labor, mechanical fasteners also require specialized tools. Anyone who has ever drilled a hole in a concrete wall knows that a hammer drill is necessary to do the job efficiently. Now try and imagine drilling several hundred of them. And even using mechanical fasteners, the companies that recommend this method also recommend using a caulk or tape to seal the vapor barrier wall connection.
YourCrawlSpace has tested numerous methods for attaching a wall liner. We have used adhesives and tapes with various degrees of success. We had a system that worked well until the adhesive manufacturer changed (improved) its formulation. And we have used a mastic tape with success but the tape is expensive and, again, increased the installation time and labor.
The problem is not with the adhesives or tapes. The problem is with the wall encapsulation material. Our crawlspace encapsulation material is a woven high density polyethylene (HDPE) fabric coated on both sides with two layers of low density polyethylene (LDPE). The woven base (HDPE) fabric gives our crawlspace encapsulation liner its strength and the LDPE coating gives it its impermeability. The material is designed to shed water and no safe, low-VOC adhesive will stick to it. High-VOC adhesives will work but they also tend to be highly flammable and are unsafe to use in the confined area of a home’s crawlspace.
So the alternative was to develop a new material with all the positive characteristics of the original material but a material that could also be attached to the wall with a low-VOC adhesive in a single step without additional caulk or sealing tape. We have been testing such a wall encapsulation system for more than two years and we were granted a patent for the material earlier this month.
The material has undergone extensive testing. It has been installed in homeowners’ crawlspaces across the southeast, it has been installed in the crawlspaces of test homes for the Oak Ridge Laboratories and the Department of Energy’s ZEBRAlliance in Tennessee, and it has been installed in several LEEDS homes for Ourtown Habitat for Humanity in Charlotte, NC. The Habitat volunteers installed the system without a hitch. Our feedback has only been positive. I personally installed the system and it is extremely easy to install. Two men installed the wall liner and wrapped 24 piers in a 2,450 square foot crawlspace in a matter of hours.
We will be going into full production in the near future. Plans at this point are to manufacturer the wall liner in two widths – five feet wide for the walls and two feet wide for the piers. I would love to hear some feedback from our readers as to whether the two widths will meet most needs. Give me a call, 877-442-7295, or send me an Email. I’d love to hear from you.
The patent was granted to YourCrawlSpace and its sister company Carolina Green Energy Systems headquartered in Pawleys Island, South Carolina.
Many companies claim that there is no way to attach a crawlspace wall liner without mechanical fasteners. True, a bag of mechanical fasteners do not cost much – only a few dollars for enough to do a typical crawlspace. But, not only do mechanical fasteners add enormously to installation time and labor, mechanical fasteners also require specialized tools. Anyone who has ever drilled a hole in a concrete wall knows that a hammer drill is necessary to do the job efficiently. Now try and imagine drilling several hundred of them. And even using mechanical fasteners, the companies that recommend this method also recommend using a caulk or tape to seal the vapor barrier wall connection.
YourCrawlSpace has tested numerous methods for attaching a wall liner. We have used adhesives and tapes with various degrees of success. We had a system that worked well until the adhesive manufacturer changed (improved) its formulation. And we have used a mastic tape with success but the tape is expensive and, again, increased the installation time and labor.
The problem is not with the adhesives or tapes. The problem is with the wall encapsulation material. Our crawlspace encapsulation material is a woven high density polyethylene (HDPE) fabric coated on both sides with two layers of low density polyethylene (LDPE). The woven base (HDPE) fabric gives our crawlspace encapsulation liner its strength and the LDPE coating gives it its impermeability. The material is designed to shed water and no safe, low-VOC adhesive will stick to it. High-VOC adhesives will work but they also tend to be highly flammable and are unsafe to use in the confined area of a home’s crawlspace.
So the alternative was to develop a new material with all the positive characteristics of the original material but a material that could also be attached to the wall with a low-VOC adhesive in a single step without additional caulk or sealing tape. We have been testing such a wall encapsulation system for more than two years and we were granted a patent for the material earlier this month.
The material has undergone extensive testing. It has been installed in homeowners’ crawlspaces across the southeast, it has been installed in the crawlspaces of test homes for the Oak Ridge Laboratories and the Department of Energy’s ZEBRAlliance in Tennessee, and it has been installed in several LEEDS homes for Ourtown Habitat for Humanity in Charlotte, NC. The Habitat volunteers installed the system without a hitch. Our feedback has only been positive. I personally installed the system and it is extremely easy to install. Two men installed the wall liner and wrapped 24 piers in a 2,450 square foot crawlspace in a matter of hours.
We will be going into full production in the near future. Plans at this point are to manufacturer the wall liner in two widths – five feet wide for the walls and two feet wide for the piers. I would love to hear some feedback from our readers as to whether the two widths will meet most needs. Give me a call, 877-442-7295, or send me an Email. I’d love to hear from you.
The patent was granted to YourCrawlSpace and its sister company Carolina Green Energy Systems headquartered in Pawleys Island, South Carolina.
Thursday, September 22, 2011
Moisture problems in South Carolina Crawlspaces
There has been a lot of research on crawl space moisture control in the last decade. The US Environmental Protection Agency, the US Department of Energy and a variety of independent, private and nonprofit research companies like Advanced Energy have done extensive research.
The conventional wisdom of a vented crawl space being the best way to control crawl space humidity has not only been proven not effective, it’s been proven to be a major part of the problem. Most crawl space moisture comes from humid outside air through crawl space vents, not from an unsealed floor. While it’s certainly important to seal the floor, it’s even more important to seal the vents.
The only caveat when encapsulating a crawl space is the space must be conditioned. That means adding a little conditioned air to the space and is required by the International Building Code. Many crawl space encapsulation companies do this by adding a crawlspace dehumidification system to the crawl space.
A specialized crawl space dehumidifier can be quite expensive – approaching $1,000, $1,500 or more. And not only is the initial cost high, the day-to-day cost of operating a crawl space dehumidifier is the same as running another refrigerator.
The method of crawl space dehumidification recommended and developed by the EPA, the Department of Energy (DOE), and Advanced Energy is to add a small supply vent to the existing HVAC system. This can generally be installed for a small fraction of the cost of a crawlspace dehumidifier. And since the recommended air flow is only one cubic feet per minute (1 CFM) for every 50 square feet of crawlspace area, the day to day cost of conditioning the air with the HVAC system is considerably less than a crawl space dehumidifier. To put this in perspective, a typical bedroom in a typical South Carolina home is conditioned with 100 to 120 CFMs.
YourCrawlSpace Inc. pioneered crawlspace encapsulation in the southeast. We have been protecting and making South Carolina homes healthier, safer, and more comfortable for almost a decade. There is not a South Carolina crawlspace encapsulation company with the depth and breadth of experience. Not only do we follow the recommendations of the EPA, DOE, and Advanced Energy, we have worked closely with them on research test homes, helping to develop their recommendations. Wherever you live in South Carolina – Pawleys Island, Myrtle Beach, Columbia, Charleston, or anywhere in between – you can be confident that the YourCrawlSpace encapsulation system in your home was installed to the most recent and cost effective standards in the industry.
The conventional wisdom of a vented crawl space being the best way to control crawl space humidity has not only been proven not effective, it’s been proven to be a major part of the problem. Most crawl space moisture comes from humid outside air through crawl space vents, not from an unsealed floor. While it’s certainly important to seal the floor, it’s even more important to seal the vents.
The only caveat when encapsulating a crawl space is the space must be conditioned. That means adding a little conditioned air to the space and is required by the International Building Code. Many crawl space encapsulation companies do this by adding a crawlspace dehumidification system to the crawl space.
A specialized crawl space dehumidifier can be quite expensive – approaching $1,000, $1,500 or more. And not only is the initial cost high, the day-to-day cost of operating a crawl space dehumidifier is the same as running another refrigerator.
The method of crawl space dehumidification recommended and developed by the EPA, the Department of Energy (DOE), and Advanced Energy is to add a small supply vent to the existing HVAC system. This can generally be installed for a small fraction of the cost of a crawlspace dehumidifier. And since the recommended air flow is only one cubic feet per minute (1 CFM) for every 50 square feet of crawlspace area, the day to day cost of conditioning the air with the HVAC system is considerably less than a crawl space dehumidifier. To put this in perspective, a typical bedroom in a typical South Carolina home is conditioned with 100 to 120 CFMs.
YourCrawlSpace Inc. pioneered crawlspace encapsulation in the southeast. We have been protecting and making South Carolina homes healthier, safer, and more comfortable for almost a decade. There is not a South Carolina crawlspace encapsulation company with the depth and breadth of experience. Not only do we follow the recommendations of the EPA, DOE, and Advanced Energy, we have worked closely with them on research test homes, helping to develop their recommendations. Wherever you live in South Carolina – Pawleys Island, Myrtle Beach, Columbia, Charleston, or anywhere in between – you can be confident that the YourCrawlSpace encapsulation system in your home was installed to the most recent and cost effective standards in the industry.
Crawlspace Encapsulation and Moisture Control in South Carolina
I’ve been talking to a homeowner in Charleston, SC about crawlspace moisture problems and possible solutions. Her crawl space relative humidity has been running 85% or more most of the summer. We’ve talked at length about crawlspace encapsulation. That’s what I know and that’s the business I’m in. It is the only solution that I am confident that works.
The homeowner asked if there were any alternatives to encapsulation. I do not know of any. Do any readers know of alternatives? I know encapsulation but I’m also open to new ideas.
The homeowner asked if there were any alternatives to encapsulation. I do not know of any. Do any readers know of alternatives? I know encapsulation but I’m also open to new ideas.
Thursday, September 8, 2011
South Carolina Crawlspace Encapsulation – What to Look For in an Installer
So, you’ve decided to make your home a healthier and more pleasant place to live by encapsulating the crawlspace. If done properly, those musty smells will almost immediately disappear. If done properly, that mold and mildew on the framing will not grow back and the water dripping from the plumbing and ductwork will cease to be an issue. Your allergy symptoms may even disappear. So what is “done properly?”
Having a crawlspace installed properly starts with hiring the best contractor for the job. What sort of questions should you ask a prospective installation contractor? Crawlspace encapsulation is not rocket science but if not properly done you will not get the desired results. When hiring a crawlspace contractor, hire a specialist. You wouldn’t call a pediatrician to do your heart surgery. Neither should you hire a pest control specialist or a heating and air specialist or a window specialist to deal with a crawlspace moisture issue.
Ask about experience. How long has your prospective crawlspace contractor been doing installations? How many installations have they done? What kind of training do they have? What kind of materials have they tested and why do they install the particular materials they recommend? Does your installer take a cookie-cutter approach or are their recommendations specifically tailored to your home? Can they offer references?
YourCrawlSpace, Inc. pioneered crawlspace encapsulation in the southeast. We have been in the crawlspace encapsulation business since 2004 and have done hundreds of encapsulations across South Carolina. Our crawlspace encapsulation system has been installed in Advanced Energy’s System Vision homes for Habitat for Humanity. We have partnered with Oak Ridge Laboratories, the US Department of Energy, and the EPA to install our crawlspace encapsulation system in several test homes for the ZEBRAlliance research project in Tennessee. YourCrawlSpace developed patented materials for crawlspace encapsulation that have been tested extensively in the humid southeastern climate. All of the materials we recommend and use grew out of our experience with the Deapartment of Energy, the EPA, Advanced Energy, Oak Ridge Laboratories, the ZEBRAlliance and nearly a decade of performing encapsulation installations.
YourCrawlSpace’s sister company is Carolina Green Energy Systems, a full service, comprehensive energy performance contractor also serving all of South Carolina. Our installers are certified in whole-house weatherization, have extensive training in building science, and are EPA certified renovators. Our crawlspace installation crews are supervised by Building Performance Institute (BPI) certified building analysts. Our company and our crews are specialists. We’re not a contractor that specializes in one thing but sometimes do crawlspace encapsulation.
So, if you’re thinking about encapsulating that crawlspace, you’ll be amazed to discover that it costs no more to use the very best. We’re always happy to provide references.
Having a crawlspace installed properly starts with hiring the best contractor for the job. What sort of questions should you ask a prospective installation contractor? Crawlspace encapsulation is not rocket science but if not properly done you will not get the desired results. When hiring a crawlspace contractor, hire a specialist. You wouldn’t call a pediatrician to do your heart surgery. Neither should you hire a pest control specialist or a heating and air specialist or a window specialist to deal with a crawlspace moisture issue.
Ask about experience. How long has your prospective crawlspace contractor been doing installations? How many installations have they done? What kind of training do they have? What kind of materials have they tested and why do they install the particular materials they recommend? Does your installer take a cookie-cutter approach or are their recommendations specifically tailored to your home? Can they offer references?
YourCrawlSpace, Inc. pioneered crawlspace encapsulation in the southeast. We have been in the crawlspace encapsulation business since 2004 and have done hundreds of encapsulations across South Carolina. Our crawlspace encapsulation system has been installed in Advanced Energy’s System Vision homes for Habitat for Humanity. We have partnered with Oak Ridge Laboratories, the US Department of Energy, and the EPA to install our crawlspace encapsulation system in several test homes for the ZEBRAlliance research project in Tennessee. YourCrawlSpace developed patented materials for crawlspace encapsulation that have been tested extensively in the humid southeastern climate. All of the materials we recommend and use grew out of our experience with the Deapartment of Energy, the EPA, Advanced Energy, Oak Ridge Laboratories, the ZEBRAlliance and nearly a decade of performing encapsulation installations.
YourCrawlSpace’s sister company is Carolina Green Energy Systems, a full service, comprehensive energy performance contractor also serving all of South Carolina. Our installers are certified in whole-house weatherization, have extensive training in building science, and are EPA certified renovators. Our crawlspace installation crews are supervised by Building Performance Institute (BPI) certified building analysts. Our company and our crews are specialists. We’re not a contractor that specializes in one thing but sometimes do crawlspace encapsulation.
So, if you’re thinking about encapsulating that crawlspace, you’ll be amazed to discover that it costs no more to use the very best. We’re always happy to provide references.
Wednesday, August 24, 2011
South Carolina Crawlspace Encapsulation Installations
For the past two years, most South Carolina crawlspace encapsulations were installed by our independently owned sister company. Beginning immediately, Carolina Green Energy and YourCrawlSpace will begin doing their own encapsulated crawlspace installations using their own crews. We are excited about the prospect of doing our own installations and offering this important service to our customers across the Carolinas and Georgia.
Carolina Green Energy Systems (www.carolinages.com) is the largest comprehensive home energy performance contractor serving South Carolina. We are a participating incentive contractor with SCE&G, Santee-Cooper, CharlestonWISE, Progress Energy, Berkeley Electric, Black River Electric, and the Electric Cooperatives serving the South Carolina.
As a performance contractor, Carolina Green Energy Systems can maximize the efficiency of a home in the most cost effective ways possible, from the initial energy audit to becoming an energy partner and monitoring energy savings on an on-going basis in real time. But an equally important part of our work is creating the healthiest as well as the most comfortable environment possible. A crawlspace encapsulation can be an important part of creating a healthy and comfortable home.
In addition to dramatically increasing indoor air quality and protecting the structure of your home, several research studies from Advanced Energy indicate that crawlspace encapsulation can actually lower energy usage. These studies were done in several parts of the country with varying climates.
So, whether you’re interested in comprehensive energy efficiency improvements or just want to get rid of that musty smell and stop your hardwood floors from buckling, a crawlspace encapsulation can be an important part of the process. YourCrawlSpace pioneered encapsulation in the southeast and you may be surprised that it costs no more to use the best.
Carolina Green Energy Systems (www.carolinages.com) is the largest comprehensive home energy performance contractor serving South Carolina. We are a participating incentive contractor with SCE&G, Santee-Cooper, CharlestonWISE, Progress Energy, Berkeley Electric, Black River Electric, and the Electric Cooperatives serving the South Carolina.
As a performance contractor, Carolina Green Energy Systems can maximize the efficiency of a home in the most cost effective ways possible, from the initial energy audit to becoming an energy partner and monitoring energy savings on an on-going basis in real time. But an equally important part of our work is creating the healthiest as well as the most comfortable environment possible. A crawlspace encapsulation can be an important part of creating a healthy and comfortable home.
In addition to dramatically increasing indoor air quality and protecting the structure of your home, several research studies from Advanced Energy indicate that crawlspace encapsulation can actually lower energy usage. These studies were done in several parts of the country with varying climates.
So, whether you’re interested in comprehensive energy efficiency improvements or just want to get rid of that musty smell and stop your hardwood floors from buckling, a crawlspace encapsulation can be an important part of the process. YourCrawlSpace pioneered encapsulation in the southeast and you may be surprised that it costs no more to use the best.
South Carolina Crawlspace Encapsulation and Energy Efficiency
A building scientist was quoted that venting a crawl space in the southeast US was “lunacy.” This web site is full of information about crawl space moisture control, dew points, relative humidity, mold on floor joists, condensation on air ducts, and cupped hardwood flooring. Most folks agree that all of those issues in a crawlspace can be addressed effectively with a crawlspace encapsulation. But little has been written here or elsewhere about crawlspace encapsulation and energy efficiency.
The parent company of YourCrawlSpace is Carolina Green Energy Systems (www.carolinsges.com). It is the largest comprehensive home energy performance contractor serving South Carolina. We are a participating incentive contractor with all of the major energy utility companies serving the state. As a performance contractor, Carolina Green Energy Systems maximizes the efficiency of a home in the most cost effective ways possible, from the initial energy audit to becoming an energy partner with our customers and monitoring energy savings on an on-going basis in real time.
Carolina Green Energy Systems has made a study of crawlspace encapsulation and resulting energy use. We have participated in research study test homes with the ZEBRAlliance at Oak Ridge National Laboratories. Oak Ridge is a laboratory in Tennessee operated by the US Department of Energy. The fact is, crawlspace encapsulation IS an energy issue.
It is only common sense. From an energy efficiency standpoint, why would anyone want to vent a crawlspace? A crawlspace that has not been encapsulated will be protected from the elements in the winter and therefore naturally be a bit warmer than the outside ambient temperature. Allowing the colder outside air into the crawlspace through crawlspace vents will tend to make the crawlspace colder and increase heat loss, putting more of a load on the heating system.
Just the opposite is true in the summer. Being protected from the elements and probably at least a little below ground, your crawl space will be a cooler than the outside temperature. Warm outside air will enter through the crawlspace vents, increasing the temperature and increasing the cooling load on the air conditioner or heat pump.
Since heating and cooling ducts are usually installed in the crawlspace, venting a crawlspace will increase energy loss from the ducts in both summer and winter. And in the summer, condensation in duct insulation can more than double energy loss from ducts. Nothing will destroy the effectiveness of insulation like moisture. So, the summertime condensation will also decrease wintertime efficiency.
A crawl space encapsulation will not only protect your investment and make your home a healthier and more comfortable place to live, it will also make your home a more energy efficient (and less expense) place to live.
The parent company of YourCrawlSpace is Carolina Green Energy Systems (www.carolinsges.com). It is the largest comprehensive home energy performance contractor serving South Carolina. We are a participating incentive contractor with all of the major energy utility companies serving the state. As a performance contractor, Carolina Green Energy Systems maximizes the efficiency of a home in the most cost effective ways possible, from the initial energy audit to becoming an energy partner with our customers and monitoring energy savings on an on-going basis in real time.
Carolina Green Energy Systems has made a study of crawlspace encapsulation and resulting energy use. We have participated in research study test homes with the ZEBRAlliance at Oak Ridge National Laboratories. Oak Ridge is a laboratory in Tennessee operated by the US Department of Energy. The fact is, crawlspace encapsulation IS an energy issue.
It is only common sense. From an energy efficiency standpoint, why would anyone want to vent a crawlspace? A crawlspace that has not been encapsulated will be protected from the elements in the winter and therefore naturally be a bit warmer than the outside ambient temperature. Allowing the colder outside air into the crawlspace through crawlspace vents will tend to make the crawlspace colder and increase heat loss, putting more of a load on the heating system.
Just the opposite is true in the summer. Being protected from the elements and probably at least a little below ground, your crawl space will be a cooler than the outside temperature. Warm outside air will enter through the crawlspace vents, increasing the temperature and increasing the cooling load on the air conditioner or heat pump.
Since heating and cooling ducts are usually installed in the crawlspace, venting a crawlspace will increase energy loss from the ducts in both summer and winter. And in the summer, condensation in duct insulation can more than double energy loss from ducts. Nothing will destroy the effectiveness of insulation like moisture. So, the summertime condensation will also decrease wintertime efficiency.
A crawl space encapsulation will not only protect your investment and make your home a healthier and more comfortable place to live, it will also make your home a more energy efficient (and less expense) place to live.
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