Customer with a cabin in the woods near Front Royal Va had musty smells that infiltrated the cabin. Water Pipes in the crawl space froze during the winter, and required heat tapes to avoid having that happen again.
Solution
We removed moldy insulation from the floor joist cavities in the crawl space and moved the insulation to the walls of the crawl space and floor of the crawl space. Vents were sealed shut, drainage mat was installed and a smart drain was installed in case that a water leak occured, providing the water a pathway back to the earth.
Detailed work was done around the crawl space piers to assure a good vapor barrier existed.
Project Summary
consultant: John LeVan
Installer: Ariel Campos
Front of cabin
Insulation in bad shape, and moldy
Insulation in bad shape from condensation and other issues
Ariel and Mike installing the Drainage Matting
Then the Terrablock Floor Insulation goes down
Accommodations are made for the floor drain. Smart Drain. This drain has an alarm attached to it so you know if water is running to the drain. The drain is installed in a low point.
Existing insulation was air sealed. prior to an additional layer being installed.
Vents were sealed with Silver Glo
Piers were carefully wrapped so that no vapor could penetrate the space
Mike takes a break after fixing the clean space to the wall. It was then rolled up (see blue roll), in order to keep it clean while the rim joist was spray foamed.
Ariel Spray Foams the Rim Joist in order to seal any air leaks there.
Ariel cuts Silver Glo to hang on the wall to provide an additional thermal barrier.
Clean Space is ready to roll out. Until now it has been rolled against the wall in order to keep it clean.
Clean space is rolled out and the seams are taped. Now the crawl space is vapor tight.
About the author
John LeVan
Partner
John LeVan is a Mechanical Engineer trained at Columbia University School of Engineering and Applied Science. John also has an advance degree in Operations Management from Cornell University.
