If you are a homeowner that has purchased a home with a crawl space, and have not ventured to explore the depths of that crawl space, you’re not alone. If you have, however, you might recall a vast stretch of black plastic lining the ground. Today’s article is about this plastic sheeting, along with what you need to know about why it’s there and how you can identify a quality vapor barrier to help protect your crawl space.
To begin, the building code in your area might be able to tip you off as to what quality the plastic underneath your home is, how well sealed it is, and how much of the ground it is covering. This is because when your home was built, the builders were required to place the sheeting down as dictated by the building codes for your area. Some codes in some areas, especially the much more outdated standards, did not even require that 100% of the ground had to be covered! Advancements in technology and an understanding of how to effectively waterproof the foundations of residential homes has given us the tried and tested encapsulation process we use today here at Barrier Waterproofing Systems. That includes using an effective quality vapor barrier material.
It is important to know, then, that not all plastic sheeting is created equal. If you were to go to your construction supply section at your local hardware store, you may pick up a roll of 6 mil grade polyethylene plastic. This plastic is usually the lowest grade of polyethylene plastic that is currently available, being significantly made up of recycled, low quality materials and quality control. This range of material is usually what a homeowner will come across in their crawl space if it has not been encapsulated properly.
Though many building codes have become more refined in recent history to include the installation of qualified vapor retarding barriers, there are still many homes out there that do not have them and are being affected. If your home is one of those, it is important to select a quality vapor retarding moisture barrier grade sheeting for your crawl space. These plastics are made of 100% virgin materials and have been manufactured with high quality control. They are designed specifically to keep small moisture particles from passing through. Our team of professional technicians utilizes a quality vapor barrier material that has not only been developed by BWS, but is the moisture barrier gold standard of crawl space encapsulation. Give us a call today at (615) 257-1060 | (931) 536-1168 to schedule a free evaluation of your crawl space and get it into tip top shape.
