Crawl Space Repair and Encapsulation in Northeast New England

Crawl spaces are somewhat rare in New England, but they play a pivotal role in keeping homes safe and stable, providing access to plumbing and electrical systems and creating a barrier between the ground and your home’s first floor. However, challenges unique to Northeast New England, such as clay soils and freeze-thaw cycles, might affect your crawl space, potentially resulting in mold, wood rot, and even structural damage.

Professional crawl space repair and encapsulation can solve these problems and protect your home and loved ones. Groundworks specializes in various solutions for this part of your property, including sump pumps, interior drains, and home insulation services.  

Freeze-thaw cycles happen when water in the soil around your home freezes and expands during the winter months and then thaws and contracts in the spring. This can cause your crawl space walls to crack, allowing water to leak into the area. In New England, long, harsh winters can make this problem even worse.

New England is no stranger to wet weather. For example, Lowell, MA experiences an average of 47 inches of precipitation yearly, higher than the national average of 38 inches. When water from heavy rainfall saturates the soil surrounding your home, it can seep into your crawl space and damage insulation, floor joists, and other critical structural components.

Humid weather is becoming increasingly common in New England, potentially resulting in moisture buildup in your crawl space. Damp, humid crawl spaces can lead to mold, pests, and wood rot. And to make matters worse, those problems aren’t limited to the crawl space. As the wet, unhealthy air rises, it permeates your entire home, putting the whole household at risk.

Many homes in Northern New England are built on clay soils, which expand during wet weather and shrink in dry weather. This constant soil movement can put pressure on the foundation walls supporting your crawl space. Over time, that pressure can lead to severe foundation damage, or even water intrusion from leaky crawl space cracks.

Crawl Space Waterproofing

Waterproofing your crawl space is essential in New England, which experiences heavy rainfall, snowmelt, and flooding. Various solutions that prevent water from entering and damaging your home include sump pumps and floor drainage.

Moisture Control

A comprehensive moisture control solution reduces humidity in your crawl space and improves air quality. Products like vapor barriers and dehumidifiers potentially stop moisture from building up in this area, preventing mold, pests, and other issues.

Floor Joist Repair

Crawl space floor joists support your home. However, they can sag and deteriorate over time, leading to uneven floors and other structural issues. Replacing floor joists with crawl space jacks can improve the stability of your property.

Crawl Space Encapsulation

Crawl space encapsulation is the process of sealing this area from air, moisture, and other outside elements with effective drainage, insulation and vapor barriers. Encapsulating a crawl space isn’t normally something you can accomplish yourself, so we recommend calling in an expert to do it for you.

If you’ve noticed crawl space damage, it’s best to leave things to the professionals. Across New England, Groundworks specializes in waterproofing, repair, and encapsulation, helping you create a drier and healthier home environment. We offer free crawl space inspections, so contact our team today to get started on reclaiming your home from the ground up.