Mill houses and creek bottoms
LaGrange crawl spaces take in a lot of damp air.
LaGrange runs warm and wet: the station just north of town averages close to 63 degrees, and the nearest rain gauge, at West Point, records about 52 and a half inches a year. A vented crawl space pulls in that air for most of the year. Most homes sit on Cecil soil, which drains well at the surface over a red clay subsoil that can be more than half clay. Along the creeks, Riverview and Chewacla floodplain soils hold water about a foot down. And many of the town's oldest houses went up in mill villages on Leman, Troup and Fulton streets, more than a century ago.
The ground below
Dirt, torn or missing plastic, wet low spots and water lines left on the soil after storms.
Old wood and new
Sills, joists, girders and sub-floor checked for damp, mildew and rot, including any past patch work.
Openings to the outside
Vents, skirting, the access door and gaps around plumbing where outside air and animals get in.
Signs your LaGrange crawl space is too damp.
In an older LaGrange house, the crawl space usually lets you know about itself upstairs before anyone checks underneath. These are the four signs we hear about most.
A musty smell after rain
Humid rooms in summer
A floor that gives a little
Critters under the house
Noticing one of these? We will go underneath and see what is behind it.
How we diagnose a LaGrange crawl space.
A lot of companies show up to sell you the biggest encapsulation package they install. We show up to figure out what's actually driving the moisture in your crawl space first, then prescribe the system that fixes it, and tell you straight, even when the answer is "you don't need as much as you were told."
Diagnose
A free in-home inspection. We get under the house, find where the moisture and air are coming from, and walk you through what's actually going on down there.
Prescribe
The right encapsulation system for your crawl space, not the priciest package. A plain-English explanation and a fair price in writing. You decide on your own time.
Treat
Dependable work by our own local crew, on time, cleaned up after themselves. We seal the space and walk you through what we did before we leave.
A lot of companies sell you a package. We diagnose first, then prescribe only what your crawl space actually needs to stay dry and sealed. That's the difference between an honest local team and a sales quota from out of town.
What a LaGrange crawl space encapsulation includes.
Encapsulation is several parts working together. A home on well drained Cecil ground may need a liner and sealed vents, while a house on floodplain soil near a creek may need its water handled first. The diagnosis decides.
Vapor Barrier Liner
A durable liner spread across the ground and fastened up the walls, with every seam sealed, cuts the house off from the moisture coming out of the soil.
Best for: open dirt and torn old plastic.
Dehumidifier
With the space closed up, a crawl space dehumidifier holds the air dry through LaGrange's warm months, so mildew and rot do not get a start on the wood.
Best for: heavy, humid air and sweating ducts.
Drainage & Sump
Where creek-bottom ground puts water under the house, a drain set below the liner carries it to a sump, and the pump sends it out before it can pool.
Best for: low lots on floodplain soil.
Vent Sealing & Insulation
Shutting the vents, sealing the skirting and the access door, and insulating the walls keeps humid air, winter drafts and animals outside the space.
Best for: drafty floors and pests getting in.
When the moisture has already done some damage.
Damp air under an old house works on the piers, the joists and the floors over time. If the inspection finds damage like that, one local team repairs it along with sealing the space.
Foundation Repair
Basement Waterproofing
Sagging Floor Repair
Floor Rebuilds
Damp, soft or sagging? The inspection puts them in order.
In their own words.
LaGrange crawl space encapsulation FAQ.
Find out what is under your LaGrange home.
We will go under the house for free, show you what is feeding the moisture and put a fair price in writing for sealing it. If the space only needs a small fix, we will tell you that instead.