Damon Cheatham

Crawlspace access wells are ugly and deteriorated! They let in rain, groundwater, debris, critters, and all manner of disgusting stuff. The homeowners of this home were tired of the seasonal water intrusion and the resulting mold and mildrew problems inherent in a flooded crawlspace.

Here is the same crawlspace with a Turtl crawlspace access door installed. The Turtl crawlspace door is airtight and able to be secured. They are designed to make for a safer and easier access without sharp edges. They are durable and much more appealing aesthetically.

These Shepherdsville homeowners have stated that with the Turtl door combined with a CleanSpace crawlspace encapsulation system has created a crawlspace that is dry all the time, absent of critters, and cleaner and brighter than ever!

"Our basement was a waste of square footage!  With growing kids, I needed somewhere for them to hang out with their friends that wasn't right on top of each other.  We decided to finish the basement".

This is a common situation for many homeowners in the Fort Knox area.  Basements tend to be damp, moldy, and smelly.  Thankfully, they don't have to stay that way!  Healthy Spaces can transform an ugly waste of space into a beautiful addition to your home.  

In this case, the homeowners had the basement stripped down, treated for mold and fungus, then elected to have Zen Wall panels installed because they will not mold or deteriorate.  They also installed a Waterguard system to direct wall moisture and ground water into a sump pump system and discharge system for removal.  The basement will be a cleaner, healthier place for the kids to hang out!

Really long lasting sump pumps are hard to find on your own, which can mean that you're replacing pumps frequently, or you're dealing with pump failure and the resulting flooding. These homeowners had dealt with both issues and felt that it was time to get a professional quality, long lasting pump with a warranty. The Basement Systems Super Sump is a cast-iron sump pump with the longest-lasting battery backup pump in the industry. The pump is constructed of a rigid durable plastic that is designed to house a sump pump and will not mold or bend. It's an all in one number--an existing pump basket, a durable lid, and quality components. The homeowner said, "I was really impressed with the [Zoeller] pump that Healthy Spaces installed. The waterproofing system is top notch and I feel like I can rely on this pump."

This Odon homeowner purchased this home and was previously told that there was waterproofing around the perimeter of the home. They would continue to get small amounts of water in the basement until they removed the downspouts from going into the ground. That solved the water issue but now their basement continued to have that smell. They decided that they needed to give Healthy Spaces a call to solve the problem.

Our System Design Specialist, Damon Cheatham, quickly came to evaluate the situation. He concluded that the crawlspace would need SilverGlo, a CleanSpace liner, and a SandiDry. 

SilverGlo Crawl Space Wall Insulation is able to resist heat conduction and boast a radiant barrier, which reflects heat back into their crawl space for ultimate energy savings. 

Next, we installed our CleanSpace liner on top of the SilverGlo. This 20-mil poly-reinforced crawl space liner prevents water vapor and humidity from passing through. Keeping their crawl space dry, and free from mold and rot.

With a plan set, our production team came to the home to start the project.

This Lewisport home was experiencing the common signs of a wall failure problem: stair-step cracking on the inside of their home. Once these homeowners realized that the problem could (and would!) eventually get worse, they quickly gave Healthy Spaces a call to solve the problem.

Our System Design Specialist, Damon Cheatham, concluded that the foundation would need to permanently stabilize the walls by installing PowerBraces. The PowerBrace is designed to support basement walls and allow for potential straightening over time. Some highlights on installing PowerBraces are: their zinc coating makes the entire system resistant to corrosion, clean-cut appearance, and professionally installed. 

With a plan set, Kye Devine and his production team came to the home to start the project.

Wet basements are pretty common in Philpot and many cities in Kentucky.  With the proximity to rivers and streams, higher humidity, and an average rainfall of 45" per year, basement moisture levels are a common problem.  Increased moisture leads to mold concerns and problems with effloresence, mildrew and fungus, and increased pest activity.  

These homeowners were determined to stop the basement flooding cycle by installing an interior basement waterproofing system through Healthy Spaces.

The Healthy Spaces installation team installed 179 linear feet of waterguard, a SuperSump sump pump system, and 15' of discharge line.  The Waterguard system is installed along the perimeter of the basement and has a special flange to catch wall moisture as well!  The water is directed through the Waterguard into the SuperSump, then removed far from the basement through the discharge line.

Foundation stabilization technology has changed a lot in the last 150 years.  Unfortunately, many of the foundation components haven't.  This home, like many in the Hartford, IN area, is resting on a yellow brick foundation.  In order to stabilize the bricks and keep the foundation level, concrete pylons were poured at intervals along the foundation.  Now, the homeowners have noticed extreme settling and cracking throughout the home.  The best and most long-lasting way to stabilize this foundation is to clip the pylons and put the entire home on a rugged steel push pier system.  In the before picture, you can see the pylon and surrounding brick.  In the after picture, you can see the installed piers, which have been hydraulically driven to the engineer approved resistance depth and are resting on bedrock underneath. The piers have been capped off and the home is now off weighted from the failing soil onto the piers.

Here, you can really see the difference that CleanSpace makes!  The initial crawlspace was lumpy dirt floor, covered in a clear plastic sheet.  When the sheet was pulled back, it was amazing to see how moldy and gross that plastic had become and how tattered and shredded it was.  Underneath the plastic, there was a failed trench system for drainage.  Instead of helping control the influx of water, it trapped over 4" of standing water in the crawlspace, which lead to mold and fungus growth among other problems.  

Damon Cheatham with Healthy Spaces came out and inspected the crawlspace.  He designed a comprehensive water removal system to keep the crawlspace dry all the time!  The installation team started by remediating the mold, removing the debris, and leveling the floor of the crawlspace.  Next, they re-dug the trench system to fit an EZFlow drainage system, which connects to a SuperSump sump pump system to remove the water.  The entire crawlspace needed to be more energy efficient as well, so SilverGlo insulation was installed along the walls and in the spaces between the subfloor joists.  The crew installed 1,134 sq feet of Cleanspace, two vent covers, and an EverLast Crawlspace well and door for entry.  Finally, a Sani-dry dehumidifier was installed in the crawlspace to keep the space conditioned and the relative humidity low so mold won't grow in there again.

Efflorescence is a mineral build up on walls caused by groundwater seeping through concrete and then evaporating.  It can be unsightly, especially if the walls are bright white!

The Healthy Spaces installation team used Biocide to treat the walls for mold and then installed a vapor retarding treatment called Cactus Juice.  The walls look good as new!

We've all seen the usual crawlspace door--plywood, old palettes, or scrap wood nailed together to cover the crawlspace opening. Even if the cover is painted or covered in shingles, it's usually warped and degraded by the sun. The metal hinges are usually rusted and in many cases, the hinges have pulled out of the siding. These old crawlspace doors lead to many problems besides just being ugly; they also allow pests, mold spores, and moisture into your home. Since these doors are not airtight, cold winter air will enter creating energy efficiency issues and increasing your heating bills.

Healthy Spaces offers several access door options to their homeowners. These are made entirely out of plastics and foams. Once installed, they create an airtight, waterproof seal between your crawl space and the cold or humid air outside.

This new crawl space doors is called a Turtl. It is constructed of rugged, durable plastic. It can be secured from the outside and it will not warp or fade in the sun. A Turtl is inexpensive, easy to install, and keep your home looking great!

These homeowners in Newburgh, IN, were experiencing a lot of water in their basement whenever it would rain. In the before photo, you can see their old sump pump was unreliable, susceptible to problems sure to give the homeowners a run for their money. Instead of battling with the old sump pump, the Newburgh, IN, homeowners called Healthy Spaces and had the TripleSafe sump pump installed. The TripleSafe Sump pump system is our most reliable sump pump system and provides three levels of protection for your basement and your peace of mind.

The purpose of basement windows is to add appeal to your space by bringing in natural sunlight. When your windows are rusted, covered in debris, or doing little more than affording a view of an old, rusty window well, then they're not doing their job. So that's why we installed 4 of our EverLast Basement Windows. Our EverLast Windows are energy-efficient, vinyl-framed replacement windows. Having a covered window well keeps cold winter winds from blowing against the panes, while the Low-E double thermopane glass of EverLast Windows saves you on your energy bills. It's a small upgrade that really made a big difference in this homeowner home!

Crawl space access wells are typically ugly, unsightly pits. More often than not, they're made out of concrete, wood, or even metal. Over time, these wells will begin to fill with leaves, plants, and debris. The metal will rust, wood will rot, and when it rains or snows, they'll fill with water, causing the crawl space to flood. 

For this homeowner in Haubstadt, IN, they asked Healthy Spaces to replace their old crawl space access well, with The Turtl. The Turtl is a plastic crawl space entrance that provides an airtight cover, serving as an access well AND door combined!

These Henderson, KY homeowners were very concerned about the stability of their foundation wall.  It was bulging out due to swelling soils.  The soil was swelling because groundwater was present.  That created another problem--leaking walls.  The homeowners met with Damon Cheatham of Healthy Spaces and together, they designed a cost-effective, custom solution to both problems.

 First, the installation team would jackhammer out a trench around the perimeter of the basement to install Waterguard, a french drain-like system, that would capture the wall and floor moisture and direct it into a sump pump to be removed from the basement.  Second, the installers would place a wall moisture direction system called Brightwall on to the walls.  This will direct the wall leakage into the Waterguard before it comes into contact with the interior basement air.  This will keep the relative humidity lower and reduce the risk of mold growing in the basement.  Brightwall also has the added benefit of making the basement look brighter and cleaner--a real wow experience!  Third, the installation team installed several Powerbraces along the wall to stablize and reinforce it.  The Powerbraces are secured at the top and bottom to provide a rigid and structually sound reinforcement to the block wall.  As you can see, it looks like a completely new basement.  

Signs of wall failure can show up differently depending on whether the home has a concrete block or poured concrete walls. For this homeowner in Robards, KY, they were showing signs of bowing walls starting to take place. 

Design Specialist, Damon Cheatham, came out to asses their foundation and together they designed a solution that would permanently stabilize their home's foundation. Our Foundation crew, Tad and Garrett, installed 10 PowerBrace's. The PowerBrace system allows the system to be tightened over time, stopping wall failure without invasive drilling or digging on the property. PowerBrace's state-of-the-art brackets were engineered to provide strong joint reinforcement while also protecting the integrity of the home's floor system. 

Many homes in Madisonville, KY are built with block wall foundations.  These foundations show horizontal displacement by stair step cracking.  Horizontal displacement is characterized by bowing, bulging, buckling, and shearing.  The easiest and most effective way to permanently stabilize a bowing wall is to have it professionally anchored.  

The Healthy Spaces foundation repair installation team will pneumatically drill wall anchor rods through the foundation wall at intervals.  The installation team will then dig earth anchor holes in the exterior of the home and the anchor rods will be drilled until they poke through into the holes.  You can see this in the before picture.  

Those anchor rods will be attached to earth anchors and tightened.  Then, the wall anchor face plates on the interior of the foundation walls will be tightened and the anchor rods tightened to stabilize the foundation.  Over time, the wall can be tightened more and straightened.

Hardin, KY homeowner, Jim and his wife were struggling to control mold and odor coming from their basement.  The basement seemed constantly wet and they never felt it ever got completely dry.  "Damon from Healthy Spaces came out for free and spent over 2 hours discussing issues and solutions with us", says Jim.

Damon and Jim decided the best solution for the home was to install a full-perimeter French drain in the basement.  Healthy Spaces has installed thousands of custom drainage systems just like this one in basements and crawlspaces across the area.  The systems are comprised of a rugged plastic drainage channel network called WaterGuard.  The Waterguard connects to a sump pump system that expels the water far from the basement to keep it dry.   

Homeowners in Hanson, KY, purchased their home over 10 years ago. They recently began to renovate their home when they discovered that their floors were creaking and were beginning to sag. They were afraid that the issue would get worse, so they decided to contact Healthy Spaces. 

Upon inspection, our Design Specialist, Damon, found high humidity which was causing the deterioration of the floor joists in the crawl space. The weakened girders and floor joists are unable to continue supporting the weight above, and the floor above the crawl space becomes bouncy, soft, and may begin to sag. 

Tad and his crew installed several SmartJacks in the crawl space. SmartJacks are used to permanently lifts and stabilizes existing beams and floor joists in the crawl space. Steel columns are secured to the beams or joists. Heavy-duty rods allow for adjustment and a custom fit for each SmartJack System installed.