Donnie Stuteville

Crawlspace entries are about as unsightly as can be, especially on a lovely brick home.  There's just no good way to disguise that piece of plywood or sheet metal tacked over the opening.  In fact, many homes have access wells around the entry door and that draws even more attention to the space.  

The Healthy Spaces team helped this Boonville, KY homeowner with their crawlspace entry by removing the rusting access well and installing a durable Turtl crawlspace entry door.  Besides creating a feature that blends in with the earth tones of the home, the Turtl is also able to be locked securely from the outside.  It's rugged plastic exterior won't fade, warp or crack either.  Now, instead of dealing with a drafty and unsecured crawlspace, the homeowners have the latest in crawlspace entry security and aesthetic appeal!

Most homes in Bradenburg, KY are built over dirt crawlspaces.  Due to the nature of the construction, it leaves those crawlspaces open to groundwater intrusion and flooding.  The flooding and increased relative humidity results in mold and fungus growth, smelly crawlspaces, and unhealthy homes.  The best way to combat all of this is to have the crawlspace treated for mold and fungus and a high quality vapor barrier installed.  The best vapor barrier on the market is CleanSpace.  It's composed of seven layers of plastics including a plastic mesh to prevent tearing, ripping, and deterioration.  CleanSpace has been compared to swimming pool liners for it's ability to block leaks and keep water where you want it--out of your crawlspace.  

In these pictures, you can see the exposed dirt floor has been leveled and CleanSpace has been installed along the walls and floor to keep groundwater out!

Efflorescence is a common problem this time of year throughout Kentucky and Indiana.  Mineral rich groundwater penetrates the concrete blocks of the foundation wall and evaporates, leaving behind a rust-colored mineral deposit.  

The best way to combat this problem is to prevent the basement from flooding by installing a Waterguard system and accompanying that installation with a wall system like ZenWall.  These non-warping, mold resistent panels can help direct wall moisture into the Waterguard system and prevent that moisture from evaporating inside the basement.  In some cases, the homeowner may elect to have a treatment like Cactus juice applied.  Here, you can see the before an after of the effloresence and it's removal and the application of Cactus juice.  Once the hooks have been removed from the wall, the wall system will be ready to install.  The Waterguard system, previously installed in 2013, has been functioning perfectly!  The homeowners are once step closer to the basement of their dreams!

Homeowners in Chrisney, IN were purchasing this home. When they had an inspection done, the inspection report flagged the crawl space for having mold. With one of their children having terrible allergies, they knew that something had to be done before moving into this home. Their realtor told them about Healthy Spaces Fix It To List It program which offers priority scheduling and will only perform a full evaluation on what's listed on the inspection report. 

In the before photo, you can still see the mold on the wood. Mold issues can dramatically lower the value of your home, and any house with significant mold problems will be difficult to sell. Additionally, mold can lead to serious structural damage to your home, which can be expensive and unsafe.

In the after photo, you can see that our product has been applied. It foams on contact with the affected area to provide visual identification of the problems & allows us to clean and restore the structural surfaces in the crawl space. Some companies might only clean with disinfectants, addressing only surface soil load. The problem with this is it only cleans the surface soil load, leaving behind dirt, debris, pollen, mold. The product that we use cleans beyond the soil load and accomplishes total source removal leaving behind a contaminate free surface. 

Homeowners in Chrisney, IN, are now protected from regrowth and will have a drier, healthier space in their crawl space. 

Fordsville, KY, like most of the surrounding areas has two struggles to deal with: high groundwater levels and lots of dirt floor crawlspaces.  The combination of the two creates a crawlspace mold epidemic that has largely been ignored by many residents until the mold infestation is quite advanced.  After all, how often do we really inspect our crawlspaces?  As you can see here, the mold situation in this Fordsville crawlspace was advanced and causing issues like musty, damp smells throughout the home, increased indoor allergies, and more frequent sinus related and respiratory illnesses.  When the homeowners went to inspect the crawlspace, they discovered that mold was growing over practically every surface in the crawlspace.  The homeowners immediately contacted Healthy Spaces to get the crawlspace remediated.

Donnie Stutesville, a mold remediation expert with Healthy Spaces, came out and inspected the crawlspace.  He recommended a three pronged approach to resolving the crawlspace mold and moisture issues: 

1. Remediate the mold and fungus

2. Remove standing water, debris, and the like

3. Seal the crawlspace with a vapor barrier

Donnie recommended both a mold/fungus treatment and a preventative coating to stop regrowth.  He explained that the mold and fungus treatment would need to be scrubbed off of all surfaces to remove the dead fungi and spores, then that debris would need to be removed prior to coating the entire crawlspace with a preventative solution.  In addition, the crawlspace needed a water removal system with sump pump and a dehumidifier.  Finally, the entire crawlspace needed a powerful vapor barrier installed to prevent the crawlspace from becoming moldy again.  You can see in the after photo that the mold removal was successful and the wood looks great with it's clear preventative coating in place!

Homeowner Mike, who lives in Boonville, IN, has noticed that his floors have begun to slowly sag over the years. After doing some research, he reached out to Healthy Spaces to have his situation assessed. Design Specialist, Donnie Stuteville, looked at her issue and proposed him a SmartJack System. 

The SmartJack System is made of zinc-plate and hot-dip galvanized steel to prevent rust and eliminate weakening from moisture, mold, and wood rot. They had a load capacity of more than 60,000 pounds making them ideal for stabilizing a home's sagging floor. The concrete is dug up and filled with tightly-compacted crushed stone to provide the proper weight barring exertion needed for each column. Once the holes are filled, the SmartJacks are installed and cemented down to the floor and connected to the girder system. Each SmartJack is tightened to permanently stabilize the floor, and even potentially lift the floors back to level.

This Central CIty, KY crawlspace was experiencing seasonal flooding, mold growth, and poor energy efficiency.  The homeowners had been looking for a permenant solution to the flooding and mold issues.  They knew that unless they could reduce the relative humidity, remove the excess groundwater from the crawlspace, and isolate their home from outside humidity.  The best solution is to use a waterproofing drainage system with powerful sump pump and overlay the system with CleanSpace.

CleanSpace is a rugged, multi-layer plastic liner, similar to a pool liner.  It is guaranteed against rips, tears, and water on top of the liner when installed with a drainage system for 25 years.  In fact, CleanSpace is so durable that pests can't pentrate it and it's safe to climb over and use for proper storage.  

CleanSpace is an engineered film--blue on one side and white on the other.  The white side reflects the crawlspace light to brighten the area and make it easier to see what you're storing.  

Most crawlspaces have an entry like this.  A large open space that allows all sorts of undesirable stuff inside--critters, moisture, mold, and more.  The solution that commonly occurs is haphazard at best.  Plywood covering the entrance quickly warps and molds.  Leaving the entrance uncovered is an invitation for an infestation.  Blocking the entrance permenantly isn't possible either.

The team at Healthy Spaces installed an Everlast Crawlspace Door, which is constructed of rigid, durable plastic that won't discolor, warp, or mold.  It sits flush to the entrance, which prevents water intrusion.  In addition to the Everlast door, the team installed a new access well, which will further protect the crawlspace from entryway flooding.  

Homeowners in Evansville, IN were looking at purchasing a home with a crawl space that had issues of groundwater intrusion, relative humidity, and was causing mold growth. 

In the before photo, you can clearly see the fungus growing on the wooden subfloor joists of an Evansville, IN crawl space. The fungus is growing and slowly decomposing the subfloor joist. If left alone over time, the problem could compromise the structural integrity of the subfloor joist. Thankfully, the homeowners were able to work out a deal with the seller who elected to completely destroy the fungus and have it properly removed by Healthy Spaces. 

In the second photo, you can see that the fungus removal has been completed on the subfloor joist. Each joist was individually scrubbed and cleaned on all sides in order to kill the fungus. 

These Wadesville, IN homeowners were struggling against a nasty, smelly, musty crawlspace with periodic flooding for years.  They finally decided to have Healthy Spaces remediate and transform their crawlspace by installing a new door, CleanSpace vapor barrier, water removal system with SuperSump sump pump, and a full mold remediation.  

The feature that truly makes the most visual difference is the new Everlast Crawlspace Entry door.  As you can see in the above picture, the crawlspace entry was originally blocked with a painted piece of plywood.  The problem with plywood, and any organic material, is that it degrades so quickly in the elements.  The wood warps and swells, causing the paint to chip and bubble.  The whole entry becomes an eyesore very quickly.  On top of that, it becomes a petry dish for mold and fungus and is very inefficient energy-wise.

The new Everlast crawlspace door is a durable plastic that won't warp, bubble, bend, or fade through the seasons.  It maintains its shape and keeps a consistent seal along the entryway, allowing the crawlspace itself to remain drier and temperature constant than previously.  As you can see, it's a neutral shade that attractively blends with the home and it will remain that way for years to come.