Service Ride Along: Part 1

Welcome to Part 1 of the Service Ride Along Mini Series!

Overview                    

Throughout the summer, I will be stepping out of the office for a day and riding along with one of our Service Technicians to have a firsthand experience with some of the difficult challenges homeowners face, and how we fix them with our products and services.

For this service ride along, I went with Travis Vaughn. He’s been the Service Manager at Healthy Spaces for 3 years making him very knowledgeable in everything he does. He doesn't run appointments very often, but when he does, he makes sure that his vehicle is stocked with any supplies he may need and has a full tank of gas. Being prepared is a huge part of any Service Technicians's job because they never know what issues they might encounter.

I learned a lot about Travis and his family on our 2-hour drive to Cadiz, Kentucky. He is happily married to his wife, Jennifer, and they have 3 dogs and 2 cats. Spending time outside is his favorite, and he enjoys Sunday morning breakfast dates with his wife. As a couple, they enjoy taking short weekend trips and spending time with friends. One of Travis’ favorite aspects of being in the service department is that he can catch small problems before they turn into larger ones.

The first home that we stopped at has had foundation work done, as well as mold remediation and CleanSpace in her crawl space. When we arrived, Travis knocked on the door and greeted the customer. He has been doing annual maintenance here for years, so he knew the customer very well. He briefly explained what he would be doing, how long it would take, and let her know that we would check back in with her before we left.

Crawl Space               

Lucky for me, the crawl space was still looking amazing, even 9 years after the original install.  It was very spacious and easy to move around in. The first thing Travis did when we entered the crawl space was to turn on the lights and check the sump pump. He cycled it to made sure it was healthy and still doing its job, and it was. He proceeded to clean any debris that was stuck inside out with a vacuum. He then tested and changed the batteries on the sump pump alarm to make sure they would be good until he was back for his next annual maintenance visit. The SaniDry Sedona’s filter was ready to be changed. Can you imagine not changing this yearly?

Mold and Foundation              

Checking for mold was next on the list. Travis turned all the lights off and began searching for mold on the floor joists. It is best to do this with the lights off and a flashlight, so he can fully see what he is looking at without shadows. After going through and doing a thorough inspection, the crawl space is mold-free.

This home also has some prior foundation issues. With it being on a hill and near a large lake, the home has been settling over the years causing some problems. The homeowner had 8 SmartJacks installed to stabilize and level the girders and floor joists in her crawl space. This system has been tested to support more than 60,000 pounds, so it is ideal to stabilize the walls and floors above. The SmartJack system was adjusted during the maintenance to provide additional straightening and leveling action.

CleanSpace                             

While Travis was tightening the SmarkJacks, he noticed that a piece of the CleanSpace tape was coming up, creating a loose seam, so he fixed it. Without the tape, it would not provide a seamless finish as well as it would allow moisture under the vapor barrier into the crawl space. He used a thick tar tape first as a base layer to seal the issue and not allow moisture from intruding and followed it with CleanSpace tape on the top. There is now a good seal to prevent any moisture loss.

The crawl space is back in amazing condition, so Travis went to report to the homeowner about the work he did, and then we were off to our second stop!

Keep an eye out for part 2, where I will take our along to our other 2 stops from this day!