Photo Album: Problems with Outdated Vapor Barriers in Radcliff, KY Crawlspace

In this close up, you can see the mold spores attacking the wooden subfloor joists in this Radcliff KY crawlspace.  The homeowners were displeased to discover that they had an extensive mold problem because they thought the old, black plastic in the crawlspace was sufficient to stop the moisture, but it definitely wasn't.

Here, you can see the substantial fungal growth along the subfloor joists in this Radcliff, KY crawlspace.  After the area undergoes a mold remediation treatment, the homeowners have decided to rip up the dysfunctional black plastic and install a real vapor barrier that will protect their home.

In this photo, the Healthy Spaces Design Specialist has pulled back the black plastic to reveal muddy clay soil and a broken perforated pipe.  This means that the Radcliff crawlspace is not being drained.

Here, you can see where water has previously flooded over the black plastic barrier and coated these pipes with mud.  The homeowners stated that they were having trouble with moldy odors, pests, and indoor allergies and asthma.  These are all symptoms of a crawlspace that needs attention.  The Healthy Spaces team will soon create a healthy space!

In this photo, you can see that the walls are damp in this Radcliff crawlspace.  There are two factors making the walls slick: high relative humidity and water leaking in through the porous concrete blocks of the foundation.

The Healthy Spaces Design Specialist discovered several health concerns in this Radcliff crawlspace: dirt/mud, lots of moldy debris, and a huge amount of mouse droppings.  It appears that the mice had eaten through the black plastic and started nesting the in the insulation!  Some areas were so overwhelming with mouse dung that the design specialist was very thankful for his clean suit and mask!

In this shot, you can see that the HVAC system has become saturated with moisture and fallen apart.  The system was sucking up moldy crawlspace air without even a filter and distributing that throughout the home!

Here, you can see the cleansuit that the installation team wears when working on a crawlspace.  The team has donned their suits and respirators and is decontaminating the crawlspace to combat the rampant mold growth in this Radcliff crawlspace.

Here is a Before shot of the nasty Radcliff crawlspace.  Even though it looks like things are okay, we just learned what outdated technology has been unable to prevent in this Radcliff crawlspace--pest infestation, mold growth, groundwater intrusion, and poor indoor air quality and other health hazards.  That's why it's important to keep your crawlspace dry ALL the time with a complete encapsulation system.  The latest technology in crawlspace encapsulation is CleanSpace and this crawlspace is getting its makeover!

Here is the Radcliff crawlspace after mold remediation and CleanSpace crawlspace encapsulation!  The mouse infestation was taken care of and those nasty critters cannot get back in because the crawlspace has been completely sealed with this 20 mil product that is guaranteed against rips, tears, and water on top of the liner for 25 years!  Those mice can't chew through it either!

Here, you can see the mold growing on the pipes along the subfloor.  Once mold spores are present in a crawlspace, every surface will soon be growing mold.  It takes expert remediation to stop this destructive and unhealthy organism.  

In this shot, you can see that the black plastic in the crawlspace has not stopped the moisture intrusion.  In fact, the plastic is currently holding the moisture on it's surface and allowing mold and mildew to grow on top of it!   Also, if you look at the wooden subfloor joist, you can see mold growing on it.