Don’t let mold grow inside your home or office!
Vapor barrier installation: is it essential for your crawl space? If you live in Durham, NC, the chances are you have a crawl space under your home. Do you know if you have a vapor barrier in it? Also, when was the last time you had a crawl space inspection done by Sealed Solution to ensure your space is still moisture-free and sealed?
If you have yet to invest in vapor barrier installation or need to replace it, you may wonder how to install it. Do you need to hire someone to do the job for you, or can you do it yourself? There’s a lot to consider, especially with installing vapor barriers and how they work. It may sound like a lot, which is why we’re here to help you through this journey with your crawl space.
Keep reading below to learn more about vapor barrier installation in Wake County and everything you need to know about vapor barriers.
What Is a Crawl Space Vapor Barrier?
So what is a crawl space vapor barrier that you can add to your Durham, NC home? A vapor barrier is a plastic sheet placed on the ground of the crawl space. Dirt usually covers the floor of the space, and soil allows moisture to grow easily. That’s why vapor barriers exist: they keep the moisture in the dirt and out of the crawl space.
What Do They Do?
Vapor barriers are simple, but they do a lot to protect your Wake County home’s crawl space. The goal of vapor barriers is to keep moisture from entering your crawl space and potentially damaging your house and health. Moisture can cause mold when it accumulates, which can cause your household to suffer the consequences. Along with insulation, vapor barriers can help fend off moisture.
This works by covering the dirt floor. The water can’t pass through the barrier, so the barrier effectively keeps water out of the crawl space itself. However, if water enters from outside—like it would if you have open vents—the vapor barrier may not help. Vapor batteries are most effective when you have a sealed crawl space.
How Do They Work?
As we mentioned, having vapor barriers on the floor will keep moisture in the dirt from coming up through the barrier to the crawl space. However, you can also put vapor barriers on the walls of the crawl space. This can add an extra layer of protection if you already have an insulated crawl space. If you’re unsure if you already have a vapor barrier or what kind of insulation you have, you should call Sealed Solution for a crawl space inspection. Especially if you want to have a vapor barrier installed, you must ensure it’s sealed and free of moisture, mold, or wood rot.
Are They Necessary?
So are vapor barriers necessary? While insulation can keep your crawl space safe, how well it keeps moisture out will depend on the type of insulation you have. If you have fiberglass insulation, you may find yourself with mold growing in your crawl space. Fiberglass doesn’t handle moisture as well as other types of insulation, such as spray foam. Therefore, moisture can damage the insulation and make it ineffective.
Even if you have new insulation, you should take extra precautions to keep your crawl space and your insulation safe. Why wouldn’t you take all the necessary steps to protect your house? Therefore, you should have vapor barriers in your Wake County home.
Things To Consider
Are you taking the vapor barrier installation into your own hands? If so, there are a few things you should consider. This process is a bit complex, but you can perform it effectively with careful planning and knowledge. Also, it’s relatively inexpensive. If you choose to go with a professional, like Sealed Solution, we can install vapor barriers in a day. So if you’re not up for the DIY project, call us. Otherwise, read the tips below for vapor barrier installation in Durham, NC.
Tips for Installing Vapor Barriers
First, ensure you seal the whole crawl space. That means that you must seal every possible crack. That’s why getting a crawl space inspection by Sealed Solution is essential before starting your vapor barrier installation. Professionals are best for this job because they know what to look for when seeking damage. They investigate crawl spaces every day, so turn to the experts to ensure your crawl space is ready for a vapor barrier.
Also, make sure you measure your crawl space thoroughly before cutting your vapor barrier. While you may have a large crawl space, many are small and require you to crawl around—as the name suggests. Due to this, you don’t want to do the measuring, cutting, and placing while inside the space. To ensure you have enough room to stretch out while you cut the vapor barrier, measure the crawl space, then cut the vapor barrier outside of it.
Install insulation if you don’t have it already. While fiberglass is easy to install on your own, you should stay clear of it. Only choose insulation meant for crawl spaces; this insulation can stand up to moisture and keep it out of the space. If you have fiberglass insulation already in your Wake County crawl space, remove and replace it before you move forward with the vapor barrier installation.
Conclusion
A vapor barrier is essential for your crawl space as it keeps moisture out so that you and your family can stay safe. Before installing the barrier, consider whether you have the time, patience, and skills to do it right. If you don’t lay the barrier right, you can risk moisture entering the crawl space without you knowing, allowing mold to grow.
If you need a crawl space inspection in Durham, NC before installing your vapor barrier—or if you want the professionals to install it—call Sealed Solution at 919-302-1081 today. We’ll take care of your crawl space so that you never have to worry about mold or wood rot again.
Durham, also known as the ‘Bull City’, is a city in and the county seat of Durham County in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Small portions of the city limits extend into Orange County and Wake County.
With a population of 283,506 in the 2020 Census, Durham is the 4th-most populous city in North Carolina, and the 75th-most populous city in the United States. The city is located in the east-central part of the Piedmont region along the Eno River. Durham is the core of the four-county Durham-Chapel Hill Metropolitan Area, which has a population of 644,367 as of U.S. Census 2019 Population Estimates. The Office of Management and Budget also includes Durham as a part of the Raleigh-Durham-Cary Combined Statistical Area, commonly known as the Research Triangle, which has a population of 2,079,687 as of U.S. Census 2019 Population Estimates.
The Eno and the Occoneechi, related to the Sioux and the Shakori, lived and farmed in the area which became Durham. They may have established a village named Adshusheer on the site. The Great Indian Trading Path has been traced through Durham, and Native Americans helped to mold the area by establishing settlements and commercial transportation routes.
In 1701, Durham’s beauty was chronicled by the English explorer John Lawson, who called the area ‘the flower of the Carolinas.’ During the mid-1700s, Scots, Irish, and English colonists settled on land granted to George Carteret by King Charles I (for whom the Carolinas are named). Early settlers built gristmills, such as West Point, and worked the land.
Prior to the American Revolution, frontiersmen in what is now Durham were involved in the Regulator movement. According to legend, Loyalist militia cut Cornwallis Road through this area in 1771 to quell the rebellion. Later, William Johnston, a local shopkeeper and farmer, made Revolutionaries’ munitions, served in the Provincial Capital Congress in 1775, and helped underwrite Daniel Boone’s westward explorations.
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