Crawl space is an important area under your house’s roof or floor, as it is used to access wires and pumps that go in and out of your house. As the name suggests, this area is narrow, unoccupied, and mostly unfinished. Nevertheless, this space plays a vital role in your home as it can affect your living conditions and health. This is why crawl space waterproofing is essential.
Crawl space waterproofing helps prevent moisture from creeping into these tight spaces, which can affect the structure of your home and your health in general. Here are five more reasons why you should waterproof your home’s crawl space.
5 Advantages of Crawl Space Waterproofing
Protects Your Home Structure
One of the major benefits of repairing your crawl space is protecting your home structure. When the crawl space is located under your house, it becomes essential to waterproof the area. This is because high humidity can affect the concrete foundation, weakening it.
On top of that, a wet crawl space affects the wood beams and metals found below. The dampness will cause the metal to rust, and wood beams will begin to rot, creating cracks on your walls and floors. Waterproofing the crawl space will reduce the moisture levels in the area, protecting your walls and floors.
Waterproofing Protects Your Health
Excess moisture in the basement area can impact your health. This is because it creates a conducive environment for mold to grow. If the moisture levels are not kept in check, the mold spreads to other areas of your house and can cause allergic reactions to the inhabitants of the house.
Mold can also have more serious effects on people with severe allergies resulting in wheezing and shortness of breath. Where there is a person (especially a child) with asthma, the mold can worsen the symptoms.
Saves Money in The Long Term
Waterproofing your crawl space can directly impact your electricity bills when there is increased humidity in your house caused by excess moisture underneath your home. This will prompt your HVAC system to use more power to keep the temperatures in check. Besides using more power, the HVAC system can get damaged due to overheating, which can be more expensive to repair than waterproofing your crawl space.
Waterproofing Creates Additional Storage Space
The crawl space can be an additional storage space. For this to be possible, you have to look for experts who can perform crawl space encapsulation. This entails the addition of a heavy moisture barrier to the floor, a crawl space dehumidifier, sealing foundation vents, and insulating the walls. This will make the crawl space area suitable for storing tools and other luggage.
Secures Your Basement
Flooding can affect any part of your home, and the crawl space area is no exception. Waterproofing your crawl space area will secure your basement from flooding by preventing leaks that could be costly to repair.
Waterproofing your crawl space is vital in saving money and protecting you and your family from health complications. It is also a worthwhile investment as it can increase the value of your home (if you have plans to sell it) by making it more appealing to investors. So don’t be afraid to spend now on waterproofing your crawl space, as this will save you more in the long term.
