Should I encapsulate my crawl space?

Question

Our home was built with a dirt crawl space that is about 2' from ground to bottom of floor joist. The floors are insulated with fiberglass held up (where it hasn't fallen down) with wire rods. The AC/heating duct runs through the crawl space and has insulation that looks worn out. There are vents all around the perimeter thru the concrete blocks.

Have had trouble for years with dampness in the crawl space. A few months ago after it had rained for about a week I was under the house and it was so damp it was dripping from some of the floor fiberglass. Also, the AC ducts always drip in the summer.

Currently I have a fan running all summer long to help keep it dry down there.

I'm considering encapsulating the crawl space thinking this should solve the moisture problem. From what I've read it should also eliminate the need to rehang all the fiberglass that keeps falling down, as well as eliminate the need to redo the duct insulation.

Would like to hear from someone who has done this before as to how it turned out.

Update, 10/3/13: Just want to thank littleturtle not only for your comprehensive info on this but your cited source. I read through it last night and am still trying to digest it. But one thing I picked up on was that you don't have to vent the crawl space to the inside of the house to exchange air. That's what seems best for me because I'm thinking that during the winter I'd have to pay to heat the crawlspace, and heating KWHs are expensive. Incidentally, I'm near Charleston, S.C. (Zone 3) where the cooling cost exceeds the heating cost and the humidity is typically high. Anyway, I'm going to keep plugging along on this topic until I get a good feeling about doing it, or not. I'm retired and have time to think this through carefully.

Update, 11/14/13: Have decided not to encapsulate for now. Why? Doesn't make sense to spend thousands of dollars when the little box fan seems to work okay. In other words, running a box fan in the crawl space all summer does an adequate job of removing the condensation, at a low cost. Keep in mind that there has never been a problem with the dampness actually rotting any of the floor joists, or sill plate. Since the condensation is the only problem, other than that the insulation keeps falling down (another story), it just doesn't seem necessary or smart to spend that kind of money. If, on the other hand, there was ample evidence that there was a payback from the reduction in the KWH used for heating and cooling, then I would do it.

Update, 4/17/14: After further research I became convinced that I should seal the vents in the crawlspace. So, that's what I did. Now I'm monitoring both the temperature and humidity down there with a handy-dandy display in my den. Something I'm also thinking about is using the cooler air down there to cool the house. It stays in the 60's (since February) down there. Depending on the temperature this summer, I may devise a method to exchange air to cool the first floor next year.

Answer 1

Yes, bringing the crawl space into the conditioned space is generally recommended as a way to prevent crawlspace moisture problems (I assume this is what you mean by encapsulate).

This means:

1. sealing vents to the exterior
2. sealing the dirt floor with polyethylene sheeting (at least 6 mil), or concrete
3. creating vents between the living space and the crawlspace (ideally supply air to/from the space with HVAC ductwork), and
4. insulating the interior side of the crawlspace walls on (not necessary in climate zone 1 or 2; and preferably with board foam or spray foam because fiberglass doesn't do well with moisture).
5. probably a good idea to remove existing floor insulation

This will prevent humid outside air from coming into the crawlspace and condensing on cold surfaces, and prevent/reduce moisture from coming up through the dirt floor or walls. Your AC will also deliver cold air more effectively. Good site drainage is also key.

There are many good references on how to do this properly:

http://www.housingzone.com/crawlspaces-vent-or-not-vent

https://buildingscience.com/documents/bareports/ba-0401-conditioned-crawlspace-construction-performance-and-codes

Answer 2

If you live in a humid region, mechanical venting between the crawlspace and outside won't necessarily improve things, as you'll just be bringing in moist air to then condense in the cool crawlspace. In this situation, the moisture problem is in the air.

If the issue is moisture in the ground, then what you want do do is seal the dirt...typically with sealed plastic.

That said, you mentioned dripping AC duct work, which makes me believe you live in a humid region...so you likely do not want to mechanically vent the crawlspace to the outside. What you do want to do is replace and improve all the insulation under there...especially around your duct work.

Answer 3

I install these systems in homes all over East Tennessee. I am not a franchise so I don't sell a one size fits all solution for crawlspaces, each is different. The idea of exchanging air from the crawlspace and the house to me has never been one I am crazy about because I have spent so much time in crawlspaces and know what is down there. Intermingling crawlspace air with the air I am breathing in my home just sounds plain awful. If your crawlspace has fiberglass insulation in it, you can expect to be breathing the fibers. If your vapor barrier is not well sealed all the way around and at every joint, you can expect an earthy smell from the ground. You can also expect that if you haven't had an HVAC professional who really understands how to do this properly that you may have sizing issues, HVAC systems are designed for the size of the home, if you add space, it may not be able to handle the additional work. Also, if it is zoned and not running off an humidistat then how does it know when to run and when it doesn't. I am a big fan of crawlspace dehumidifiers to solve the problem. Seal the walls and vents, put down a good vapor barrier and install a dehumidifier. This is the best solution out there. If you want the sealed vapor barrier, you can do that too, it's a lot more money, but if you invest the extra the amount you spend running the dehumidifier will go down because it is not going to have to work as hard if the ground moisture is sealed off. However, if you have any water intrusion problems, do not install that type vapor barrier until they have been addressed. A sealed vapor barrier is not a solution or substitution for a waterproofing system.

Answer 4

I am in coastal North Carolina. I encapsulated my crawl space since the neighbors on either side of me had incurred thousand of dollars in repair of the floor joists in their homes older than mine, which was about twenty years old at the time of encapsulation. I have a basically flat lot but the water does not necessarily drain away from the house. I also installed underground drains that the gutters drain into, diverting water to a ditch. The house has one section that is on a slab (and it is not encapsulated, of course), but most of the house is about three feet above the ground with some additional space on a second floor.

The main floor is very cold when temperatures get in the thirties or below. This was not a problem before encapsulation.

I use heat pumps with supplemental heat from a small portable electric heater in the master bathroom and a portable oil filled heater in the slab area. Encapsulation did not lower my electric bill. I think the underground drainage helps with moisture too but can definitely be a mosquito breeding area.

Answer 5

See http://www.advancedenergy.org/portal/crawl_spaces/pdfs/Moisture%20Solution%20Becomes%20Efficiency%20Bonanza.pdf

Using the matched pairs approach, the houses are divided into three study groups of four houses each. Energy use for each of the houses is being recorded from sub-meters attached to each heat pump. The findings indicate a 15% or greater average savings in heating and cooling energy use in the houses with properly closed crawl spaces compared to the houses with traditional vented crawl spaces.

Answer 6

To some extent the issue of having to form a connection between the crawl space and the conditioned living area for purposes of controlling crawl space humidity can be addressed by a dehumidifier placed strategically in the crawl space. This way you would not need any communication between crawl and living.