Flooded, Muddy & Moldy Crawlspace In Stoutsville Ohio Home Gives Owners Headaches

Located thirty minutes south of Columbus, Stoutsville is a small village in Fairfield County Ohio. Primarily know as a farming area, it is rather quiet and not densely populated.


Amongst this farmland is a beautiful 2000+
square foot ranch built in 1993 on a 5 acre lot. These homeowners raise champion horses on their farm and have very little time for anything else. They noticed their TV signal was going in and out and decided to have the cable guy out to look into it. He had to enter the crawlspace under the home since that is where their wires run. When he did, he found that the whole-house crawl space was flooded with nearly 10 inches of water. Minutes later these homeowners made an emergency call for a Free Estimate to The Basement Doctor, and Project Manager Ryan Bolin went to their home immediately.

Once Ryan arrived, he walked the perimeter of the home. He noticed that grading was bad and was contributing to the wet crawl space. The homeowners explained that the house was custom-built on land that was used for farming for many generations. They had trusted their builder to take the proper steps to make sure the lot drained properly, but he did not. The homeowners had no idea their crawl space had been experiencing severe flooding since the day it was built since they never had any reason to venture under the house.


Ryan's inspection uncovered several factors leading to the damaged state of this crawl space. Multiple field tiles had drained into the crawl space and all 10 vents were open, which lets in air and creates a breeding ground for mold. All of the fiberglass insulation was ruined by moisture, mold and mildew, their HVAC unit was rusting, and the high pressure tank for the well had almost completely rusted through. This crawl space had become a health risk for anyone living in the home since as much as 50% of the air you breath in your home originates from the crawl space.

But don't worry, The Basement Doctor's On The Job! Ryan identified the problems and prescribed a long list of remedies. Extraction was first on the list. Once the water was removed, the entire crawlspace needed mold remediation using Anabec Disinfectant. Knowing that this homeowner wanted to make sure their crawl space was dry all of the time, our expert prescribed a drainage system, WhiteCap vapor barrier, spray foam and dehumidification.

The cleanup and installation efforts were headed by Basement Doctor Foreman, Rich Pomales. Rich and his team replaced the fiberglass insulation with closed cell spray foam in the rim joist which seals the gap between the crawl space and home.

This was followed by installing over 200 feet of drainage pipe and two sump pump systems. This collects the water that may enter the crawl space and delivers it out of the crawl space and away from the foundation.

The crawl space was then encapsulated using the WhiteCap vapor barrier system. This heavy duty liner is reinforced for durability, unlike those found in hardware stores. The vapor barrier separates the home from the earth and prevents moisture, odors, insects and other pests from entering the home.





The final step in the project was dehumidification. Our dehumidifier of choice is Santa Fe, and the model we selected was the Advance since it is designed specifically for crawlspace applications.




What was once a serious nightmare for the homeowner, is now a drier, cleaner, safer, healthier and more energy efficient crawlspace.