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.

Bowed & Cracked Basement Walls Give Dublin, Ohio Homeowner Headaches

Located Northwest of Columbus, Dublin, Ohio actually falls within Franklin, Delaware and Union counties. Settled in 1802, this city was named after Dublin, Ireland by John Shields because it reminded him of his birthplace. Dublin is home to the headquarters of a number of large companies, including Cardinal Health, IGS Energy, Stanley Steemer, Wendy's, OCLC, Pacer International and MindLeaders.

When Wes Martin, Project Manager with The Basement Doctor, arrived at this Dublin home, it was evident that there were several areas of concern that were causing stress to these homeowners. The homeowners knew they had some cracks in their basement walls, but it was now bowing, and the wet walls started growing mold. Wes walked the outside of the home to investigate gutters, downspouts and grading, but found no indication that any of these played into the issues found below.  Once inside the basement, Wes determined that years of settling, freezing, thawing and a high water table caused the foundation issues. As you can see from the pictures, the horizontal and stair-step cracking, the bowing and mold are pretty severe.

Some foundation cracks and stair-step cracks are common in settling. However, these cracks become a problem when they get too big or allow water to enter the home. Once the water enters the block wall and works its way through the cracks, the home faces a new issue: MOLD. This picture to the right shows mold developing in the corner and the picture above shows the stains on the walls that indicate the level the water reached and stayed at for a long period of time. Now the homeowner has a number of issues that need attention immediately. The cracks are allowing water to enter the home which is causing mold to grow, and the weakened walls are now bowing and causing the foundation to weaken. This puts the structural integrity of the home in jeopardy.

Thankfully this homeowner called the right place and The Basement Doctor is On The Job! Wes has proposed The Force wall stabilizer to straighten the walls, The Anabec mold system to destroy the mold, mildew and bacteria along with Basement Doctor wall epoxy to coat, protect and seal the wall. Once this basement is repaired, the homeowners will have one less thing to worry about in their home.

Mold Remediation Service Saves A DIY Project In Bexley Ohio

A first-ring suburb of Columbus, Bexley is known for its historic and close-knit neighborhoods, its highly ranked public school system, its classic and walkable Main Street environment, the prestigious private schools located within its borders, and its status as the home of Capital University. 

The historic homes in Bexley are very popular these days and seem to be under constant remodel and renovation. Case in point, the DIY project some homeowners completed overhauling their standard closet and creating a large walk-in closet. The project had been complete for several months and everything appeared normal. What the homeowner could not see was all of the moisture that was building up in the wood behind the new drywall they had installed. The Ohio winter weather has been very wet this year with all of the rain, snow and ice. All of this moisture finds its’ way into your home through holes in the roof, cracks in the walls, drafty windows, the basement and crawlspace. In this old house, the moisture had saturated the wood structure and began absorbing into the new drywall. The excess moisture in the drywall, coupled with the warm interior air in the home, led to mold growth. Once the homeowner saw the mold, they called The Basement Doctor call center and scheduled a free estimate with one of our Project Managers.

Upon arrival Ed Meyer, Senior Project Manager, found that the homeowners DIY project had unknowingly created the ultimate breeding ground for mold. When they enlarged the closet, they included a furnace register in the area. Since the door was typically closed on this closet and warm air was being pumped into the area with no circulation, the closet was quickly over ridden with mold due to high humidity levels. But no worries, The Basement Doctor is on the job!

Once our Foreman and his crew arrived at the house, they installed a zipper door to prevent the mold spores from contaminating the rest of the home during the remediation process. As they began deconstructing the closet shelving, it was clear that the mold was spreading everywhere. Once the mold covered drywall was ripped out, it exposed high wood moisture content feeding the outbreak. The maximum wood moisture should be between 15% to 16%. The wood supports measured nearly 30% and the outside wall measured 66%. These dangerously high moisture levels were then reduced to

 a safe 15% or less by drying the building materials with a combination of blowers and dehumidifiers.  Next we treated the affected areas with Anabec Disinfectant killing any remaining mold, hepa vaced the closet space and finished off the remediation process by sealing and protecting the surfaces with Anabec X-70 Plus microbial coating to ensure the mold cannot return. Now that the area was dry and clean, we properly insulated between the posts using Basement Doctor Spray Foam. We also added high and low vents to ensure air circulation allowing for a consistent temperature to that found throughout the home. The area was then refinished with new dry wall and a fresh coat of paint leaving the customer with a drier, cleaner, safer and healthier closet. 

Quick Tips On Mold Courtesy of The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention http://www.cdc.gov/mold/faqs.htm:

What are molds?

Molds are fungi that can be found both indoors and outdoors. No one knows how many species of fungi exist but estimates range from tens of thousands to perhaps three hundred thousand or more. Molds grow best in warm, damp, and humid conditions, and spread and reproduce by making spores. Mold spores can survive harsh environmental conditions, such as dry conditions, that do not support normal mold growth.

How do molds affect people?

Some people are sensitive to molds. For these people, exposure to molds can cause symptoms such as nasal stuffiness, eye irritation, wheezing, or skin irritation. Some people, such as those with serious allergies to molds, may have more severe reactions. Severe reactions may occur among workers exposed to large amounts of molds in occupational settings, such as farmers working around moldy hay. Severe reactions may include fever and shortness of breath. Some people with chronic lung illnesses, such as obstructive lung disease, may develop mold infections in their lungs.

Specific Recommendations:

• Keep humidity levels as low as you can—no higher than 50%--all day long. An air conditioner or dehumidifier will help you keep the level low. Bear in mind that humidity levels change over the course of a day with changes in the moisture in the air and the air temperature, so you will need to check the humidity levels more than once a day.
• Use an air conditioner or a dehumidifier during humid months.
• Be sure the home has adequate ventilation, including exhaust fans.
• Add mold inhibitors to paints before application.
• Clean bathrooms with mold killing products.
• Do not carpet bathrooms and basements.
• Remove or replace previously soaked carpets and upholstery.

http://www.mybasementdoctor.com/mold/about-mold.html