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.