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CRAWLSPACE REPAIR IN KNOXVILLE, TN

Problem Signs
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Why Choose Atlas Foundation & Crawlspace?

For years now we have been fixing foundations, crawlspaces, and basements throughout East Tennessee. Whatever the problem is in those areas we have the experience and the products needed to provide the right solution.

The goal of our work is to avoid any unnecessary and costly work down the line, while creating a healthier livings space. You save money up front with our honest work and over the long term with a more energy-efficient home. As an added benefit at the end of our project, you will have additional storage space in your home.

Financially?
We have your Back.

We don’t do high pressure sales. Financing to fit your budget — more affordable than ever with solutions catered for your individual budget.

Check out our Financing Page to learn more.

Industry Leading
Extended Warranty

We offer the highest level of protection for you, the homeowner, through our extended warranty. 

Satisfaction
Guaranteed!

That's how confident we are that we can solve your waterproofing problem, we guarantee your satisfaction.

Crawl Space Repair

There are two main options for most residential foundations: Crawl Space or Concrete “Slab”. Crawl Space foundations are most common on older homes but are still used for new builds because of their ease of build and lower financial entry to construct than Slab. Unfortunately, most develop or simply start from initial construction, even still today, with major moisture problems protruding through the dirt, walls, and even the crawl space ventilation from the higher outside humidity. Contractor-grade crawl spaces with loose laid vapor barriers should no longer exist, but contractors and developers are still constructing subpar industry standard crawl spaces. It has been proven that vented only crawl spaces are bad and in many regions and seasons they can be the direct culprit to high humidity in your Crawl Space.

Fortunately, Crawl Space Encapsulation has been scientifically proven by “Building Science Corporation” to virtually eliminate your moisture problems. The research is resoundingly clear: a fully encapsulated and conditioned Crawl Space will dramatically promote energy efficiency, healthier air quality, and comfort in your home—plus it adds additional storage and protects your home’s structure.

If you have any of these problem signs, call us for a full professional grade inspection and we can give you guidance on what is best to do next.

Problem Signs Inside the Home

Drywall Cracks on the Inside of Your House

If you don’t already, it is wise to periodically inspect the entirety of your walls, including ceiling, throughout your home. Any sign of cracks or even shifting of drywall of any degree could be a sign that your crawl space needs some attention.

 Solutions

Uneven and/or Swelling Floors

Have you ever stubbed a toe… from a raised floor board or a swell in your floor? Well that raise most likely is causing far more problems below your feet in your crawl space than a stubbed toe. It’s a sign that there is a good chance you have severely high levels of humidity in your crawl space.

Solutions

Foul Odors in the Home

Does something smell…off in your home? Maybe musty, stale, and/or stagnant? Don’t ignore those smells because they are a telltale sign of an overly wet crawl space, and has been for long enough to produce odors. Many don’t know that the majority of homes air circulation originates in and is being pulled from their crawl space.

Solutions

Heightened Allergies or Asthma Symptoms

You’re inside during your off season for allergies but still having sinus problems? Or maybe headaches, pressure, and itchy/watery eyes? Well that could mean you’ve got mold growing in your crawl space. Possibly those foul odors were allowed for too long and progressed into something worse.

Solutions

Above Average Humidity in the Home

When is the last time you checked the percentage of humidity inside your home? We can do that for you of course but if you do check it yourself and it is often above 50% humidity… your crawl space very likely could be the culprit. If you are above 50% in your house your crawl space is most likely higher, and molds and wood rot begin to attack at 60% humidity.

Solutions

High Energy Bill

Have you ever asked yourself… why is my electric bill always so high? The higher the moisture content in the air the higher amount of energy needed to heat or cool it. We’d rather you save that money and fix the source of the problem sooner rather than later.

Solutions

Problem Signs Inside the Crawl Space

Wood Rot

Do you already have wood rot in your crawl space? If so immediate action needs to be taken to secure your homes infastructure to protect your family and investment, as well as remediation to prevent the rot from happening again.

Solutions

Mold growth

There are many kinds of mold and they aren’t difficult to spot. No one wants to nor should be breathing it in. If its already in your crawl space then that means you’re already breathing it in inside your home. Please do not delay to give us a call. We will completely remove it and prevent it from ever coming back.

Solutions

Falling Insulation

Back before we new better, the standard for crawl spaces were to throw in some vents in the exterior walls and slap fiberglass batt insulation up between the floor joists. If you see drooping or falling insulation then that means it’s saturated with far to much moisture from very high humidity levels.

Solutions

Damp Walls
Cinder block and/or concrete walls look like they are wet or even sweating? Water always find the point of least resistance, which can mean the pores and cracks of your crawl space walls. Hydrostatic pressure can greatly add to your moisture problem.

Solutions

Standing Water in Your Crawlspace
Do you see standing water? Then it is time to act quickly. It’s clear that harmful water is not draining away from the foundation and it can be coming from many sources: roof drainage, overflowing gutters, improper drainage sloping, shifting foundation, Lack of/non-working sump pump, or even hydrostatic pressure.

Solutions

Effloresence
White sparkling residue on your foundation walls? These are salt deposits that show themselves after water evaporates from wall leaks. Where is that evaporated moisture going? Encapsulation is needed to shield that moisture from getting into the crawl space.

Solutions

Insect & Rodent Pests
If your crawl space is not fully sealed from the outside world and has a high moisture level, it is almost guaranteed to be a safe have for termites, bees, wasps, rodents and more. Encapsulating can virtually eliminate this problem.

Solutions

High Humidity in Your Crawlspace

As the humidity levels rise in crawl spaces above 50%, moisture condensates on the surfaces, leading to all of the serious problems we’ve listed above. These problems can lead to health issues and the need for expensive repairs.

Solutions

Solutions

Remove Water

As crazy as it sounds, many companies do not start at the source of where the water is coming from. They simply try to only seal it out. We start by inspecting and addressing the source such as Roof runoff, Downspout correction, exterior french drains, and proper yard drainage. Then we remove all water from the crawl space and lower the humidity to healthy levels so we can properly begin the following stages.

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Mold Removal
We want you breathing clean air, because we actually care about your health. So once all the water is removed and the humidity is to safe levels, only then do we begin our fully encompassing mold remediation process. Starting with the ability to access all the potential mold we remove the current problem causing batt insulation and clean out your crawl space. We then completely remove the now dried mold then apply a mold cleaner that will attack its food source and kill the molds root system.

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Drainage
Yes we’ve already mentioned drainage, but that was outside the home directing water away from the foundation. Drainage around the interior perimeter of the crawl space via a french drain is needed for most crawl space encapsulations to remove the excess water coming from cracks, protrusions, and hydrostatic pressure. We make sure the vapor barrier directs all water to the drain and we use a specialized water transport system that will not clog and has a high compressive strength.

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Sump Pump
A drainage system does little to no good without a way for all the water to escape. That is why at the lowest point we instal our sump pump systems. They are designed to turn off and on at predetermined points and remove water out of you crawl space to the exterior, where we made sure the drainage was working properly first. The worst thing to happen is flooding underneath your crawl space encapsulation investment because of a quick fix versus addressing the root of the problem.

Side note: When are you at the greatest chance to have flooding in your crawl space? And when are you at the greatest chance of loosing power in your home? That is why we also recommend a battery backup for your sump pump.

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Insulation
Now that building code has gone as far as fully adopting crawl space encapsulation, let us be clear that code includes insulation of walls and air sealing, and without them you are receiving a below par result. Just as your home is insulated from the outside world, so too does your crawl space need to be insulated. The encapsulation process turns your crawl space into a fully controlled air environment as such air sealing the crawl space and insulating the rim joist is recommended. We insulate and air seal in accordance to building code and Build Science guidelines. Insulating your crawl space will have a major impact on your energy efficiency and the comfort of your home.

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Wood Repair
Before the encapsulation process can begin, if there is any wood rot and problems with the sub floor, walls, post, beams, and/or joist then we will address them. Those problems can be caused by excessive moisture or invasive wood destroying pest. We will fix these issues by either supporting or replacing them entirely to solidify your homes structural integrity. We are one of a few companies in this industry that repairs structural wood damage the correct way.

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Encapsulation
Now we are down to what most think about when they think encapsulating ones crawl space and might not understand the necessity of the prior steps first. If we are to keep the moisture from the soil, walls, and drainage from evaporating inside your crawl space and increasing the humidity to unhealthy levels they must be sealed off. Loosely laid vapor barriers do little to no humidity control. We use premium vapor barriers installed to code to seal the outside out, which also assists on lowering energy cost and shield your home from toxic radon gas naturally excreting from the soil.

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Dehumidify
Alone, a dehumidifier cannot come close to getting the job done of lowering the humidity in ones crawl space without at least some of the prior steps being implemented first. A dehumidifier is considered the last line of defense and the cherry on top to whole home fortification against humidity, mold, and radon gases. We even connect the drain line from the dehumidifier to the sump pump for zero worry and zero labor removal of the water. Our goal is to control humidity per EPA guidelines to ensure your indoor air quality is not suffering from viruses, bacteria, mold, and dust mites.

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