15 Crawl Space Waterproofing Mistakes to Avoid

[@gkogel]

Great video. I have a 2200sq-ft cs with 550 of it being partitioned. Did the DIY after working a year at a foundation company and gaining some knowledge. I have 3 zoeller sump pump/basin systems (2 of them w/ batt b/u), water alarms, 20ft discharges with freeze guards right where discharge lines come out of house, full perimeter perforated & socked drain pipe w/ aggregate, 2in foam board insulation on all stem walls, dimple mat throughout and over footer ledges, combo 12/20mil white liner, wrapped piers, sealed cs vents, and aprilaire 1830 dehu. I also chose to lay down 30yr high quality landscape fabric under dimple mat as I have areas where soil will become saturated and soft near the drain pipes, and other areas where there is loose or freshly dug dirt from floor supports and waterproofing materials I have installed. Landscape fabric completely prevents dimple mat from mashing down into soft soils and allowing dirt to compress in between the dimple gaps, rendering it partially ineffective. Project is still ongoing as I am not done laying down on my white liner, but I am extremely pleased with outcome so far. My total spend for EVERYTHING I've installed specifically for the encap so far has only been $3850!! 😎😎

[@CrawlSpaceNinja]

Awesome! Congrats to you!!!

[@redbonegaston2010]

I never would have thought about a battery backup until it was too late. Thanks!!

[@CrawlSpaceNinja]

You are very welcome.

[@peaceprayers]

Excellent important information. I've never heard anywhere else.

[@CrawlSpaceNinja]

Glad it was helpful! Thank you!

[@RobertStauffer-f7g]

thank you! I already have an encapsulation that needs to be redone!!

[@CrawlSpaceNinja]

What happened to cause it to be redone?

[@denisegaylord382]

My last home I installed pop up drains in the yard for the downspouts. Best thing ever! Ran them out about 20 feet from the house, on a down slope. Much drier basement.

[@CrawlSpaceNinja]

Thank you for letting us know.

[@denisegaylord382]

@@CrawlSpaceNinja it is amazing what a simple change can make. Positive or negative. Sometimes there are unintended consequences. Sometimes there are unintended benefits. 😃 Working on getting the drainage issues outside at my current abode. Then as time allows, tackling the crawlspace issues. I follow you for your wealth of information. I recommend you to all that have water issues in their foundational systems. ☺️

[@bricelangston8634]

If you are connecting a downspout to a buried pipe, connect the pipe two to three feet above grade directlly to the gutter down spout, and add a Y junction at the connection to allow clean out. If you have a french drain its important to cover the exit opening where the water exits with a screen or drain cover so wildlife cannot intrude. I also reccomend utilizing grass and plants that survive shady areas that tend to get muddy next to the home. My favorite grass species for shady muddy areas is creeping red fescue. Its shade tolerant, will aborb large amounts of water, and tolerate medium dry conditions. I find any shade tolerant shrub will work. Make sure your ac condensate drains away from the house but contact an HVAC company on how long of an extension is tolerated. I am very impose to sealing internal walls of a crawlspace/basement because if water has already made it to the internal surface of the wall, a water management system will be more effective than allowing a wall to saturate with water. Eventually water pentration will cause cracks and compromise any coating. I only advise coating crawlspace/basement walls if you have been advised by a specialist.

[@CrawlSpaceNinja]

Those are some great recommendations. Thanks, Brice! We appreciate your support.

[@peterweiss5084]

Ever since I bought a lake house in the upper northeast that had a nightmare crawl space, I always watch your videos. I even ordered your seam tape to do some fixes, after the contractor I hired to renovate house did a so so job of encapsulating the crawl space. The issue I have is the crawl space is half concrete/half dirt floor, after a heavy rain or too much melting snow, there are water puddles on the dirt floor section that never makes it to the sump pump. Now I have to hire a basement system company to install a French perimeter drain, new sump pump, new vapor barrier with drainage mat and spray foam insulation. At least I have a good dehumidifier. Are the water puddles most likely from hydrostatic pressure? Thanks for all your helpful videos!

[@CrawlSpaceNinja]

Hey Peter, the puddles could be from hydrostatic pressure, or since you're so close to the lake the water table may be high during rains. If you don't currently have a perimeter drain connecting to the sump pump, that should help a lot if the water is coming in from the outside. Glad you've found our videos helpful! Thanks for your support.

[@maxmanx1294]

Please research using spray foam. If you have a termite bond, check with the company about where & what type of spray foam can be used. Some spray foam traps water & sometimes spray foam covers so well that it delays noticing a problem until its a huge problem. Spray foam is great provided the homeowner is educated enough to know what should be used, how much, and where. Best wishes!

[@tonybowers9490]

Thanks for sharing. Good information. I encapsulated my crawlspace 2 years ago myself after watching your DYI videos and buying my materials from you, including the dehumidifier. You're a great company to work with. I have an odd question - I am going to enclose my covered deck and it will have HVAC via a mini-split. Would there be anything wrong with having the mini-split outside unit in my crawlspace? I have a 5 foot ceiling in my crawlspace. I was going to put it under my deck (which is 5 feet off the ground).

[@CrawlSpaceNinja]

I don't think that would be an issue but I would recommend asking an HVAC pro that question just to be sure. Thank you so much for your very kind words!!!

[@markmccartney543]

Very informative videos I am going to add foam board foil backed in crawlspace should I attach poly to the foundation first or should I attach it to the Foam board after I put it up?

[@CrawlSpaceNinja]

Foam board first then vapor barrier!

[@michaelroyalty2584]

My HVAC drain is in the middle of my home. It's around fifteen feet away from the drain tile. What is the best way to get the drain water to the sump or drain tile? How to rout the piping?

[@CrawlSpaceNinja]

We may need more context or pictures. Feel free to submit a Ask a Ninja form for help - crawlspaceninja.com/crawl-space-help-faq/

[@BD_Ozarks]

About sump pump alarms, if my pump stops working the basin will fill only halfway and won’t overflow the basin onto the vapor barrier so the alarms you mentioned (that detect water) won’t tell me if my pump stops working. So, I have no way of knowing if my pump stops working. Is there an alarm that has a float or something that I can put in the basin that if the float rises to half way up the basin the alarm sounds and I know the pump is not pumping? Thank you . . . BD

[@CrawlSpaceNinja]

Great question, we have been offering the Pump Spy. This is what it is capable of "The Sump Pump Smart Outlet connects any sump pump to PumpSpy’s 24/7 Monitoring Service. Simply connect the Smart Outlet to your WiFi network and plug in your sump pump! PumpSpy’s computers will automatically track incoming data from your pump and check that the pump is working properly. If any issues are detected, PumpSpy sends you detailed alerts immediately." diy.crawlspaceninja.com/smart-outlet/ You can also go with an alarm that attaches to the float itself like this one: amzn.to/3GDzqrP - hope that helps.

[@abilenemtman]

We are purchasing a manufactured home. So our crawlspace will be very tight. What do you recommend and do all these things apply to us? By the way we live in West Texas… But we do get a lot of rain sometimes and there's always water that comes from out of the house.

[@CrawlSpaceNinja]

Hey! We would like to go into greater detail to explain properly. Feel free to fill out this Ask a Ninja form and we will go into this together! -crawlspaceninja.com/crawl-space-help-faq/

[@MiguelinaAriasMIA]

Your videos are prepping my for DIY. Is it recommended to have a sump pump if clay flooring in crawl space?

[@CrawlSpaceNinja]

HUD.gov recommends sump pump if floor is lower in crawl space than outside dirt regardless of type of soil. This is do to water table rising in crawl space.

[@beastars5103]

I wish I would have seen this channel before we started addressing the mold issues in our new home. I used a product called concrobium from menards. I called a mold specialist/home inspector out and he said that product would be fine and to just use an oil based paint over it after. Have you heard of concrobium or know if it works?

[@CrawlSpaceNinja]

From what I know about that product is it is designed to work if the wood and humidity levels are low as long as you followed the instructions it should have worked. Thanks for watching.

[@DillonRivera-nm3jb]

What is that tool being used at 11:50? Great information.

[@CrawlSpaceNinja]

Thank you. That is a Hilti GX3 - diy.crawlspaceninja.com/hilti-gx-3-vapor-barrier-fastener-lease/

[@michaelwojcicki]

On point number ten. I had a system installed and they put plastic plugs up on the top edge near the top of the cinder block walls every sixteen inches but didn't use any other sealant like zip tape. Is this a bad job? Also, they put the plastic right up to the sill plate. Is this a physical problem that will lead to damage? Or is this also a code violation as you are supposed to leave a minimum of three inches between the wooden sill plate and the top edge of the barrier on the walls?

[@CrawlSpaceNinja]

We may need to see more of what you're experiencing. Feel free to reach out - crawlspaceninja.com/crawl-space-help-faq/

[@kylady1959]

how many sump pumps would I need for a 28x80 home

[@CrawlSpaceNinja]

You may need just one but it depends with how severe the moisture/water is that you deal with.

[@Sanadis]

I have a walkout basement (with a dirt floor) that I want to encapsulate and eventually finish. This will involve putting down a dimple membrane with the vapor barrier on top of it. Should I put something in between the vapor barrier and wood framing to protect it from punctures? And subsequently protect the wood from condensation due to temperature differentials.

[@CrawlSpaceNinja]

When you say wood framing, are you referring to subfloor and joists? If so, I would not attach plastic to that.

[@Sanadis]

@@CrawlSpaceNinja Well I mean framing out the basement to put in walls and floors after everything has been encapsulated to turn it in to a conditioned living space. That would involve electrical, drywall, insulation etc like any other room in a house. I just assumed you wouldn't want any wood in direct contact with the plastic vapor barrier. I was thinking I could put another dimple layer or thick foam on top of the vapor barrier to prevent any incidents with damaging it, but it is so hard to find information on best practice for finishing an encapsulated space.

[@Sanadis]

@@CrawlSpaceNinja I found a video on the channel that may address my similar situation from a few years ago also with a dirt/clay floor. Basically the gentleman encapsulated a space and used concrete blocks with deck blocks to build on top of it. So I should be able to do the same during or after encapsulation and put down concrete blocks as a base and deck blocks on top to create that separation I am looking for. Of course I will have to be diligent that I get the waterproofing right before I block it all in with floors and walls. So my end result is looking like this: Waterproofing first (seal gaps, french drain, sump pump, level the floor) Dimple membrane walls Measure and lay out the concrete blocks/pads Place dimple membrane around those on the floor Vapor barrier on top of that Deck blocks on the pads Finishing with floors then walls The dimple membrane on the walls should be fine to build against from what I understand, just not as ideal for floors. I know you can build on top of a dimple membrane outright, but since I have a vapor barrier I am less confident since it could be easily punctured while putting down a floor for it.

[@CrawlSpaceNinja]

@@Sanadis Yes that is the video I was going to recommend, here it is if others would like to watch it. kzbin.info/www/bejne/b5nKc596rsydZ9E

[@Sanadis]

@@CrawlSpaceNinja Yup that is the one, it is excellent. Maybe it is overkill but I really don't want to have to rip up all that hard work or have someone else have to just because they didn't know what was behind the wall or floor and punch a hole in the protection.

[@kevinaddison4013]

Can I tie my sump pump discharge line directly into my sewer/drain line in my crawl space? The proximity is ideal being that the pump and the drain line are just a few feet away from each other.

[@CrawlSpaceNinja]

For detailed information and insight on this. Please fill out a Ask a Ninja form - crawlspaceninja.com/ask-a-ninja/

[@domepiece11]

If you connect your down spouts to underground pipe, how do you clean out leaves, etc.? Or do you put some sort of strainer in front of it?

[@CrawlSpaceNinja]

If you do not have gutter guards installed, another commenter, Brice Langston, recommended that if you are connecting a downspout to a buried pipe, you can connect the pipe two to three feet above grade directlly to the gutter down spout and add a Y junction at the connection to allow for clean out. Some people will choose to not bury the downspout extension and you can disconnect and clean the extension if you choose to go that route.

[@CrawlSpaceNinja]

You can also use an NDS basin with a leaf filter seen here: www.ndspro.com/home-drainage

[@maxmanx1294]

​@@CrawlSpaceNinja Do you know which gutter guards are good & actually work?

[@johntester1173]

Which is better, bortate spray or soda blasting?

[@CrawlSpaceNinja]

Good question. I've not used borate spray. It's considered a pest company option only in my area. Sorry.

[@busta5932]

Hydraway sounds like a great product for the diyer. Would love to see example of hydraway installation.

[@CrawlSpaceNinja]

We're working on getting a video out showing the Hydraway soon. 🙂

[@Bossman_71]

I don’t have 15ft of space in my yard for a drain line and on the front side of the house I have a leach field that’s only 3 to 4 ft off of the house so I can’t go that way either? Mines a tough one!!

[@CrawlSpaceNinja]

That stinks, so sorry.

[@dbogmaw2138]

My crawlspace was just encapsulated. I VOICED a concern about the drain hose for the dehumidifier. They brought it out of a space that was available but the clear plastic hose sticks up out of the ground after about feet from the house. Maybe two inches above ground. I see it as a lawnmower or weedeater accident waiting to happen. The office returned my call saying that was an appropriate fi ish for the line. I see it becoming plugged in the near future. What's your take on how you would have finished it off.

[@CrawlSpaceNinja]

For dehumidifier condensate lines, we will still run them at least 15 feet from the foundation but into a dry well filled with pea gravel instead of a popup valve like shown in the video.

[@Bellpecks1]

Can I use the hydra-way French drain if my soil in my crawl space is orange Texas clay. It’s soupy and gummy when it’s wet and like concrete when it’s dry? Also I’m on a slope so I can run a pop up drain a good 20-30’down hill under my 4’ stem wall. Thanks

[@CrawlSpaceNinja]

Yes! You can always try replacing with sand or gravel/river rock

[@ronniebaker3036]

Do you work in northwest Al?

[@CrawlSpaceNinja]

Sadly no. Our DIY Store can assist you though! - diy.crawlspaceninja.com/

[@Bossman_71]

Far as attaching the vapor barrier to the crawl space wall what if you only have a brick wall to work with and not cinder block?

[@CrawlSpaceNinja]

we have installed Christmas tree fasteners in mortar joints with a hammer drill. Adhesives like spray foam are an option but they tend to fail eventually. Hope that helps.

[@janemagee97]

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