About a month ago, our doorbell rang and our new neighbor was standing on our door step asking if we had water in our crawlspace. She didn't strike me as the joking type and I couldn't think of anything funny so I stared at her. Uncomfortable, she said she was looking for Christmas boxes in her crawlspace and found them sitting in a foot of water. She further explained that her yard slopes toward ours and she was very worried that her water problem may have become ours. Aha! What a nice lady!

This was our neighbor's first home and she wasn't sure what to do....call the insurance company?....call a disaster company?....how much will it cost? She was just a little frazzled over the whole thing. Of course we recommended that she at least inform her insurance agent of what was going on but we also let her know of some options she had. She had already purchased a sump pump and her son was set to install it a few days later. She was sure the water was due to all the rain and snow and the fact that we are so close to the river surely meant a high water table.

The home we live in, like all the others in our neighborhood was built to meet FHA standards which means that gutters are installed only over cement areas next to the home. In our case, and hers, this means the garage door, the front door and the rear patio. This means that all the rain we'd had was running off her roof and dripping right next to the foundation where is was not necessarily running AWAY from the home, but was instead soaking in and collecting, very naturally, in the low spot under her home. The best solution to prevent future issues? Rain gutters.

If she hadn't already purchased a sump pump, what's the best way to dry the crawlspace? Our company, for instance can use its water removal equipment to remove all the standing water from the space, then set up fans that circulate air under the home day and night until it's dry. If you want to do this yourself, just be sure your rented fans are not sitting IN water and that the electrical cords are handled in a way that prevents them from getting wet and that the foundation vents are OPEN during drying. Once dry, you will want to go into the crawlspace and pull up the vapor barrier that was applied to the earth during construction. At that point, you can determine if it needs to be removed and replaced (it often begins to degrade after 10-15 years and this can contribute to a musty odor inside the home), or if it's OK to leave as is. Additionally, you will want to determine if you need to pull the barrier back and let it dry underneath before re-laying it.

We gave our neighbor the name of a local gutter company that we work with and we knew would treat her exceptionally well. After her crawlspace was dry, she had gutters installed on her entire home. They look beautiful and work great! We checked with her after this last round of very wet weather and her crawlspace remains dry and smells like it should!

The next time you check the batteries in your smoke detectors, check your crawlspace too. If you'd like to hire someone else go under there, call us - we have people we can force to do it! It's an inexpensive inspection and the benefits can be huge! Often we find that ductwork has fallen from the floor and is lying on the ground or is torn, which means you're heating the underside of your home. Also, we can quickly clean your crawlspace which is often littered with construction debris. We can check the integrity of your vapor barrier and if you need new - it's very affordable to have us replace it.

Of course, while we're there, we can always clean your carpets, clean your home, wash your windows, perform duct cleaning, and check on why that garbage disposal makes that horrible noise! Call us at 321-5550 or email info@brilliantboise.com!

Your Brilliant Services Team

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