Flat ground gives water nowhere obvious to go. We work out where it is collecting under your house and give it somewhere better to be.
Ferndale sits beside the Nooksack, and on a flat lot water does not drain off the way it does on a slope. A short downspout, or a yard that has settled level with the foundation, puts water right next to the crawl space wall.
EPA's advice is simple: make sure the ground slopes away from the foundation so water does not collect around it. On a flat lot that slope has to be built in. DOE guidance is to take downspout water more than 5 feet from the foundation to sloping ground, or more than 10 feet to an underground catchment.
When a footing drain is needed, it has to end somewhere. DOE lists daylight, a drywell, a storm sewer or a sump pump as outlets, with daylight outlets at least 10 feet from the foundation. Where there is no lower ground to drain to, the drain can discharge into a sump in the crawl space or basement floor, which pumps the water to daylight or another suitable outlet.
A newer house is not automatically a dry crawl space either. Ground covers get torn during repairs, insulation slips, and a loose downspout can feed the same corner every rain. We tell you plainly when a vapor barrier and a downspout extension are the whole job.
French drains and foundation drainage to carry water off flat lots and away from the foundation.
Sump pump installation and replacement where there is no lower ground for a drain to run to.
Crawl space vapor barriers for torn or missing ground cover, lapped and sealed properly.
Crawl space encapsulation once the drainage is sorted, if sealing suits the house.
Basement waterproofing for basements that take on water.
Crawl space cleaning, crawl space insulation and crawl space dehumidifiers for wet insulation, cold floors and sealed crawl spaces.
DOE's guide on crawl spaces is clear that moisture problems must be taken care of before insulating, and that a drainage system is needed where there is a history of flooding or leaks and no working perimeter drain. On a flat lot, drainage is where we look first.
If your house is near the Nooksack, know what your insurance does and does not do. Washington's Office of the Insurance Commissioner states that a homeowner policy will not cover flooding and that flood insurance is bought separately. It also lists a sewer backup or sump pump overflow endorsement as optional coverage, and urges you to read your own policy.
A cracked or settling foundation goes to a structural engineer, mold that needs cleaning goes to a mold remediation company, and rodents still living under the house go to a pest control company first. We do our part once they have done theirs.
Some crawl space projects need a permit, especially when they add a sump pump, new wiring, drain lines or an exhaust fan, or close up the foundation vents, so we check with the City of Ferndale or Whatcom County before work starts and pull any permits the job requires. We route sump and drain water away from the house to an approved outlet, and we check the local rules before any connection is made.
It is the minimum Washington's residential code asks for. The code requires 6-mil black polyethylene "or approved equal" over the soil, overlapped at least 6 inches at the joints and run to the foundation wall. Code does not require a 10, 12 or 20 mil liner; thicker material is a product choice, not a code requirement. A sheet laid over a wet crawl space does not fix the water at any thickness; DOE's guidance is to deal with moisture problems first.
Not through foundation vents, but it still needs air moving. In Washington, a crawl space can be built without foundation vents only when the ground is covered with a continuous, sealed Class I vapor barrier that runs up and is sealed to the foundation wall, a radon system is installed, and an exhaust fan runs continuously to the outdoors at 1 cubic foot per minute for every 50 square feet of crawl space floor. Washington's wording does not offer a dehumidifier as a way to meet that rule. Your local building department has the final say on how these rules apply to your home, and we confirm the requirements before any vents are closed.
A vapor barrier does not make a crawl space mold-proof. EPA says the key to mold control is moisture control, and that it is impossible to get rid of all mold spores indoors. So the water source gets fixed before a liner goes down. Mold already on the framing is a job for a mold remediation company.
The honest answer is to stop moisture getting into the air rather than trying to soak it up. What DOE's guidance points to is a ground cover that stops ground moisture evaporating into the space, plus dealing with the sources: plumbing leaks, gutters and ground that slopes toward the house. Start with French drains and foundation drainage if water is pooling.
We also work under homes in Bellingham, Lynden and Blaine, and in Custer, Everson, Birch Bay, Sumas, Sudden Valley and Deming.
Tell us where water is showing up, or send photos or the crawl space section of your inspection report. We will find where it is coming from and what it will take to stop it.
We will be in touch to book a time to look under the house. If it cannot wait, call (360) 555-0163.
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