[Jaco]

Hi,
We have a musty odor in our 1958 ranch home coming from our 11 foot crawlspace. Had everdry water proofing come out and they wanted to do 20k worth of work including french drains around the perimeter of the crawl space, drains and a sump pump inside the crawl space, encapsulation, etc. Bottom line is my wife and I decided to do what we can ourselves. First we sealed some small cracks in the crawl space walls, then painted a moisture proof paint along the 4' perimeter walls. Next we played a 20 mil moisture barrier and the had an EZ breathe ventilation system installed (everdry's version of a dehumidifier). So we notice the smell isn't as bad but definitely still there. What should be done next to eliminate the smell? We never had standing water in the space but the ground was always very moist. Would a sump pump help to get some of that moisture out of the crawl space soil?
Of note the gutters seem to be working fine and draining away from the foundation and the grading looks good. Not sure I want to do french drains around the perimeter or in the space itself like the everdry guy recommended. Any thoughts?
Thanks!
Jaco

 

[Windows on Wash]

Is there standing water in it?

What are the grading and guttering like on the exterior? Is the vapor barrier that is across the floor sealed to the stem wall and continuous (or at least sealed)?

"Waterproof" paints are worthless and don't work for crap. They create more issues than they solve.

If there is no standing water, the sump is not necessary. Get the gutters routed away from the home and work on some grading.

Seal the vapor barrier and that should take care of the soil gasses.

 

[ChuckF.]

Not sure what kind of dehumidifier that is, but with a standard dehumidifier it can take a week or so for it to pull stored humidity out of the framing and anything else under there that is porous. Do you have a humidity meter there to read the actual RH?

PS You have an 11' high crawlspace?

 

[Jaco]

Not sure what kind of dehumidifier that is, but with a standard dehumidifier it can take a week or so for it to pull stored humidity out of the framing and anything else under there that is porous. Do you have a humidity meter there to read the actual RH?

PS You have an 11' high crawlspace?

Sorry that was a typo. It is an 1100 square foot crawl space not 11' Have not tried a meter yet but will try.