Crawl Space Rot and Structural Repairs

Post And Beam • Sub-Floors • Dry Rot Repairs

Post And Beam, Sub-Floors, Dry Rot Repairs

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Crawl spaces, and even basements, are widely a misunderstood section of the home. Even when not fit for living or storage space, they house many structural components of your home. Because it’s easy to forget they exist, many homeowners neglect to inspect their underground spaces, letting insects, water, mold, and dry rot wreak havoc. Floor joists, sill plates, support beams, block walls, and other key structural components can be damaged if moisture is not properly controlled.

Unhealthy Crawl Space Equals Unhealthy Home

Most homes are designed for airflow to circulate bottom-top. This means that air drawn through your crawl space or basement is distributed throughout your home. Mold spores, insect infestation, and wildlife intrusion can prompt musty odors and particulates that could have a negative impact on residents. Even if there is no standing water, the elevated moisture content in circulated air could have a lasting impact on the rest of your home and it is in need of some crawl space repair.

Water In The Crawl Space

Rot in the crawl space is generally a result of water in the crawl space. Whether it’s standing water, a leak, or just moisture in the air, the result is often the same. With thousands of dry rot, waterproofing, and leak projects under our belts, we’re ready to properly address any moisture-related problems your home may have. We provide expert repairs and offer sustainable crawlspace waterproofing solutions for the prevention of future problems down the line.

Crawl Space Repair
Siding Repair

Crawl Spaces And Dry Rot

One of the most common and serious issues we find in crawl spaces is the onset of dry rot. Sill plates, the wooden structure sitting directly upon your foundation, are susceptible to rot due to moisture-wicking upwards from the foundation wall. Floor joists, which sit upon sill plates and support the subflooring above, rot from either excessive water vapor content, a water intrusion above, or wicking from the sill plate below. Rim Joists or band boards are likely to accumulate dry rot because of the surface area they have exposed to the exterior walls. Subflooring, which lays upon floor joists to create a suitable base for flooring, is another common target of rot. Rot in crawl spaces can be quite serious, but ignoring the problem means it’s likely to become even more serious as it spreads to other structural components of your home.

Other Threats

Fungi is not the only organism that thrives in a damp crawl space environment. Mold and other pests can thrive also. Once mold takes hold, air circulated through your crawlspace can spread mold spores throughout the rest of your house. Those strong, musty odors coming from your crawl space could also be a sign of raccoon, rat, or other insect infestations. And if you have standing water in the crawl space, leaking, or high moisture content in the air, that not only leads to fungal growth but can also cause problems with warped flooring, drywall mold, etc.

The Dreaded Home Inspection

Is a home inspection calling for crawl space repairs? Ensure that you’re able to close on your home sale without delay and without a major reduction in price by getting issues in your underground spaces addressed by a qualified contractor like SFW Construction.

We’re Here To Help!

The dark, enclosed nature of crawl spaces can make them seem daunting and many homeowners (understandably) have little desire to venture down to that part of the home. Still, a crawl space inspection could reveal problem areas that, if fixed, would enable your crawlspace to remain in good condition for the life of the structure. It would also ensure that crawlspace problems don’t spread and cause major damage to other parts of the home. Many times minor tweaks are all that is necessary. Contacting SFW Construction will spare you a trip to “the dark side” and ensure that any potential problems are discovered and taken care of appropriately.

Contact SFW Construction

Contacting SFW Construction will spare you a trip to “the dark side” and ensure that any potential problems are discovered and taken care of appropriately.

Crawl Space Repair

SFW Construction Is The First Company To Call When It Comes To Crawl Space Repair

We see a lot of dry rot. Windows and siding tend to accumulate dry rot when exposed to water. Fortunately for exterior envelope structures, siding, trim, and windows need to be painted every few years; this means structure inspections as you can’t (or rather shouldn’t) paint over damaged siding. Crawl spaces, unfortunately, don’t get a revamp every few years. It’s not uncommon for us to hear from our customers that they haven’t done a crawl space inspection in over 10 years! Whether you’ve already established that you have a dry rot issue or you’re just too afraid to go into your crawlspace after years of neglect, we can help.

What Structures Are Vulnerable To Crawl Space Dry Rot?

Still Plates

The wooden structure sitting directly upon your foundation, are likely to rot due to moisture-wicking upwards from the foundation wall. Modern construction best practice dictates that treated wood be used for sill plates, we often see houses where untreated wood was used. Dry rot on your sill plates can lead to dry rot extending into your floor joists, band boards, and beams!

Floor Joists

Sit on sill plates and support the subflooring from rot, either excessive water vapor content, a water intrusion above, or wicking from the sill plate below. Floor joists are used to hold up flooring so any dry rot compromised joists can lead to safety hazards. Active dry rot will move water upward into flooring and sub flooding, exasperating the problems if not addressed.

Rim Joints

Also known as band boards are likely to accumulate dry rot because of the surface area they have exposed to the exterior walls. As with floor joists, band boards are susceptible to wicking because of their surface area contact with sill plates. Depending on the extensiveness of the dry rot, it may be easier to replace rim joists from the outside!

Subflooring

Lays upon floor joists to create a suitable base for flooring, can also decay from the air with extreme water vapor content cycling up through your home. More often than not, rotten subflooring is due to leaking plumbing or an external envelope leak in your siding or roof. At SFW Construction, we can address all of your crawlspace problems and dry rot challenges.