Crawl Space Science. What to Have Done... and Why

Editorial Review
There is no shred of evidence or science that says vented dirt crawl spaces make sense – and tons of evidence, right before our eyes, that says they are a serious problem. Yet over 250,000 new homes and thousands of additions are built each year with dirt crawl spaces. There are now 26 million of them. The building code not only allows dirt crawl spaces, but actually made the problem much worse by requiring them to be vented. Homeowners, and the U.S. economy are paying the price in so many ways. It’s time for something to be done – right now.

Your home costs money to operate – to heat and cool, and to maintain. A vented dirt crawl space raises your heating and cooling cost 15% (to 25%) every month, and makes it very likely you’ll have a big expense for mold removal and/or rotted wood replacement (guaranteed in the Southeast US).

And if it’s worth owning a home with a dirt crawl space at all, it is certainly worth fixing...
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Customer Reviews

Crawl Space Science

2007-11-27
The information presented is complete and exhaustive, covering the reasons for a wet crawl space, and what needs to be changed to fix the issues causing the wet space. The book goes into great detail, with photos taking up approximately 50% of the book, about the many conditions leading to wet crawl spaces. But the book, in example after example, uses the author's business's products to remedy the situations, and ultimately finishes with a 15 page sales presentation summary.

The text covers the many issues involved in a very complete way, although most of the photos (and a good portion of the text entries) are dramatic and meant to invoke fear.

The book ridicules the building code provisions for crawl spaces. The author states that although there are exceptions to the venting provision, and conditioning the crawl space, they "don't make sense to" him. Instead, he suggests his company's "Crawl-O-Sphere Machine" for blowing a small amount of air from "upstairs" into the crawl space. The text explains that their "Crawl-O-Sphere Machine" is not as effective as their "SaniDry Machine" (a dehumidifier), but "will dry out your crawl space pretty well".

All in all, a very elaborate advertisement that cost $15.

Learn about sick crawl spaces - but can get the book free

2007-09-14
If you are solving home moisture issues or high energy bills this is a great reference for the current best practices in fixing sick crawl spaces. In US we have been building crawl spaces "to code" and the code is wrong, wrong about how they work, wrong about how to fix them. This book shows Best practices.

BUT, if you want this book for free, just call any FloodBusters franchiser in the US. They are happy to give you a free copy of this or the basement book. It is a sales tool that warms you up to why their Best Practices solutions may cost more and work. Read this book if you are comparing moisture proofing contractors. You can choose lower cost solutions. They work work as well or last as long. This great book explains why.

Crawl Space Science

2007-03-14
Illuminating, if a bit of a sales pitch for the author. Worth reading - I found it helpful as I anticipate treating my own crawlspace.

Not an impartial place for information

2007-01-11
When I bought this book, I didn't take the time to realize that it was written by a person who owns a company that encapuslates crawl spaces, etc. I was looking for a factual source that would be impartial to assist me in deciding whether to have my crawl "wrapped." The book does a good job of explaining the company's point of view and if you buy into the concept, it is convincing. However, I felt as unsure after reading the book as before. So, to me it was a waste of money.

Good & Interesting Read

2007-01-09
I purchased this book for an obvious reason. I have a crawlspace. I thought it was a very good book to read for anyone concerned and/or interested in what they can do to solve any crawlspace problems or prevent them. I read many other online references on how to treat a crawlspace and I think that this book is one of the best sources of information I found. It is easy to read and understand and informative. There really is no reason to not buy this book if you have a crawlspace or are having problems with or related to the crawlspace. The only thing I caution is that someone jumps in head first to spend the money to have an encapsulation system, like the one described in the book, installed in their home. A homeowner can do the same type of encapsulation themselves and end up with the same results and do it for much, much less money. The main difference being different materials used by the homeowner and professional installers and this is only because the type of vapor barrier used by the professionals is only sold to the pros.