You call, and I call you back
Call (775) 227-5588 or send the form, and most of the time it's me who gets back to you to set up a visit. I'll ask a few questions about the house so I know what I'm walking into.
Crawl space vapor barrier in Carson City NV - the dirt covered wall to wall
Musty smell or damp dirt under the house? We sort out the water first, then cover the ground and walls with plastic.
What does a crawl space vapor barrier actually do?
A crawl space vapor barrier in Carson City is plastic sheeting laid over the whole dirt floor under your house and run up the foundation walls and piers, so moisture from the ground stays in the ground and soil gases have a harder time getting into your home.
Most folks call us after noticing a musty smell, damp dirt, or old plastic bunched up in a corner when someone went down to fix a pipe. The price mostly comes down to how big the crawl space is, how tight the access is, how many piers and pipes the plastic has to work around, whether part of it needs a tougher sheet, and whether water problems have to be fixed first. Those water fixes, and whether you also want the crawl space sealed, are what the schedule turns on, and the estimate I write after looking at your crawl space gives you the figure for your house.
The rules aren't the same everywhere, so at J&K Carson City Spray Foam Insulation we check with the office that covers your address before work starts. Here in Carson City the Building Division issues permits, and its online filing list names new homes, residential alterations and commercial construction but not vapor barriers, so if your job does need a permit, we take care of the paperwork with them.
What happens when you call about your crawl space?
From the first call to the final walk-through, here's who you'll deal with. We're fully licensed and insured, and since Nevada licenses contractors by classification, which sets the type of work each one can do, you're welcome to ask me which one we hold.
I look at the crawl space with you
I do every estimate visit myself, and we've been at this since 2017, which still beats the desk job I left behind. I show you what I find, from wet spots to torn old plastic, and go over the estimate with you before you decide anything.
A lead installer runs your job
Our installers do the work with a lead installer in charge, prepping the space, putting the barrier in and cleaning up after themselves. When they're done, I walk you through the finished crawl space. Your satisfaction, guaranteed.
How we put in a crawl space vapor barrier
We start with water, because plastic laid over a wet problem just hides it, so any water issue gets sorted out before anything goes down. Then we cover the whole floor, edge to edge, and run the plastic up the foundation walls and around the piers, since a ground cover with bare dirt showing at the edges isn't doing its whole job. If someone goes down there a lot, say to service a furnace or water heater, we use a tougher sheet, because plain plastic needs protecting where people kneel by equipment and a thicker, reinforced sheet holds up better.
Some houses need moisture control in other spots too, and that's our vapor barrier installation work. If the house upstairs feels drafty, attic air sealing closes the gaps up top, where a lot of warm air slips out.
- Water problems found and handled before the plastic goes in
- Plastic over the entire floor, not just the middle
- Sheeting run up the foundation walls and around every pier
- A tougher, reinforced sheet where someone goes down often
- Overlapped, taped seams and edges fastened in place
How the plastic goes down
The order matters more than the plastic itself, so here's how our crew works through a crawl space once the job starts.
Look for problems first
We check for standing water, damp spots and pest damage and tell you what we find, so repairs happen before plastic covers them up. Nobody wants to pull up a new barrier to fix something that was already there.
Clear the floor
Our crew rakes out debris, sharp rocks and old torn plastic, because anything left underneath can poke through once someone kneels on the new sheet. A smooth floor also lets the plastic lie flat against the ground.
Lap and tape the seams
Each sheet overlaps the next and the seams get taped, so there's no strip of bare dirt left for moisture to come up through. That's the part people skip when they just toss plastic down and call it done.
Fasten it to the walls
Where the plastic runs up the walls and piers, we hold it with wood strips, fasteners, or mesh tape and mastic, a thick sealing paste. That keeps it from sliding back down the first time someone brushes past it.
Get a free look at your crawl space and a written estimate
Send the form or call (775) 227-5588, and we'll get back to you within one business day, usually with me on the phone, to set up a free visit at your house. I'll go down and look with you, explain what I found, and hand you an estimate with no obligation to go ahead.
(775) 227-5588Crawl space vapor barrier questions we hear in Carson City
Does a vented crawl space still need a vapor barrier?
Yes, building guidance calls for the plastic ground cover whether your crawl space is vented or sealed. That means you can put the barrier in now and decide later, as a separate choice, whether to seal the crawl space.
What causes most of the moisture in a vented crawl space?
Most of it comes from water getting in from outside, through poor grading, missing drainage around the house, or how the yard gets watered. So a dry crawl space starts with the grading, drainage and sprinklers along with the plastic, and I'll point out anything I see on the visit.
Is it safe to seal a crawl space with a furnace or water heater in it?
It can be, but guidance calls for a combustion safety test after the sealing is finished when a natural draft furnace or water heater lives down there. The test checks that exhaust fumes aren't spilling or being pulled back into the house, so if you're thinking about sealing, plan for that step.
Who can apply for a building permit in Carson City?
Only the property owner, an authorized agent or a licensed contractor can sign and submit a building permit application in Carson City. If your job turns out to need one, that's paperwork we handle for you.
Crawl spaces, radon and houses around Carson City
Radon is part of why a full ground cover matters here, because elevated levels have turned up in Nevada homes and the gas can come up through the foundation of any building that touches soil, skirted mobile homes included. The plastic helps keep soil gases out, but it's only one piece, and Nevada's public health division recommends testing every home since radon is easy to test for and relatively easy to reduce. A test is how you find out your own level.
We're based in Carson City and work across the cities around it, from Reno and Sparks down to Gardnerville and up to Incline Village, plus lots of places in between. A good share of the houses we visit sit over bare dirt or old, torn plastic, and the job goes the same way wherever it is, with the water handled before the cover goes down.
Tell us what's under your floor
Jot down any standing water you've seen, whether a furnace or water heater sits down there, and where the access hatch is, then call (775) 227-5588 or use the form so I show up ready for your crawl space.
If something under your floor has you wondering, we're happy to talk it through.
Tell us about your project