Crawl space encapsulation is a generic term used to describe a crawl space that is protected from moisture by using a vapor barrier on the floor and walls. In other words, encapsulation refers to sealing up your crawl space and keeping the moisture sealed outside. This term was and is widely market by different basement waterproofing franchises in the early part of the century.

The concrete floor In this design a concrete pad called a “mud pad” is poured on the crawl space floor. This is essentially a concrete barrier meant to help control moisture in the crawl space. This is done several ways; with and with out a vapor barrier. The traditional mud pad is a poured concrete pad over a roughly graded dirt floor. There is little prep work done to flatten the area so...

Conditioned crawl space uses all of the positive parts of the other crawl space designs and leaves out the negative ones. A conditioned crawl space is part of the home, finally leaving the outside out and taking the final steps beyond the other options to create a healthy comfortable home.

This type of crawl space takes advantage of both the “closed” and the “concrete” crawl space strengths. In this design sealing the walls with an insulation to control energy costs also protects the crawl space from moisture penetration from the foundation walls.

A crawl space with a concrete floor either with or without foundation vents This type of crawl space is not as common but has its advantages. For one, this type of construction is more energy efficient than an open crawl space if constructed without foundation vents.

A closed crawl space is one that was built without foundation Vents Within the last few years the building code has allowed homes built on a crawl space to be built as a “closed crawl space”. This means foundation vents are not required as long as other requirements are met. This type of crawl space is more energy efficient than an open crawl space. Sealing the crawl space is also known as...