4 weeks ago

Flooded Crawl Space in Vancouver

Project date: December 2024

Location: Vancouver, Washington

The Challenge

This homeowner was looking to sell their house in a hurry but the sale failed because the crawl space was in such disarray. There was a few inches of water throughout the entire space and insulation was falling down. The inspector informed them of how much damage this could cause the home if it was not fixed soon and backed out of the transaction.

The insulation had fallen down because the vent screens were damaged or missing. The rodents had gotten in and loved it in there because of the water and warm insulation.

Our Solution

This crawl space was a lot of work but was text book. It needed waterproofing and new insulation. In this case it needed to be pumped out and dried out first.

Place sump pump in crawl space to pump water out.
Keep pump going and remove all insulation and debris
Dig full perimeter drainage system in crawl space, approx 160’
Install permanent sump pump and drainage trenches
Let sump pump run and air movers blow for over a week to allow soil to dry out
Install drainage in trenches
Repair all vent screens where rodents got in
Install vapor barrier
Install new crawl space subfloor insulation

The fans would be kept blowing the entire time to increase soil dry out. After the system is done the soil may still be saturated but it will firm up and be dry over time, sometimes as quickly as 6 months to a year! This pump pumped out well over 100k gallons of water during its first few weeks.

Before and After Photos

Insulation collapsed and soaked in standing water.

Water in trenches flowing towards pump before drainage is installed.

Insulation installed with a vapor barrier secured over the soil.

You can catch up with me on social media where I share thoughts, projects, and updates. Feel free to follow along!

Dylan Milroy – Co-Owner

REVIEWS

What People Say

    
 
 
         
   Denise A 
 
 
 
  From start to finish, Better Basements and Waterproofing was great to work with.   I found everyone to be customer focused.  They were amazing in answering all my many questions.
  
 
        
   Russell Mantifel 
 
 
 
  Timely. Communicative. Flexible. Quality.
  
 
        
   Brian Eubanks 
 
 
 
  Great service and friendly staff.  People were on time and really helped when I had questions.  Job was quick and was cleaned when it was finished.  Thank you.
  
 
        
   Seth Miller 
 
 
 
  These folks are awesome to work with. Hyper punctual, knowledgeable, and flexible. Not pushy at all and seem to simply want your water problems to go away. I don’t feel their techs would offer or recommend doing anything they wouldn’t do to their own homes.
  
 
        
   Kathleen Jones 
 
 
 
  Courteous and friendly and did everything they needed to do in our crawlspace. Also kept dirt and dust down to a minimum and tried to keep the costs down. Would highly recommend!
  
 
        
   Tim Barbknecht 
 
 
 
  Knowledgeable, friendly, no “up sales” just honest assessments. I will hire these guys when I’m ready.
  
 
        
   Nicholas Mitchell 
 
 
 
  Highly professional company. Highly recommended
  
 
        
   Tyler Buschman 
 
 
 
  These guys are pros. They replaced old vapor barrier and insulation in the crawl space and installed a sump pump and fan for our house. Everything was done in a timely matter and looked great. I can now sleep with peace of mind. Would definitely recommend to anyone needing work done beneath their home.
  
 
        
   Ryan James 
 
 
 
  Team was super responsive and great ! We had crawl space encapsulation and also some foam spray done, with sump pump and dehumidifier. I thought they did an awesome job and really helpful throughout the process. Highly recommend !

Flooded Crawl Space in Vancouver

The Challenge

Our Solution

Before and After Photos

Recent Posts

What People Say