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Crawlspace Help

Look under there during a rain and see where it's coming from. Get the water as far away from the house as possible from your down spouts. Positive drainage helps but the dirt is a sponge that holds the water against your house. You should be able to do this on your own I would think. Before you cover it put some fans under there to dry it out as much as possible before you put down the poly. If there is a lot of water you might need to put some sort of french drain under there to get the water out, if it's just damp under there this shouldn't be needed. You should be able to do this for under 1k


Listen to this man, he knows what he is talking about.
 
You are on the right track! I had very similar problems when I purchased my house. I read and watched videos learning more than I ever cared to know about crawl spaces.

I replaced every floor joist due to moisture/rot.
Extended and added gutters to the house.
100% Enclosed crawl space.

I purchased plastic, seam tape, and anchors from crawlspacedepot.com. A little pricey but one stop shop.
All total pain in the ass but better than paying someone 5x what you can do it yourself.
 
All that sounds about correct. I def have to work on the drainage around the house first. Just moving the downspouts away from the foundation made a huge difference already in the moisture down there. Next is a french drain in the front yard as well as try to get some grass to grow to help erosion. Hopefully have all that done by the spring so I can start saving for all the encapsulation stuff. The house has existed 30 years like this, so me taking it slow over the next 2-3 to get it all done hopefully wont fubar it.
 
I was planning on doing complete sealed and adding a dehumidifier. Try to do exactly what they were going to do for 1/4 the price.
Make sure you get a whole house (not the single room) Dehumidifier. I installed dehumidifier and it totally changed the environment of my house. I also closed off the foundation vents at the advice of an engineer. Encapsulate the dirt, redirect the water and you will be 'golden"....
 
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