Very Damp Crawl Space - Sump Pump???

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Gary2007

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Looking for advice on my 12 year old modular home set on on a block crawl space, located in Michigan's "tip of the thumb" Background: Recently, the home is vacated in the winter months. The first year the plumbing was winterized and heat turned off and the vents left open. Some noticable damage occured to kitchen floor (center of home) (some raising, buckling of floor occured) The second year the heat was left on low and the vents closed up and a little more damage to the floor occurred. Last spring the crawl space is was very damp (condensation everywhere) The ground is open and very sandy here in michigan. So, I don't know if an automatic sump pump is required or not. If so, I am not sure how to keep it from freezing in the extremely cold winter months. Any advice on how I should winterize this home and tips on the need for a sump pump would be greatly appreciated. This is the third year and I would like to get the cause of the problem fixed before I do anything to repair the floor. Thanks:confused:
 

Frenchie

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Do you have standing water? That's what a sump pump is for.

It sounds like your problems are related to water vapor - the average crawlspace evaporates 11 gallons of water a day.

There should be plastic sheeting (overlapped a foot & taped at all seams) or something similar, as a vapor-barrier, on the ground in any crawlspace.
 

Gary2007

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No standing water on the surface of the ground.

Unfortunately, there is not any plastic sheeting at all. What would you recommend for materials (sheeting & tape) Thanks for the advice.....
 

Frenchie

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You want to use plastic that's at least 6mils thick; any hardware'll have rolls of it (note: the black is a bit tougher than the clear).

There's also specialty products for this, and even specialty contractors... if you do a google search for "crawl space vapor barrier", you'll find an abundance of information.

You can seal the seams with contractor's tape, mastic, or caulk - just read the label & make sure it's compatible with polyethilene.

I made a mistake last night, the seams should overlap 2 feet.

And the plastic should extend up the sidewalls, at least 6" above the exterior grade.

You might also want to read up on "sealed crawlspace" and/or "unvented crawlspace".
 
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