Your floors stay warm in winter. The air in your home stops smelling like a basement. Your energy bills drop because your HVAC system isn’t fighting against humid air seeping up from below.
Over half the air you breathe inside your home comes from your crawl space. When that space is damp and open to the elements, you’re pulling in moisture, mold spores, and musty odors with every breath. Crawl space encapsulation seals that off completely.
You’ll notice the difference in comfort first. Then you’ll see it on your utility bills. Homes with properly encapsulated crawl spaces save up to 20% on heating and cooling costs because your HVAC system isn’t working overtime to compensate for moisture and temperature swings. Your equipment lasts longer too, because it’s not constantly battling humidity that shouldn’t be there in the first place.
We’ve been handling indoor air quality issues in the Greensboro area for over 30 years. We’ve seen what North Carolina’s humid summers do to crawl spaces, and we know exactly how to fix it.
Rural Hall homes face the same moisture challenges as the rest of the Piedmont region. Humidity levels regularly hit 70% or higher during summer months, and that moisture finds its way into every unsealed crawl space in the area. We’ve encapsulated hundreds of crawl spaces across Forsyth County, and the process works the same every time: seal it right, control the moisture, and protect what’s above it.
You’re not getting a sales pitch from us. You’re getting a straightforward assessment of what’s wrong and what it takes to fix it, backed by a lifetime warranty on the encapsulation system.
First, we inspect your crawl space and document what we find. You’ll see photos of the current condition, and we’ll walk you through what needs to happen and why. No surprises, no upselling services you don’t need.
Next comes crawl space cleaning if there’s debris, old insulation, or contamination that needs removal. Then we install a heavy-duty vapor barrier across the entire floor and up the walls. This isn’t the thin plastic you’d buy at a hardware store. It’s a thick, durable liner designed to last decades and keep ground moisture from ever reaching your home’s air.
We seal all vents and openings to stop outside air from getting in. Then we install a commercial-grade dehumidifier that’s sized specifically for your space. This keeps humidity levels where they need to be year-round, regardless of what’s happening outside. Finally, we insulate if needed and make sure everything is sealed tight.
The whole process typically takes one to three days depending on your crawl space size and condition. When we’re done, you’ll have a clean, dry space that you could store belongings in without worrying about moisture damage.
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Vapor barrier installation covers every inch of your crawl space floor and walls with a sealed moisture barrier. We’re talking about a 20-mil thick liner that’s designed to last as long as your home does. All seams are sealed, all penetrations are addressed, and nothing gets left to chance.
Dehumidifier installation gives you active moisture control that works even when outdoor humidity spikes. Rural Hall’s summer humidity can easily push past 70%, and a properly sized dehumidifier keeps your crawl space at the optimal level regardless of what’s happening outside. These aren’t the portable units you’d use in a bedroom. They’re commercial systems with drainage lines that run continuously without you ever touching them.
Crawl space insulation gets added where it makes sense for your home’s energy efficiency. In North Carolina, that usually means insulating the crawl space walls rather than the floor joists above, which keeps your crawl space inside your home’s thermal envelope. You’ll feel the difference upstairs when your floors aren’t cold in winter.
We also handle vent sealing, entry door replacement if yours is rotted or damaged, and any minor crawl space repairs needed before encapsulation. The goal is a completely sealed system that works together to keep moisture out and your home protected.
Most crawl space encapsulation projects in the Rural Hall and Greensboro area run between $5,000 and $15,000 depending on the size of your crawl space and what condition it’s in when we start. A standard 1,500 square foot crawl space in good condition typically falls in the $7,000 to $10,000 range.
That price includes the vapor barrier installation, dehumidifier, vent sealing, and all labor. If your crawl space needs cleaning, mold remediation, or structural repairs before we can encapsulate, that adds to the cost. But here’s the thing: crawl space encapsulation pays you back through lower energy bills and avoided repair costs.
You’ll save 15-20% on heating and cooling costs every year, which adds up to thousands over the life of the system. You’re also avoiding the $5,000+ it costs to remediate mold if moisture problems continue, plus the structural repairs that come from wood rot. The investment makes sense when you look at what it prevents and what it saves you long-term.
A properly installed encapsulation system lasts 15 to 25 years, and the vapor barrier itself can last even longer if it’s not damaged. The dehumidifier is the only component that will eventually need replacement, typically after 10 to 15 years of continuous use.
The key is proper installation from the start. If the vapor barrier is installed correctly with all seams sealed and all penetrations addressed, it’s not going anywhere. We back our encapsulation systems with a lifetime warranty because we know they hold up when they’re done right.
You’ll want to check on your crawl space once or twice a year just to make sure the dehumidifier is running and there’s no standing water from a plumbing leak or other issue. But the encapsulation system itself requires virtually no maintenance. It just works, year after year, keeping moisture out and your home protected.
Yes, and usually within a few days of completing the encapsulation. That musty odor you’re smelling is mold, mildew, and moisture from your crawl space rising up into your living areas. When you seal off the moisture source and dry out the space, the smell goes away.
Here’s why it works: over 50% of the air in your home originates in your crawl space due to something called the stack effect. Warm air rises, creating negative pressure that pulls air up from below. If your crawl space is damp and moldy, that’s what you’re breathing. Once we encapsulate and install the dehumidifier, you’re no longer pulling humid, contaminated air into your home.
Most homeowners notice the difference within the first week. The air feels fresher, the humidity inside drops, and that persistent musty smell disappears. If you’ve been dealing with that odor for months or years, the change is dramatic. Your home just smells clean again.
Yes, and here’s why: vapor barrier installation stops moisture from coming up through the ground, but it doesn’t control the humidity that’s already in the air or that can still enter through small gaps. A dehumidifier gives you active moisture control that keeps humidity levels consistently below 60%, which is the threshold where mold starts to grow.
North Carolina’s climate makes this especially important. Summer humidity regularly exceeds 70% outdoors, and even a well-sealed crawl space can see humidity levels creep up without active dehumidification. The dehumidifier runs automatically, pulling moisture out of the air and draining it away so you never have to think about it.
Without a dehumidifier, you’re only solving part of the problem. With one, you have complete moisture control that works year-round regardless of weather conditions outside. It’s the difference between a crawl space that’s mostly dry and one that stays at optimal humidity levels all the time. That’s what protects your home long-term.
Absolutely. One of the benefits of crawl space encapsulation is that you gain clean, dry storage space that won’t damage your belongings. Once the vapor barrier is installed and the dehumidifier is controlling moisture, your crawl space becomes a protected environment where you can store seasonal items, tools, or anything else you need to keep out of the way.
Before encapsulation, storing anything in your crawl space was asking for it to get ruined by moisture, mold, or pests. After encapsulation, the space is sealed, dry, and bright enough to navigate safely. The vapor barrier creates a clean surface that’s easy to move around on, and you don’t have to worry about humidity damaging cardboard boxes or metal items rusting.
Just keep in mind that your crawl space still has mechanical systems like ductwork and plumbing that need to remain accessible. Don’t block access to your HVAC equipment or crawl space entry points. But for general storage of items you don’t need every day, an encapsulated crawl space works great and doesn’t cost you any additional square footage in your home.
A basic vapor barrier is just a sheet of plastic laid on the ground, usually not sealed at the seams or attached to the walls. Crawl space encapsulation is a complete moisture control system that includes a heavy-duty sealed vapor barrier, vent sealing, dehumidification, and insulation where needed. The difference in effectiveness is significant.
A simple vapor barrier might slow down moisture coming from the ground, but it doesn’t stop humid outside air from entering through vents, and it doesn’t control the humidity that’s already present in the crawl space. Encapsulation addresses all moisture sources at once. We seal the floor and walls with a thick vapor barrier, close off all vents to stop outside air from entering, and install a dehumidifier to actively control humidity levels.
The result is a crawl space that stays consistently dry instead of one that’s just slightly better than it was before. You get the energy savings, the air quality improvements, and the structural protection that come from complete moisture control. A basic vapor barrier alone won’t deliver those results because it’s only addressing one part of the moisture problem.
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