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Welcome to another episode of Peskies Pest Control podcast here in Birmingham Alabama with Michael and Travis. We do this podcast as a community service for Birmingham, Hoover, Vestavia Hills, Mountain Brook, Helena, Alabaster, Pelham and all other surrounding areas!
Michael Wienecke
Hey, so today we’re gonna be talking about all things crawlspace. And I’ve got my friend Aaron, with crawlspace medics here, and we’re going to talk about his business and what to look for in a crawlspace around your house, that could be a problem in your home. Take it away, Aaron.
Aaron
Hey Michael. How’s it going?
Michael Wienecke
Doing? Well, man, how are you?
Aaron
Doing? Well, doing well. Finally, back at the house and taking a beat to look over what we got going on this week.
Michael Wienecke
Awesome. Awesome. I know. You said it was a busy week. So that’s, that’s good.
Aaron
Yeah, absolutely. The rain over the weekend always helps.
Michael Wienecke
In a bad way, in a bad right,
Aaron
in a bad way for customers a good way for our business generally. So it’s always a double edged sword there.
Michael Wienecke
Yeah. So let’s talk about some things that customers should look for. You know, I would, I would consider this more red flags that, you know, they just haven’t seen the smaller issues and have seen are starting to see much bigger issues.
Aaron
Sure. Yeah. So we do crawlspace and basement waterproofing. So our bread and butter is generally moisture control, water intrusion issues. And that the consequences of that typically, or, you know, things like wood, wood rot, mold or fungus, eventually, termites, things like that. So the primary issues in the South that people typically call us for are going to be buckling floors, you know, specially in the peak of the summer, if you’ve got hardwood floors, you’ll start to see those buckling, which is when the tiny wooden planks start dropping in the middle and swelling on the sides, you’ll see some separation, you know, when the light hits it just right, you’ll see kind of waves moving through the floor. The big one for us really is voters, that’s that’s probably the primary call we’ll get is after a big rain, someone will call us and say they smelled dirt. Some people will call and say they smell mold. And then some people will call when they have sagging floors. And our competitors have done a really good job at marketing, Floor Leveling, things like that. So typically, when they call us, that’s what they’re thinking is going on, oh, my house is settling, I just need some additional support. A lot of times, those are actually you know, the carpentry has just rotted away, or the fungus is eaten away, termites have eaten it away. And the wood repair, you know, is really, what’s causing those floors to sag is rotten wood. So, peak season and summer odors, buckling floors. That’s the primary and then sagging floors eventually.
Michael Wienecke
So here in Hoover, Alabama, especially bluff Park, I think every house is settled to a level I know my house, if my son puts a marble on the floor, it’s gonna roll over to the, to the next side of the house. So as far as inspections, you know, are your do a free free inspection come out, look at the home evaluated, give them a quote all that.
Aaron
That’s right. That’s right. So usually what I do beforehand is I or Tanner is my my new inspector will give them a call ahead of time talk through the issue, talk through, you know how long it’s been going on when they noticed it, typically in the summer, that’s kind of the the Genesis is even if it’s been going on for years, they usually won’t notice it until the summer. And we’ll we’ll kind of investigate, see if it’s an issue that’s within our scope. And you know, the customer, their idea of what maybe the solution is, or what’s going on, is typically not seen through the lens of the crawlspace or the basement. And that’s where we come in. We see that all the time. And so we can usually kind of parse those things into different categories of what we think is going on, then we’ll come out for a free inspection. We’ll do that for realtors builders, or homeowners who are having an issue. And typically we can get Wait, the goal is to get the quote in their hands. Within two hours of doing the estimate. If we can do it on site, we will we try not to push too hard push to close on the spot. We like to be as honest as possible with the customer. We want them to talk it over with their spouse. Basically, we want it to be as easy as possible for us to come out. And we also want to provide them with a solution that’s really taken their needs and our recommendation into consideration.
Michael Wienecke
Yeah, definitely. I mean, who wants to crawl through a crawlspace I mean, you know, we do it for a living and sometimes it’s not fun for us. So the homeowner himself, you know it’s a one it damn nasty, dark place. And full of snakes sometimes and roaches and all that fun stuff that we get to say, had a rat crawl on me one day that was that was interesting.
Aaron
That is, that’s great. I never I’ve seen one snake in the crawlspace. But my guys have seen more, especially out in the country. They have a lot of mice or rats in the insulation. That’s the main time we’ve seen snakes. But the the only I’ve seen mice in the crawlspace. But the only time I’ve ever had one close is it was going under the vapor barrier. And so I didn’t know what it what it was. And I never found out I just assumed it was a rat.
Michael Wienecke
But I’ve been out of there. Yeah, so moving along the floor like that you couldn’t see it. I actually had a technician, he’s scared of snakes. And he saw on a crawlspace That was about as long as my pinkie and he was like I quit your kid. That was you gotta be kidding me. Now, he didn’t quit, but he was just joking around. So Well, let’s talk about some things that homeowners can do themselves to prevent water issues. You know, just from the get go that just say they buy a new house, you know, they’ve already spent all that money on a new house, what could they do to help prevent issues around the house?
Aaron
That’s, that’s a great, great question. Typically, when a home service company comes out there about 1000 Different things a customer or homeowner can be sold. Especially when it comes to water around the house, if there’s water in the under the house, you could have four different you know, companies come out and have four different solutions. And what we try to focus on, you know, at crawlspace medic is the solutions that typically the customer is not going to install themselves. And but the what a customer can do prior to us coming out or prior to making the investment of you know, an interior drain system and sump pump is going to be keeping your gutters clear, routing your downspouts away from the home. People get crazy with the grading regrading their yards. And typically, I don’t recommend that because there’s usually an expense that comes along with that. Typically, they’re hiring someone to do that if they they have a bobcat and want to move some dirt, that’s fine. Just be careful not to move too much. But what I would do is get the downspouts routed away from the house, be mindful of any water that’s collecting around the house. Make sure your foundation vents like the one in the background right now, make sure your foundation vents are not below grade, where water can just flow through the foundation vents, and then get a vapor barrier down. You know a lot of people can do that themselves. You know, obviously, I have a vested interest in being the one who does it. But if they’re not gonna go with us, then you know getting a barrier that’s not made of recycled materials that they can roll out and cover as close to 100% of the exposed soil, it’s going to go a long way at trapping moisture under the plastic, reducing the, you know, by a little bit the humidity in the crawlspace. That’s going to go a long way in protecting the wood over the life of the home.
Michael Wienecke
So let me ask you this. So every southern home, especially with the crawlspace has the vents like you talked about, you know, behind you. Is that necessary? Now I see a lot of people covering those vents up as far as you know, when I bought my house, it’s an older house 70s house, there was just newspapers shoved in just about every event other than like three, and I was always told it was to keep that flow of air to keep everything dry.
Aaron
Yes, that’s the challenge of living in the South is we’re essentially ruled by building code that is not created in the south. And so traditionally, you have you know, in new construction homes have to have so many events per linear foot or per square feet of the crawlspace and for a vented crawlspace so there are kind of two categories you have a vented or a closed crawlspace and so in a vented crawlspace The idea is that you’re going to move enough air through the crawlspace that it’s going to regulate the humidity underneath the home and in then for a closed crawlspace The idea is that you’re not just shutting all the Vance but you are having some form of the humidification whether it’s a whole home system and the crawlspace is conditioned along with the home, or you’ve got a dedicated dehumidifier down in the crawlspace. And, like you said, even with a dehumidifier, a lot of lot of companies, and the way we’ll do it often is leaving one or two vents open to direct the airflow. And it’s more more for a soil gas or odor control than, you know, than actual dehumidification. Because it, you know, obviously would do just as well, but you are circulating a little bit more air, you know, through more of the crawlspace by leaving one or two vents open. The challenge is just making sure that the dehumidifiers adequate to condition that space.
Michael Wienecke
Right. Well, I mean, you know, a moisture barrier, like what y’all do and venting that that odor and all that gas going out is always going to be your traditional, you know, brick style vent. So.
Aaron
Right, right. And just to touch back on what you said about a vented crawlspace. The probably the biggest challenge we have in the south is our air conditioning, most ductwork is under the home. I’ve seen more and more in the attic recently. But traditionally speaking, it’s going under the house. And as the efficiency of HVAC improves as we’re pumping colder and colder air, that cold air is now mixing with more of the warm, humid air that’s coming in from the vents. And so as that air mixes humidity increases, even just as warm air enters a cooler crawlspace your humidity increases. And so one of the key places that I’ll check on an inspection is the foundation Vance. And the I guess the boots, you know, the metal that’s coming into your floor for your ductwork. And usually, there’s more condensation around there, there’s more moisture staining or moisture damage around there. And, and that’s kind of a key area and that’s that’s where the humidity is the highest.
Michael Wienecke
I’ve never thought about that, that you know, the moisture from your AC unit could actually cause a moisture problem on your crawlspace. That’s, that’s interesting. So Well, I really appreciate you coming on the Peskies Pest Control podcast. Once you tell anybody that needs a quote or looking to get a full encapsulation where they can find you.
Aaron
Absolutely. We usually offer same day estimates when we can get to you especially for realtors and builders. We try to have a 24 hour turnaround on that. So if you’re buying or selling, give us a call at 205-987-2858 and you can visit visit us online and fill out an estimate request form. Go ahead and lay out what’s your issues or at crawlspacemedic.com/birmingham-al
Crawlspace Medics – Birmingham, Alabama
