Waterproofing and protecting your home and its crawl space can seem like an intimidating task when you don’t know what to expect, especially in terms of budget. While a foundation and crawl space repair professional will provide you with a free quote on the services you may require, you can also sit down and consider which waterproofing and repair measures you’re most interested in. Once you have your preferred plan of action written down, it’s simply a matter of calculating installation costs before you have a budget on hand.
Why Should You Protect Your Crawl Space?
Your crawl space is both more sensitive to damage and more important to your home’s overall health than you might expect, given how small the spaces can be. If you let your crawl space go unprotected for an extended period of time, you may rapidly find yourself dealing with:
- Higher bills – The more moisture gathers in your crawl space, the more difficult it becomes for your HVAC system to maintain the temperature in your home. This means you may see higher bills for seemingly no reason as your crawl space gathers water.
- Infestations and pests – If water can get into your home, pests are soon to follow.
- Mold – Mold particles may travel by air, but they thrive when they find themselves in a damp, cool, dark environment. An unprotected crawl space can readily become an incubator for mold that can put your home’s value and your family’s health at risk.
- Unpleasant smells – Moist crawl spaces also release odors that can spread throughout the entire home, no matter how well you clean the areas you prefer to use.
- Structural water damage – Finally, you’ll always have to worry about the effects moisture can have on the structural supports in your crawl space. Moisture can cause wood to rot, your floors to sag, and your foundation slab to sink if it’s left unchecked.
How Can You Protect Your Crawl Space?
It’s not as difficult to protect your crawl space as it may seem. Some of the most effective waterproofing measures you may want to consider while planning your repair budget include:
- Interior drain installations – Interior drains use a system of pipes around the perimeter of your home to collect water. Installing these pipes can cost you between $4,000 and $6,000, depending on the length of the pipes you need.
- Sump pump system – When installing interior drainage, you also need to pair that system with a sump pump to effectively remove water from the crawl space. The cost can vary depending on the size and model but expect to spend between $1,500 to $2,700 for a reliable sump pump system.
- Dehumidifier – If your crawl space is plagued by excessive moisture and humidity like many other crawl spaces, it’s important to keep those in check to help prevent mold growth and other issues. Dehumidifier installation can cost around $1,600.
- Crawl space vapor barrier – Crawl space vapor barriers are among the best waterproofing measures for these smaller spaces. Vapor barriers are made of thick plastic-like material and are often dense enough to keep both water and gas out of your crawl space. You can talk to a professional about installing a crawl space barrier for between $5,000 and $10,000.
- Foundation crack repairs – Unfortunately, the longer you let your crawl space go unprotected, the more likely it is that the moisture inside may travel down to your foundation. If you want to protect your home, you’re going to need to invest in necessary repairs before you can install your waterproofing measures of choice. Foundation repair can cost upwards of $1,200, depending on the damage done.
The Cost of Labor
You will also need to take the cost of labor into account when determining what kind of budget you want to work with while repairing your crawl space. These costs will change depending on the size of your crawl space and the timeline you want to work on, not to mention the degree of damage your crawl space may have previously endured. On average, it’s best to have between $1,500 and $3,500 put away for labor fees.
Don’t let the cost of repairing your crawl space keep you from taking the necessary steps to protect your home. If you want a better idea of how much you should expect to put away, you can reach out to the professionals at Ohio Basement Systems in the Cleveland, OH, area for a home inspection and a personalized quote on the services you may require.
