Vapor barrier installation in Hawthorne CA - a dirt floor covered edge to edge
Bare dirt or torn plastic under your house lets ground moisture up into the crawl space. We cover it so less gets in.
- Service
- Vapor barrier installation
- Call
- (424) 307-8033
How can you tell the space under your house needs a vapor barrier?
Bare dirt under the house
You open the crawl space hatch and see dirt with no plastic over it at all. That usually means nothing is slowing the damp air rising out of the ground, and the longer it stays that way, the more the wood framing and anything stored down there soak it up.
Torn or pulled-back plastic
There's plastic down there, but it's ripped, bunched in a corner or pulled off the walls by whoever last crawled through for a repair. A cover full of gaps lets moisture through every opening, so it does far less than it looks like, and each repair visit tends to make the holes bigger.
Musty smell in the house
You notice an earthy, musty smell in the rooms, usually worse after the house has been shut up for a while. It often comes from crawl space air working its way up through the floor, so it's worth a look under the house before you try to cover it with air fresheners.
Does my house need a vapor barrier underneath it?
Vapor barrier installation in Hawthorne usually means laying plastic sheeting over the dirt floor of a crawl space, so less ground moisture comes up into the space under your house. If you have bare dirt or a worn-out barrier down there, this is the job that fixes it.
We're based in Hawthorne and do this work in the cities around it, and what I find under houses here is usually bare dirt or old plastic torn up by years of repair visits. The price mostly comes down to how big the floor is, how much stored stuff and old plastic has to come out first and how much sealing the new plastic needs, while the schedule turns on how easy the space is to get into and work in. If the floor above is bare too, I can look at crawl space insulation on the same visit, and the written estimate puts the price and the plan for your house on paper.
Details to note before an estimate
- Slab or crawl space underneath
- Rough size of the crawl space
- Anything stored under the house
- Condition of any old plastic
How we do a vapor barrier installation
First I check whether your home sits on a slab or over a crawl space, because those are two different jobs and I don't want to quote you the wrong one. In a crawl space, our crew clears out stored things and debris, pulls up any old torn plastic, and then covers the dirt floor as fully as we can reach, working the sheeting around piers, pipes and ducts and sealing it where your kind of crawl space calls for it. If I find water from a leaking pipe or a low spot that holds it, I'll tell you before we lay anything, since plastic over a wet problem just hides it.
While I'm under the house, I'm also thinking about the rest of it. Gaps around the attic hatch, can lights and pipes keep pulling air up through the rooms, so if your attic is leaky I may suggest attic air sealing to close those openings. If the walls or floors were built thin or never insulated, retrofit insulation adds it to the house you already have.
Work that often goes with a vapor barrier
Attic air sealing
Worth a look when the upstairs runs hot or you can feel drafts around the light fixtures and the attic hatch.
Retrofit insulation
For older homes where the walls and floors have little or nothing in them, without tearing the house apart to fix it.
What happens when you call about a vapor barrier in Hawthorne?
Call or send the form
Call (424) 307-8033 or use the form, and we'll get back to you to set a time. It helps to tell us whether the house sits on a slab or a crawl space and where the hatch is.
I look under the house
I come out myself, check the foundation and get into the crawl space to see what's there. You get a written estimate with the price, the plan and anything that should be fixed first, so you know what you're paying for before we start.
Our crew lays the barrier
On the day, the small crew I trained protects your floors and belongings, clears out the crawl space and takes care of what needs fixing before the plastic goes down. Then they cover the dirt as fully as they can reach.
We walk the finished job
I check the work before we call it done, then show you what we covered and answer anything you want to ask. Satisfaction guaranteed.
Questions before you book vapor barrier work
Does a crawl space vapor barrier help with radon?
It can, because a well-installed barrier helps keep soil gases such as radon from rising out of the dirt, along with ground moisture. The key word is well-installed, since gas and vapor get through anywhere the plastic is torn or doesn't reach.
What is the best way to seal a crawl space vapor barrier?
Sealing the seams and openings with a durable sealant is for unvented crawl spaces, the kind with no vents that's kept part of the heated and cooled house, where the plastic is meant to be one continuous cover. Building-science guidance from 2003 says a sealed cover like that slows both air and moisture moving through it, and that vented crawl spaces don't get that sealing. I check which kind you have first, because it sets how much sealing the job includes.
Is a vapor barrier under a slab the same job as one in a crawl space?
No. Under a concrete slab the plastic goes beneath the concrete, over a layer of gravel that helps moisture drain away, so it goes down before the concrete is poured. A crawl space gets sheeting over the dirt floor instead, which is why your foundation type decides which job you're looking at.
How much does vapor barrier installation cost in Hawthorne?
A basic crawl space vapor barrier, just plastic over the dirt floor, usually costs about $0.50 to $1.50 per square foot across the US. That's a national figure and not our price, and your cost goes up with clearing out stored things and old plastic, or with the sealing a sealed crawl space needs. I'll measure the space and give you the price in writing.
How do I compare vapor barrier estimates from different installers?
Ask each one what plastic they'll use, since federal weatherization guidance calls for sheeting at least 6 mil thick. That same guidance runs the barrier up the crawl space walls, columns and footings as well as across the floor, and has the installer make sure it works with the space's existing drainage so water still follows its usual path out. Ask whether each estimate covers those, so you're comparing the same job.
Does a vapor barrier contractor need a license in California?
Yes, in California a home improvement contractor is one licensed by the Contractors State License Board, whether they work full-time or part-time, so ask for the license number before you hire. State law also sets special requirements for home improvement contracts, meant to head off as many problems between owners and contractors as possible, so expect the job in writing. We're fully licensed and insured.
Get a written plan for the dirt under your house
Send the form and we'll get back to you within one business day to set a time. I'll come out for a free in-person estimate, look under the house and put the price and the plan in writing. There's no pressure to book.
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Tell us what's under your house
Call (424) 307-8033 or send the form with your foundation type, the rough size of the crawl space and anything stored down there, so I know what to look for before I arrive.