Do you have a crawl space or two in your home that are currently going unused? If so, you may need to ensure that you’re not falling prey to damp and mould growth! However, with the right tools, the best solutions, and a team of experts to hand, there are no reasons why you can’t take care of these issues safely and efficiently.
However, what’s really interesting about these common areas of the home is that they are primed for insulation. Crawl space insulation, believe it or not, may actually help to make your home that little bit more efficient! This means lower energy bills, and it also means that your property is doing its bit to care for the environment.
Your crawl spaces are also likely to be where you’ll find sump pumps. These are essential in helping to prevent home flooding.
Let’s take a closer look at how you can transform the way you use your crawl spaces for the better.
As you can imagine, any gaps or spaces in your home are likely to create draughts, and to let hot air escape. This is going to be hugely inefficient! Unfortunately, if a crawl space is not ventilated, it’s at massive risk of developing damp conditions, as well as standing water. Therefore, you need to be proactive about how to manage these areas.
Crawl space encapsulation is a process through which you can set up a barrier to prevent vapour and moisture from running rife. This is where you might block build-up of water or set up waterproofing beneath your house. If your crawl spaces are not blocking moisture, they are only going to continue getting damp and mouldy as time goes by.
Therefore, encapsulation is just one way to make sure that your spaces are working as efficiently as possible for you. However, have you ever considered crawl space insulation if your crawl spaces are not ventilated?
It’s worth remembering that crawl spaces often split into two types – ventilated, and unventilated. For those spaces which aren’t ventilated, you should make a point of setting up some form of insulation. These are empty spaces which could help to warm up your home with just a few minor touches.
For example, you could install insulation foam to create barriers for draughts. You may also consider air leaks in your crawl spaces, too, which you will naturally need to patch up.
You can, of course, also insulate ventilated crawl spaces. However, the way that you do this, and the materials you use, are likely to be a little different to that which you’d use for an unventilated unit. For example, you might use fibreglass as a solution to seal off seams and joists. Essentially, when it comes to ventilated spaces, your aim is to create vapour barriers – while at the same time, locking in as much heat as you can.
Installing a crawl space liner or foam will help to lock in as much heat as possible in your home. Working alongside with proper ventilation, it’s perfectly possible to prevent damp conditions and mould growth with just a few simple touches. However, as always, it’s a good idea to reach out to local experts who can help with this!
Crawl space insulation might not be the most obvious route to take when it comes to saving money on energy bills, however, it may surprise you just how effective this method of attack actually is. Crucially, if you have any gaps or spaces in your home which are letting cold air in, and letting warmth out, you are going to end up spending more money, and wasting more energy, on heating up your property.
Therefore, it makes sense to insulate as much of your home as you possibly can – even your crawl spaces and hard to reach areas! However, again, be sure to reach out to a team with years of expertise, and the right tools for the job.
It is likely that your crawl spaces will also host a sump pump. Your home sump pump is a crucial component which helps to drain away excess water from your property. Therefore, it actively pumps potential flood water out of your home, therefore protecting you without you needing to reach for the sand bags.
It’s essential you flush and maintain your sump pump(s) regularly. This means, again, that having access to crawl spaces is ideal. Whether you are insulating or encapsulating your spaces, do always make sure that you have a regular sump pump testing and cleaning process in place with local experts.
Crawl spaces are actually more useful than you might think. Providing you use them efficiently, they can help you to keep your home warm and ventilate it to free you from damp and mould. However, you can also use them for storage spaces too – if you have anything you’re struggling to store elsewhere at home!
If you’d like to know more about crawl space insulation and how it might benefit your energy bills and comfort levels in the months and years to come, get in touch with LABS now for a free consultation!
Good weather is well on its way, and for many people, that means doing plenty of home improvements to the external areas of the property, around the home to try and protect it against the elements. For example, you might already be taking a look at painting the outside of your house, or you might be thinking about adding a layer of protection or two to your gates and fences. In any case, now is also the time you should start thinking about house rendering.
But what exactly is house rendering? How does it benefit you and your home? When should you do it, and why? In this short article, we will take a look at the key things you need to know and will advise you on what to expect when you take on house rendering.
House rendering is a solution that many people swear by. It’s a process that’s not entirely dissimilar to cladding and painting. In fact, it probably falls somewhere neatly in between. Many people choose to render their homes to change the looks of their properties, while others will have protection on their minds.
In fact, one of the best reasons to look into home rendering is for the dual purpose it serves. Not only can it change the look of your home, it’s a great defence against some of the nastiest damp conditions likely to pervade your property during the wet months and seasons. Yes – we’re coming into summer now – but there really isn’t a better time to prepare your home with the best render available.
There is plenty that you can do to protect your home against potentially harmful damp conditions. Here at LABS, we’re always pleased to offer a variety of preventive solutions as well as cures. However, one of the best things you can do to set your home up in the defence of damp and mould is to get your property rendered using our specialist system consisting of an anti-crack mesh, with a vast array of colour to choose from .
Rendering is great at preventing rainwater and moisture from getting into your property. Your brickwork, if you indeed have any, is likely to be more sensitive than you think when it comes to resisting wetness and damp conditions. Rainwater seeps through the tiniest and slimmest of cracks, and via capillary action. Rendering represents a fantastic preventative measure to protect your home with.
Therefore, take advantage of this damp solution which stops water penetration. That solution, of course, is house rendering – and you’re going to need to get it up and running while the weather is good, I order to be all ready for the forthcoming winter months!
LABS’ range of fantastic anti-damp services will ensure that you have plenty of protection against the rising nastiness from wet conditions. In fact, our house rendering solutions offer a fantastic anti-crack system. This means that, even if this summer we get hammered by wind and rain, your rendering will protect your home at all costs.
There’s plenty of worth in getting rendering set up and good to go during the dry season. After all, it is in the wet when you are going to need it the most. Set up a house render solution with LABS soon, and you’ll not only have access to a great-looking cover for your property, but a protective layer to stop anything nasty and irritating from getting in. Well, apart from unwanted guests, of course.
It’s time to set up house rendering sooner rather than later. Take advantage of the sunshine and set up a home rendering solution to protect you and your family against the wettest and dampest of conditions. LABS is here with some truly brilliant, flexible, and weatherproof solutions which will look great and will protect you against everything Mother nature wants to pelt us with.
Don’t let damp, mould or condensation take control of your home. Set up house rendering now and be sure to keep your property looking fantastic and protected for months and years to come. Call us on 0114 230 2865 or drop us an email to learn more whenever you are ready to go ahead!
