Benefits of Installing Crawl Space Vapor Barriers

Crawl spaces are not among the places that you think about often when you go into your house. They however have a huge impact on your house and your daily life. The best way to maintain the good condition of your crawl space is to install vapor barriers. The main function of the barriers is to impede the movement of water vapor or moisture from the crawl space. When your basement is damp it produces a lot of moisture and the vapor barriers help to minimize the levels of the moisture. The main benefits of the barriers are:

1. Vapor barriers prevent unfavorable moisture levels for the water vapors coming up from the soil. When the moisture levels are very high, it will lead to moulds and bad odor in the crawl space.
2. The barriers help in maintaining the good structure of your crawl space. This ensures that there is no structural damage.
3. In uncapped crawl spaces you may see some fluctuations in temperature that commonly lead to condensation and other more serious problems. In this situation the vapor barriers help to maintain the temperature level.
4. Fluctuations in temperature in the crawl space usually affect the temperature inside your house and you need to use other devices to cool or heat your house. However if you have vapor barriers you reduce energy costs because of how they control temperature changes.
5. Vapor barriers also protect pipes and prevent them from bursting due to temperature fluctuations.

In addition to good ventilation vapor barriers are very important towards having a healthy crawl space. During installation, you need a vapor barrier that is 10 millimeters long and you should attach it to the perimeter of your foundation walls and ensure that it is air tight. Not only is it easy to get a vapor barrier installed in your home, the benefits make it a necessity rather than just a choice for your house.