Vapor barrier installation in Yakima WA - a dry crawl space under your floors
Musty smell, cold floors or bare dirt under the house? We lay and seal a heavy plastic cover so ground moisture stays in the ground.
- Licensed and insured.
- Free on-site estimates.
- Replies within 1 business day.
Does your crawl space need a vapor barrier?
Vapor barrier installation in Yakima means covering the dirt floor of your crawl space with heavy plastic and sealing it to the walls and piers, so ground moisture stays in the ground instead of soaking into your floor framing and insulation.
Most people call us because the floors are cold, the house smells musty, or someone looked through the hatch and saw bare dirt or plastic in shreds. The price turns mostly on how big the crawl space is, how many piers and pipes the plastic has to fit around, how much old material has to come out first, and whether you want a plain sealed cover or full encapsulation with a dehumidifier. The schedule turns on whether there's a water problem to fix before any plastic goes down, and the estimate gives you the figure for your own crawl space.
How can you tell the ground under your house is too damp?
A musty smell indoors
If the house smells like an old basement, especially in rooms over the crawl space, damp air from the dirt is usually working its way up through the floor. Left alone, it keeps the floor framing and insulation damp, and that's when mold and rot get a start.
Bare dirt or torn plastic
Shine a flashlight through the crawl space hatch. If you see open dirt, or old plastic that's shredded, bunched against a wall or missing around the piers, the ground is breathing straight into the space, and every month it stays open is another month of moisture under your floor.
Sagging, damp floor insulation
Batts between the floor joists that hang down, feel wet or look dark have usually been soaking up moisture from below. Wet insulation barely slows heat, so it's often the reason for cold floors, and it has to come out before anything new goes in.
How our vapor barrier installation works
Before any plastic goes down, I look for standing water, soft or damp wood and loose old wiring, because a cover laid over a problem only hides it, and if something has to be fixed first, I tell you plainly. Then our crew lays heavy plastic over the whole dirt floor, runs it up the foundation walls and around each pier, and seals the seams and edges so the cover works as one piece instead of a set of loose sheets. Over the path to your furnace we lay an extra layer, so the cover holds up when someone crawls in to service it.
A dry crawl space is only part of a comfortable house. Warm air escaping through gaps around the attic hatch, can lights and pipes draws air up through the floors from below, which is why attic air sealing often lands on the same estimate. Once the ground is covered, retrofit insulation under the floor is how we deal with cold floors, since new insulation only does its job after the moisture is handled.
Sealed ground cover
This suits a crawl space that's mostly dry, where the dirt itself is the main source of damp. Heavy plastic over the whole floor, run up the walls and sealed at every seam, is usually all it needs.
Full encapsulation with a dehumidifier
This suits a crawl space where the furnace and ductwork live, or where damp hangs on after the ground is covered. It costs more, so I only suggest it when what I see down there calls for it.
Repair or replace an old cover
This suits a house that already has plastic down, but it's torn, shifted or full of gaps. If most of it is sound we patch and seal it, and if it's shredded or sitting in water, we pull it and start over.
Get a free estimate for your crawl space cover
We reply within one business day to set a time. I come out myself, look at the crawl space and write up a free estimate, with no pressure and no obligation to go ahead.
- Based in
- Yakima, WA 98901
- Hours
- Mon–Fri: 8 AM–9 PM, Sat–Sun: 6 AM–9 PM
What happens after you call about a vapor barrier in Yakima?
Here's how a vapor barrier job runs from your first call to the day we pack up, and who you'll be dealing with at each step.
Call or send the form
Tell us roughly how big the crawl space is, whether the floor is dirt or concrete, whether it has vents and whether you've seen standing water. That gives me a head start before I come out.
I look under the house
I come out myself, go into the crawl space and explain what I find, including anything that should be fixed before plastic goes down. You get a written estimate that spells out what the work includes, what it costs and what can wait.
Our crew preps and lays the cover
Our crew handles the prep and any sealing first, and the cover goes down after that. If something turns up once the job is open, I talk it over with you before we go on.
We walk the finished job
Before we leave, I go over the finished crawl space with you, seams, edges and the furnace path included. Ask anything you like, and I'll explain it twice if that helps.
Why Yakima homeowners have us under their floors
I see every crawl space myself
The person who writes your estimate is the person who crawled under your house, and I'm back on site checking the crew's work as it goes. Nothing on your estimate is a guess made from the driveway.
A carpenter's eye since 2017
I framed houses for years before starting this business in 2017, so I look at the joists and sill over a damp crawl space, not just the dirt. If the wood needs attention first, you hear it from me before you pay for plastic.
Licensed and insured on every job
We're licensed and insured. Washington requires every construction contractor to register with the Department of Labor and Industries, and its Verify a Contractor lookup lets you check anyone before you hire.
Satisfaction guaranteed on every job
That's our promise on every cover we put down. It's also why I'd rather tell you a crawl space isn't ready than lay plastic over a problem you'd find later.
A cover is only as good as the ground under it, so send us the form or call (509) 517-6081 and I'll come take a look at yours.
Vapor barriers, permits and the crawl spaces we see in Yakima
I can't tell you from here whether a crawl space vapor barrier needs a permit in Yakima, so I check for your job before we start rather than guess. Inside city limits, general permits go through the City of Yakima's Codes office, which you can reach at codes@yakimawa.gov or (509) 575-6126, and electrical permits go to the state's Department of Labor and Industries. If your job needs a permit, we take care of the application with the city or county office that covers your address, and if we're not sure yet, we tell you that up front and find out.
Under a lot of the houses we see around Yakima, the crawl space has bare dirt or thin plastic torn and bunched against one wall, with the furnace and ductwork sitting right there in the damp. We see the same crawl spaces on jobs in Selah and Union Gap, and we handle them the same way, checking for water first and sealing the cover all the way to the walls.
Questions about crawl space vapor barriers in Yakima
Does a vented crawl space still need a vapor barrier?
Yes, building guidance says the plastic ground cover belongs in a crawl space whether it has vents or not. Vents move some air, but they don't stop moisture coming up out of the dirt, so plan on a full, sealed cover even with vents in your foundation walls.
Is a concrete crawl space floor enough without a vapor barrier in Washington?
It can meet the state rule and still let moisture in. Washington's residential code lets the cover be left out over a concrete floor at least 2 inches thick, but building guidance says a slab alone won't stop moisture rising from the ground around it. Over dirt, the state requires a black polyethylene cover or an approved equal, overlapped at the joints and run to the foundation wall, and if you have a slab, I'll look for damp and tell you whether a cover over it is worth the money.
How much does crawl space encapsulation cost in Washington?
In Washington, crawl space encapsulation with a heavy 12-mil plastic barrier and a dehumidifier usually costs about $6,000 to $10,500 for a 1,500-square-foot crawl space. That's the full job, which goes beyond the plain sealed ground cover many crawl spaces need, and it's a market figure rather than our price. Your own number comes from the estimate after I've seen the space.
What causes a wet crawl space in Yakima?
In a vented crawl space, most of the water usually comes in as plain liquid water from outside, through yard grading that runs toward the house, missing drainage around the foundation or how the yard gets watered. That means a damp crawl space may need grading, drainage or watering changes along with the cover. If I find water coming in, I'll show you where and tell you it needs handling first, because a cover over running water just hides it.
How do I get my crawl space ready for a vapor barrier?
Get stored items and loose debris out of the crawl space so the plastic can cover the ground completely, and that holds even if we're only repairing an old cover. If there's more down there than you want to haul out, tell me at the estimate and we'll sort out what our crew clears as part of the prep.
Should I test my house in Yakima for radon?
Yes, the EPA advises testing every home for radon, and it calls the test easy and inexpensive. It also advises fixing a home that tests at 4 picocuries per liter or higher. If you already have a result, mention it at the estimate.
Related work that pairs with a crawl space cover
Attic air sealing
Air escaping through attic gaps pulls air up from the crawl space, so sealing them keeps upstairs rooms warmer and cuts the drafts you feel downstairs.
Retrofit insulation
Once the crawl space is dry, adding insulation under the floors of an older house deals with the cold floors a ground cover alone won't fix.
Service areas for crawl space covers around Yakima
C&D Yakima Insulation Solutions is based in Yakima, WA, and lays vapor barriers across the 8 cities listed here, from Sunnyside to Ellensburg. These are the cities with their own page, not the only places we go, so if yours isn't named, call and ask.
Get your crawl space covered and sealed
The sooner the dirt is covered, the sooner your floor framing and insulation can start drying out instead of soaking up more.