Vapor barrier installation in Pueblo West CO - a crawl space covered wall to wall
Bare dirt or torn plastic under your house? We lay a crawl space cover that reaches every edge and turns up the walls.
Do you need a vapor barrier under your house?
If your crawl space floor is bare dirt or the old plastic is torn and bunched up, you probably do. Vapor barrier installation in Pueblo West means covering that dirt with plastic sheeting, wall to wall and up the sides, so the ground under your house isn't breathing straight into it.
Most calls start after someone opens the crawl space hatch and finds bare dirt, or plastic that quits a foot short of the foundation. The price moves with how big the space is, how much has to be cleared out, whether old plastic comes up first, how many piers the cover has to wrap, how heavy the sheeting needs to be and whether the crawl space is vented or sealed. The schedule mostly turns on getting the space cleared and, when a job needs one, the permit. My estimate lays out what I'd do and in what order for your crawl space, so you're not guessing. We're based in Pueblo West and do the same work in Pueblo, Cañon City, Fountain, Stratmoor and other cities nearby.
What happens after you call about a crawl space cover
Call or send the form
You call (719) 601-8073 or send the form, and we set a time for me to come out. We answer early and late, seven days a week, so you don't have to take time off to reach us.
I crawl it and write it up
I go down in the crawl space myself and see what's really there, from the old plastic to the piers to whatever's stacked against the walls. Then I write up what I'd do and in what order, so you know what you're paying for and why.
Our installers do the work
If you go ahead, our installers lay the cover and I'm on site for most of it. Nobody likes a crawl space, so we'd rather do it right once than come back.
We walk it together
When we're done, I walk it with you so you can see the seams lapped and the edges turned up the walls and piers. Your satisfaction, guaranteed.
How we install a vapor barrier, and the work that goes with it
The crawl space gets cleared first, because stored boxes and old debris keep plastic off the floor, and a cover that stops short of the walls isn't doing much. We roll the sheeting across the whole floor, lap every seam so no dirt shows between runs, and turn the plastic up the foundation walls and around each pier and its footing, the concrete pad it sits on. Where someone has to crawl back to service equipment, we use tougher, reinforced sheeting or protect that path, because thin plastic doesn't hold up to knees and tools. If your old cover is mostly sound, we repair it instead of tearing it out, and if I find wet wood or anything else that shouldn't get covered up, you hear about it before the plastic goes down.
The ground is one end of the house and the attic is the other, so attic air sealing, closing the gaps up top before any insulation goes in, often comes up on the same visit. If the walls or floors never got much insulation when the house was built, retrofit insulation adds it to the house you already have. I'll tell you if your house needs either one, and I'll tell you just as plainly if it doesn't.
Get a written plan for your crawl space cover
We'll get back to you within one business day to set a time for me to come look at your crawl space myself. The estimate is free and done on site, and there's no pressure to book.
Crawl space cover questions from Pueblo West
What does a vapor barrier in a crawl space do?
A crawl space vapor barrier helps hold down the moisture vapor and soil gases, radon among them, that come up out of the dirt under your house, as long as it's installed well. That last part is the catch, because a cover with gaps at the edges or split seams lets the ground keep doing what it was doing before.
How do I know if my crawl space needs sealed seams?
Seams and penetrations, the spots where a pipe or pier passes through the plastic, get sealed only in an unvented crawl space, one with no vents to the outside. In a vented crawl space the seams are overlapped but not sealed, so check your foundation for vents and make sure any quote describes the version you actually have.
How much does crawl space encapsulation cost in Colorado?
Crawl space encapsulation, a bigger job that includes a vapor barrier, usually runs about $5,500 to $9,500 per home in Colorado. That's what the work tends to cost around the state, not our quote, and a cover on its own is only part of that job. I give you your own figure after I've been down in your crawl space.
Is radon a concern in Pueblo West?
It's worth taking seriously, because Pueblo County's health department says Colorado soils hold high levels of radon, and most counties in the state average above 4 picocuries per liter, the level where EPA recommends doing something about it. A good cover helps keep soil gases like radon down, but it isn't a radon system. If you want radon actually reduced, the health department says soil suction systems can go into crawl space houses too, and sealing foundation cracks makes them work better.
Do I need a permit for a crawl space vapor barrier in Pueblo West?
That's for the county to say, and we check before we start. Pueblo West isn't its own city, so permit applications there go to the Pueblo County Building Division at 719-583-6100. When a job needs a permit, we pull it ourselves.
How do I hire a licensed insulation contractor in Pueblo County?
Hire someone licensed or registered with the right board, because Pueblo County code requires that for most construction work in the county and makes it unlawful to hire someone who isn't. We're licensed and fully insured. When you compare quotes, ask whether each one covers the whole floor, laps the seams and turns up the walls and piers, the way we do it above.
Other work that pairs with a crawl space cover
Attic air sealing
Gaps around light fixtures, pipes and the attic hatch let warm air escape upstairs, which pulls air up from below and keeps rooms drafty.
Retrofit insulation
If your house went up with thin walls or floors and you've lived with cold rooms ever since, we add insulation to the house as it stands.
Book a look at your crawl space
If you can tell us whether your crawl space has vents and what's stored down there when you call (719) 601-8073 or send the form, I can show up ready for your house.