A crawl space is generally that area under the floor framing of a house or business that extends a short way to the bottom. The distance is generally 24 inches in depth. This distance can vary however from 8 inches to 36 inches. The floor is usually made of dirt. There usually is barely enough room in one of these spaces to crawl, so the term Crawl Space was invented. They usually have a ton of spider webs and are dark and smell of mold. Not a pleasant place. That’s where we come in.

A crawl space that is deeper, to about 48 to 60 inches is generally called a “Michigan Basement”. These can be paved with concrete or left as dirt. Michigan Basements are used as storage of stuff. Unfortunately they are usually below ground and are susceptible to water damage. Furnaces down here can also be damaged by water. This is where we come in….

A space below the floor boards that is 7 feet deep or more is called a basement. Basements 100 years ago were not paved but were paved with concrete back in the 50’s. This was usually a thin layer just to keep the dust down and feet clean. Finishing basements has come to popularity with the invention and use of the “Sump Pump”. This is a device that can pump out any ground water that would otherwise get on the basement floor. Other wise basements are a good place to store stuff. We do a lot of work in basements and have a web site just for basement waterproofing. Click here to see Basement Waterproofing Michigan.

Oakbridge Construction Waterproofing Division knows a lot about basements and Crawl Spaces. This web site is dedicated to the Crawl Space. Read on to find out more information. If you don’t have time to read call now at 248 522 1516 and get a free estimate.

I believe that it has something to do with the recent economy. People are a bit troubled to splurge any money to get things fixed up while they can’t perceive where their next dollar is coming from. Even people that are on a fixed income like SSI or SSD or Social Security plus company retirement fund. Those people’s income should not differ month to month too much but yet they are nervous. Ordinary working people are as well scared stiff. So these tasks also sit and languish and the MOLD takes over.

We just completed a pretty big job in a basement that there was a waterproofing concern and it went unfixed for the last few years. All the bottom molding was black, the wallboard was black up 2 feet off the floor and the carpet had a thousand mushrooms rising on it. I believe that this severe of damage is dangerous to the people living upstairs. I recognize it was bad for our workers and we dressed them correspondingly.

The finished basement had to be disposed of. Along with the carpet and molding and doors and drywall and the whole thing else. Then we completed the waterproofing. That consisted of a perimeter drain and a sump pump. That was a lot of work. It cost a lot also and created an bad living condition for the home owner. If it was fixed just after it begun we could have saved the finished basement part except for the carpet. That should have saved a quite a bit of dough.

The 1st thing I would address in getting rid of mold is ventilation make sure the air is moving around or else the air will become stagnant. If you do have mold there are various types, some are toxic molds others are harmless. If you think you have mold and can not see it i would recommend having a mold remediation company come look at your situation. If the mold problem is not taken care of this can cause serious health problems for someone with mold allergies or asthma. (It happened to my wife)

The moist damp air generally gravitates to the basement or crawlspace thus making the the air in the basement/crawlspace cooler than the rest of the home. A lot of the times this causes condensation because warmer air is hitting cooler air. For example, on a 90 degree day if you place a cold beer outside the outside of the bottle begins to sweat, that’s condensation. Now when this happens in the basement or crawlspace it causes metal to rust, pipes sweating, carpets or furniture feel moist, and could cause structural damage. The basement is cooler because it is underground and warmer air rises. If you have any type of water damage that has occurred you can rest assured if its not taken care of mold and mildew will not be far behind.