Vapor barrier installation in Redding, CA - a crawl space floor covered wall to wall
Torn old plastic or damp air under the house? We cover the crawl space floor edge to edge and up the walls, every seam overlapped.
Does my crawl space need a vapor barrier?
Vapor barrier installation in Redding, CA means laying a plastic ground cover over the dirt floor of your crawl space. When it's installed well, it helps keep ground moisture and soil gases such as radon from rising into the space under your house.
Most calls I get about this start with a crawl space nobody's been in for years, a musty smell in the rooms above it, or old plastic that's bunched up in the corners and bare in the middle. The price mostly comes from the size of the crawl space, the thickness of sheet you choose, how much has to come out before we start and whether your crawl space is vented, because an unvented one needs its seams and pipe openings sealed too. The schedule turns on what I find on the first visit, since anything that needs fixing down there gets fixed before plastic goes over it, and your written estimate lays out that order and the price for your house.
What our vapor barrier installation includes
A ground cover only works if it covers everything, so we start by clearing out what's stored down there, along with debris and any old, torn plastic. Then we lay the sheet across the whole floor and run it up the foundation walls, piers and footings, overlapping every seam, and we lay it so water drains the way it already does. How we finish it depends on whether your crawl space is vented, because installer guidance calls for sealing the seams and the spots where pipes come through only in an unvented one, and I'll show you which kind you have and why that changes the job. If the crawl space walls already have fiberglass or another fibrous insulation on them, I look at that closely, since the Department of Energy says plastic sheeting shouldn't go on the inside of that kind of insulation because it can trap moisture in the wall.
Once the ground is covered, it's often the right time to deal with the rest of the house in order. Air leaking up and out through the top of the house is usually worth chasing with attic air sealing, and an older home with thin or missing insulation can get retrofit insulation after the sealing is done.
What to know about vapor barrier installation in Redding
Before we start, I check with the building office that covers your address, because whether a crawl space ground cover needs a permit isn't something I'll guess at. Around Redding that may be the Shasta County Building Division, which also runs its own line for inspection requests. If a permit is needed, we handle the application and set up the inspections with you.
A lot of the crawl spaces I go into around Redding have been storage for years, with boxes, old lumber and pipes or ducts running through, so clearing out comes first on most of our jobs here. We see the same thing under older homes in Anderson and Shasta Lake.
How vapor barrier installation works
Call or send the form
Call (530) 232-9176 or send the form, and we'll find a time for me to come out to your house. If the crawl space access is behind stored things or a locked panel, let us know so I can get down there.
I look through the crawl space
I come out myself, go through the crawl space with you and note what I find, including whether it's vented. Then I explain the order the work should go in and give you a written estimate, so you see the scope and the price before anything's booked.
Set a date and install
When you're ready we set a date, and we take care of any permit work with you before we start. Our installers clear the space and lay the sheet the way the estimate describes.
Walk through it together
When the sheet is down, I check the work with you, looking at the edges, the piers and the seams. We don't call it done until you've seen it.
Get a written vapor barrier estimate for your crawl space
We reply to every call and form within one business day and set a time for me to come out. The estimate is free and done at your property, with no pressure and no obligation. I'll look through the crawl space with you, explain the order the work should go in and then hand you a written estimate.
Questions before you book a vapor barrier
How much does vapor barrier installation cost in Redding?
I can't give you an honest figure until I've seen the crawl space, because the price comes mostly from its size, the thickness of sheet you pick and how much prep it needs first. A thicker sheet costs more up front and lasts longer, as the lifespan answer below shows, and your written estimate lays out the options so you can choose.
How long does a crawl space vapor barrier last?
One cost guide puts basic 6-mil plastic at 3 to 5 years, 12-mil reinforced at 15 to 20 years and 20-mil reinforced at 20 to 25 years or more, a mil being a thousandth of an inch of thickness. The guide lists tears as the usual failure for the thin sheet and calls the 20-mil the most durable, so for a crawl space anyone will ever crawl through to reach a pipe, I'd lean toward a reinforced sheet.
What happens before a vapor barrier goes in?
Problems under the house get sorted out before any plastic goes down. One cost guide's typical process checks for mold, structural damage, standing water and pests and deals with them before installation, and I work in that same order, since a new sheet over a wet or damaged crawl space just hides the trouble.
How do I know if my house in Redding has radon?
The only way to know your home's radon level is to test the air, according to the California Geological Survey. A vapor barrier helps minimize soil gases like radon, but it can't tell you your level, and the survey notes the U.S. EPA recommends against long-term exposure above 4 picocuries per liter.
What causes a crawl space vapor barrier to fail?
Most failures come from physical damage, like someone crawling through and tearing the sheet, from seam tape letting go or from mistakes when it went in, according to one cost guide. Ask any contractor how they'll seal the seams, since the same guide notes cheap tape dries out, and it says a quick look under the house once a year catches small problems before they get big.
Do I have to leave the house while a vapor barrier is installed?
Usually not, since the work happens under the house and the crew comes and goes through the crawl space access. I'll tell you at the estimate if anything we're using on your job means you should step out, and when you can be back inside.
Why Redding homeowners call A&M Redding Insulation Services for vapor barriers
I look and price it myself
I come out myself to go through the crawl space and write the estimate, and our installers do the work. Before we call it done I check it with you, so the person who described the coverage is the one who looks it over.
In business since 2020
I learned this trade on an insulation crew before starting this business, and we're best known for older homes that don't behave the way they should. If a new sheet isn't worth doing yet, I'll tell you that instead of selling it.
Licensed and fully insured in California
We're licensed and fully insured for the work we do under your house. In California, home improvement contractors are licensed by the Contractors State License Board, the state board that oversees this trade.
On this job the coverage is what counts, every bit of floor and every seam. We're based in Redding and work in the cities around it, so call (530) 232-9176 or send us a note and I'll come take a look.
Other work that often goes with a vapor barrier
Attic air sealing
Closing the gaps around lights, pipes and the hatch up top keeps the house from pulling air through itself.
Retrofit insulation
Adds insulation to an older house's existing walls and ceilings without tearing them open.
Book your crawl space vapor barrier estimate
Call (530) 232-9176 or use the form with your address, a rough size of the crawl space and whether its vents are open, so I show up ready to tell you what your job needs.
