Drainage matting aids in the movement of water away from the foundation. In the absence of this feature, water can become trapped against the concrete or pool at the bottom. The dimpled design of drainage mats allows water to accumulate and flow away, creating an air gap.
How Drainage Matting Works
- Drainage matting has raised dimples that create a channel underneath your crawl space liner to help direct any pools of water to the drain.
- Crawl space drainage mats can be used on a wide range of surfaces, including concrete and soil. The predominant soil type in your location won’t affect the drainage properties of the drainage matting, so that’s one less thing to worry about.
- Drainage matting should not significantly increase the time it takes to install your crawl space vapor barrier. The drainage matting will be laid first, and then a liner will be installed on top of that. The installation of a drainage mat crawl space system is usually completed in less than a day.
Why Our Drainage Matting is Better Than The Competitors
- Prevents Standing Water: When it rains a lot, the soil around the foundation may get wet. Water from the soil below presses against the walls of the foundation and seeps in. Plumbing problems, like a leak or a broken pipe, can also let water into the crawl space. Drainage mats can help solve some of these problems.
- Prevents Mold Growth: Mold grows well in damp places. It eats dead plants and animals, like paper, wood, cardboard, and even bugs. Most crawl spaces are damp, have bugs or other pests, and have other organic materials on which mold can grow. This will get worse without drainage matting.
- Controlling Mold Growth: Mold and other allergies, as well as strong smells left behind by pests like rodents or bugs, can make the air in your home less healthy. People in the house who have asthma or other breathing problems can suffer. You can lessen the effect on your air quality by using drainage matting to stop water from making it easy for mold to grow.
Signs Your Home Needs Drainage Matting
Foundation Settlement
Settlement might cause moisture concerns that require drainage matting. Foundation settling can cause little and large cracks in the crawl space foundation. Minor wall fractures are common two to three years following construction. Any horizontal fractures indicate more than average settlement. Seeing this means your home needs drainage matting to prevent future troubles and foundation repair to fix the root problem.
Improper Drainage System
Without a suitable drainage system, overflowing gutters and downspouts cause foundation damage. Leaky or damaged pipes can let water into your crawl area. Water might drip into your crawlspace. Drainage matting ensures this happens in a limited, intentional way, preventing further damage.
Sloping Floors
Even if you reside in an older house, the presence of sagging flooring is never a good omen. It is frequently an indication of moisture problems and flooding, both of which may be prevented from occurring again once repairs have been made to your home by installing drainage matting.
FAQs
Drainage matting should not be left to deal with the problems in your crawl space on its own. Crawl space protection can be improved with the use of additional tools and equipment. Crawl space encapsulation is the process of insulating and sealing your crawl area. One method of encapsulating your crawl space is to use vapor barriers. Because of the vapor barriers utilized in the encapsulation process, moist exterior air cannot enter the crawl space and condense on frigid crawl space surfaces.
A vapor barrier is just one aspect of encapsulation. While it’s a critical component, it isn’t the only one a professional will use when they waterproof your property. A vapor barrier reduces the risk of groundwater evaporation in the crawl space. The crawl space floor is covered with a thick layer of plastic, which is overlapping at the joints. If vapor barriers are not properly sealed, moisture can enter the crawl space. This is why you need to hire an expert to do the job so that there are no gaps.
The difficulty of installing drainage matting is probably the most compelling argument to hire a professional instead. You probably have no idea how to do this, because you’ve never done it before. Matting is a potentially dangerous aspect of the installation if it isn’t cut to the correct size. Drainage matting must entirely cover the crawl space’s floor or it won’t be able to efficiently drain water away. For drainage mat installation, you should merely call in the experts. With drainage mats, there is no need to put off placing them in your home.
Call Us For A Free Inspection
Basement flooding can be prevented by installing below-floor drains installed by our experts at Basement Authority of West Virginia. Your basement’s damage will only become worse if you don’t pay heed to any early warning signs. For this reason, it’s critical that you keep a watch on your Parkersburg, Charleston, or Beckley home.
Because we’ve dealt with similar circumstances in West Virginia, you can rely on us when it comes to dealing with a wet basement. If you suspect that your basement has been flooded, please contact us. The foundation, crawl space, or concrete basement can be inspected for free and without commitment if you want to find any damage to your foundation or basement.
