Crawl space vapor barrier in Sparks NV - a liner that stays where we put it

Most people call us because the floors over the crawl space feel cold, the house smells musty, or someone went down for a pipe and came back up muddy. What moves the price is the size of the space, how many piers and pipes the plastic has to wrap around, how heavy a liner you pick, and whether you want a liner alone or a fully closed crawl space with crawl space insulation. The schedule mostly turns on water, because any water problem gets dealt with before plastic goes down, and on how much has to be hauled out first. I look at all of it in person at the estimate, whether you're in Sparks or anywhere across the Reno and Sparks area and the cities around it.

I start by finding where water is getting in, because a liner laid over a drainage problem just hides the puddle, and that gets fixed before any plastic goes down. Stored boxes and old debris come out next so the liner can cover every bit of the floor. Before anything gets sealed, I check any gas furnace or water heater down there and how it gets its fresh air, since tightening up a space around gas equipment without a plan isn't safe. Then our crew rolls out the liner, overlaps and seals the seams, runs it up the foundation walls, wraps the piers, and fastens it to the walls with mechanical fasteners as well as sealing it, because tape or glue alone can let go and leave the plastic slumped on the floor. If you're getting other bids, ask each crew how they hold the liner up.

A liner is one piece of keeping moisture out of a house. If you've got damp trouble somewhere besides the crawl space floor, our vapor barrier installation work covers walls and the other spots where moisture needs stopping. And if the floors still feel drafty once the crawl space is dry, the leak often starts up top, where attic air sealing closes the gaps that pull air up through the house.

Before work starts, we check with the city or county office for your address about a permit, because the City of Sparks building permits office says even small home improvement projects may require one. We tell you what the city asks for and take care of the permit if your job needs one. The city also points out that a contractor licensed by the State of Nevada isn't necessarily licensed in Sparks, so it's fair to ask any crew about both before you hire. If you'd rather do the work yourself, Nevada has an exemption for an owner improving a home they live in, not one they're selling or leasing out, so it won't cover a rental, and you apply to the state contractors board for it.

On jobs around Sparks we often find crawl spaces nobody has been in for years, especially under rentals, with old plastic torn up and a furnace or ductwork sitting right in the middle. That equipment decides whether a liner alone makes sense, and we see the same mix on jobs in Reno and Spanish Springs.