We will tell you if crawl Space Vapor Barrier Installation is not what your Hollywood crawl space actually needs. Doing this stage out of order is the most common reason the work has to be repeated.
Bare soil under the house is evaporating moisture into the space every day.
Vapor barrier on lowcountry and coastal plain ground
A barrier earns its keep faster around Hollywood than almost anywhere. With the water table close to the surface the soil underneath is damp more or less permanently, so an uncovered crawl space floor is evaporating into the space every day of the year.
Low ground and a long wet season change what this work has to withstand around Hollywood. Homes near Wadmalaw Sound in particular tend to need the drainage question answered as well, or the space simply returns to how it was.
Hollywood at a glance
| County | Charleston County |
|---|---|
| ZIP | 29449 |
| Elevation | about 30 ft |
| Region | Lowcountry and coastal plain |
Named water nearby
- Wadmalaw Sound (bay)
- Caw Caw Swamp (swamp)
- the Oyster House Creek (stream)
- the Church Creek (stream)
Signs you need this
- Bare soil anywhere on the crawl space floor
- Existing sheeting that is torn, bunched or not sealed at seams
- Barrier that stops short of the walls and piers
- Crawl space relative humidity holding above 60 percent
What the work involves
Included as standard on Hollywood jobs:
- Clearing and preparation of the crawl space floor
- Reinforced polyethylene barrier across the full soil area
- Overlapped and sealed seams
- Barrier carried up and sealed to walls and piers
Why it is worth dealing with now
The cost of this work does not stay flat. Every season a Hollywood crawl space stays wet moves more of the job from drying towards framing repair.
The full method and the step-by-step for this work is on the Crawl Space Vapor Barrier Installation page, and how it behaves across the state is on the Vapor barrier in South Carolina page.
Vapor barrier in Hollywood: common questions
Barrier or full encapsulation for a Hollywood home?
A barrier covers the ground and stops soil moisture. Encapsulation seals the walls and vents too and controls humidity directly. Which one your Charleston County property needs should follow a humidity reading, not a preference.
There is already plastic under my Hollywood house. Is that enough?
Often not. Most of what we find has been laid loose, has torn, or was never sealed at the seams and walls. Unsealed sheeting performs much closer to bare soil than to a finished barrier.
My house is near Wadmalaw Sound. Does that change anything?
It can. Being close to Wadmalaw Sound usually means a higher water table and a longer wet season under the floor, so drainage and a properly sealed barrier matter more here than they would further from it.
Does being close to the coast make this worse?
It raises the water table and lengthens the wet season, which is why homes near Wadmalaw Sound and the low ground around Hollywood tend to need drainage as well as a barrier.
Do you work outside Hollywood itself?
Yes. We cover Charleston County broadly, including Meggett, Ravenel and Wadmalaw Island, and the rest of the Lowcountry and coastal plain of South Carolina.
Will a barrier fix water that is already coming in?
No. A barrier manages soil moisture and vapor, not liquid water under pressure. If groundwater or surface runoff is entering the space, that needs drainage and a sump before a barrier will do its job.
Vapor barrier near Hollywood
We cover Hollywood and the surrounding part of Charleston County. The same service in nearby towns:
Other crawl space services in Hollywood
Crawl Space Water Removal in Hollywood
Standing water pumped and extracted from under the house, then the saturated material taken out.
Crawl Space Structural Drying in Hollywood
Joists, girders and subfloor dried back to a measured target with air movers and dehumidification.
Crawl Space Mold Remediation in Hollywood
Contained removal of mold-affected material, HEPA cleaning, and the moisture source shut off.
Crawl Space Drainage and Sump Pump Installation in Hollywood
Interior drainage to collect water, a sump and pump to lift it, and a discharge that takes it away.
Crawl Space Wood and Subfloor Repair in Hollywood
Rotted joists, girders, rim joists and subfloor sections repaired or replaced once the space is dry.
Or see everything we cover in our Hollywood service area, and how this service works across the state on the South Carolina page.
Crawl Space Vapor Barrier Installation in Hollywood
Call (888) 724-1354 and tell us your street and what the space looks like. We will tell you whether this is the right stage to start at.
Tell us what you are seeing under the house and we will tell you what it needs.