We will tell you if crawl Space Vapor Barrier Installation is not what your Isle Of Palms 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 Isle Of Palms 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.
In Isle Of Palms the complication is the water table. It sits close enough to the surface that soil under a house can be saturated with nothing broken, so this work is usually dealing with moisture arriving from below rather than from a failure inside the house.
Isle Of Palms at a glance
| County | Charleston County |
|---|---|
| ZIP | 29451 |
| Elevation | about 0 ft |
| Region | Lowcountry and coastal plain |
Named water nearby
- the Cooper River (stream)
- Lake Woodlawn (lake)
- Lake Wackedaw (reservoir)
- Breach Inlet (bay)
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
On a Isle Of Palms job this covers:
- 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
A crawl space problem in Isle Of Palms is not self-limiting. The conditions that created it are still there, and they are still working.
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 Isle Of Palms: common questions
There is already plastic under my Isle Of Palms 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.
Barrier or full encapsulation for a Isle Of Palms 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.
What should I have ready when I call about my Isle Of Palms home?
Your street in Isle Of Palms, when you first noticed it, and what you can see or smell — standing water, a waterline on the piers, insulation hanging down, or a floor that has gone soft. Photographs help.
Do you work outside Isle Of Palms itself?
Yes. We cover Charleston County broadly, including Sullivans Island, Mount Pleasant and Charleston, and the rest of the Lowcountry and coastal plain of South Carolina.
Does being close to the coast make this worse?
It raises the water table and lengthens the wet season, which is why homes near the Cooper River and the low ground around Isle Of Palms tend to need drainage as well as a barrier.
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 Isle Of Palms
We cover Isle Of Palms and the surrounding part of Charleston County. The same service in nearby towns:
Other crawl space services in Isle Of Palms
Crawl Space Water Removal in Isle Of Palms
Standing water pumped and extracted from under the house, then the saturated material taken out.
Crawl Space Structural Drying in Isle Of Palms
Joists, girders and subfloor dried back to a measured target with air movers and dehumidification.
Crawl Space Mold Remediation in Isle Of Palms
Contained removal of mold-affected material, HEPA cleaning, and the moisture source shut off.
Crawl Space Drainage and Sump Pump Installation in Isle Of Palms
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 Isle Of Palms
Rotted joists, girders, rim joists and subfloor sections repaired or replaced once the space is dry.
Or see everything we cover in our Isle Of Palms service area, and how this service works across the state on the South Carolina page.
Crawl Space Vapor Barrier Installation in Isle Of Palms
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.