On a Mc Bee job, crawl Space Vapor Barrier Installation follows from the inspection rather than preceding it — there is no point specifying this work before the source of the water is known.
Bare soil under the house is evaporating moisture into the space every day.
Vapor barrier on piedmont and upstate ground
On clay the ground under a Mc Bee house holds water long after rain, so the barrier is doing two jobs — stopping soil moisture coming up, and keeping the space off ground that stays wet for days at a time.
Around Mc Bee the damage tends to accumulate in steps, a little with each storm, rather than arriving all at once. By the time it is noticed upstairs it has usually been building for a while.
Mc Bee at a glance
| County | Chesterfield County |
|---|---|
| ZIP | 29101 |
| Elevation | about 472 ft |
| Region | Piedmont and Upstate |
Named water nearby
- Lake James (lake)
- the Little Lynches River (stream)
- Lake Robinson (reservoir)
- Kington Lake (reservoir)
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 Mc Bee 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 Mc Bee 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 Mc Bee: common questions
Will a barrier stop water that is already getting in?
No. A barrier manages soil moisture and vapor, not liquid water under pressure. If water is entering the space near Lake James, drainage comes first or the sheeting simply floats on it.
There is already plastic under my Mc Bee 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.
Is crawl space water damage covered by insurance?
It depends on the cause, not the address. A burst pipe in a Mc Bee home is commonly covered; groundwater, long-term seepage and flooding usually are not, and flood damage generally needs separate cover. Photograph everything first.
My house is on a slope. Does that make it worse?
Usually. Water landing uphill of a Mc Bee house travels along the clay to the foundation, so intercepting it uphill often does more than extra pump capacity underneath.
Will my Mc Bee crawl space dry out if I open the vents?
Usually not. For much of the year the air around Mc Bee is warmer and wetter than the crawl space, so opening it up deposits moisture on the cool joists instead of carrying it away.
I already have plastic down there. Is that enough?
Often not. Most of the sheeting we find has been laid loose, has torn, has pulled away from the walls or was never sealed at the seams. Unsealed, incomplete sheeting lets ground moisture track around and through it, and performs much closer to bare soil than to a finished barrier.
Vapor barrier near Mc Bee
We cover Mc Bee and the surrounding part of Chesterfield County. The same service in nearby towns:
Other crawl space services in Mc Bee
Crawl Space Water Removal in Mc Bee
Standing water pumped and extracted from under the house, then the saturated material taken out.
Crawl Space Structural Drying in Mc Bee
Joists, girders and subfloor dried back to a measured target with air movers and dehumidification.
Crawl Space Mold Remediation in Mc Bee
Contained removal of mold-affected material, HEPA cleaning, and the moisture source shut off.
Crawl Space Drainage and Sump Pump Installation in Mc Bee
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 Mc Bee
Rotted joists, girders, rim joists and subfloor sections repaired or replaced once the space is dry.
Or see everything we cover in our Mc Bee service area, and how this service works across the state on the South Carolina page.
Crawl Space Vapor Barrier Installation in Mc Bee
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.