Taken on its own, crawl Space Vapor Barrier Installation treats one part of the problem. Taken in order, it is the part that makes the rest hold. That is how we schedule it on Nichols jobs.
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 Nichols 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 Nichols 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.
Nichols at a glance
| County | Horry County |
|---|---|
| ZIP | 29581 |
| Elevation | about 56 ft |
| Region | Lowcountry and coastal plain |
Named water nearby
- the Old River (lake)
- Fishtrap Lake (lake)
- Round Hole Lake (lake)
- Pitch Lake (lake)
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
What we do on a Nichols job of this kind:
- 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
Nothing about a damp Nichols crawl space improves on its own. The space is enclosed, shaded and over soil — all three work against it drying out.
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 Nichols: common questions
Barrier or full encapsulation for a Nichols home?
A barrier covers the ground and stops soil moisture. Encapsulation seals the walls and vents too and controls humidity directly. Which one your Horry County property needs should follow a humidity reading, not a preference.
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 the Old River, drainage comes first or the sheeting simply floats on it.
Do you cover all of Nichols?
Yes — Nichols and the surrounding part of Horry County, including the 29581 area. We also work in nearby Mullins, Lake View and Fork.
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 Old River and the low ground around Nichols tend to need drainage as well as a barrier.
Does storm flooding reach crawl spaces around Nichols?
Yes, and often with nothing visibly broken. After a tropical system the usual picture in Horry County is a saturated crawl space where the water came up through the ground rather than out of a pipe.
What is the difference between a vapor barrier and encapsulation?
A vapor barrier covers the soil and stops ground moisture evaporating into the space. Encapsulation goes further — ground, walls and usually the vents are sealed and the space is brought inside the building envelope, normally with a dehumidifier to control humidity directly. Encapsulation does more and costs more.
Vapor barrier near Nichols
We cover Nichols and the surrounding part of Horry County. The same service in nearby towns:
Other crawl space services in Nichols
Crawl Space Water Removal in Nichols
Standing water pumped and extracted from under the house, then the saturated material taken out.
Crawl Space Structural Drying in Nichols
Joists, girders and subfloor dried back to a measured target with air movers and dehumidification.
Crawl Space Mold Remediation in Nichols
Contained removal of mold-affected material, HEPA cleaning, and the moisture source shut off.
Crawl Space Drainage and Sump Pump Installation in Nichols
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 Nichols
Rotted joists, girders, rim joists and subfloor sections repaired or replaced once the space is dry.
Or see everything we cover in our Nichols service area, and how this service works across the state on the South Carolina page.
Crawl Space Vapor Barrier Installation in Nichols
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.