In an unpaved crawl space, a vapor barrier over the exposed soil will help keep moisture from entering the house and damaging its wooden understructure. Install strips of polyethylene plastic, attaching the end of each strip to the wall about 2 inches above the floor using duct tape. Overlap the strips at least two feet. Tape the strips together at the point where the wall meets the floor.

If you have problems with crawl space moisture it’s explained in Section D and Appendix 5 of The Home Waterproofers Manual – Home Waterproofing A to Z. Remember: in the waterproofing business it’s “buyer beware”. Most salesmen get a percentage of the sale and don’t consider it their job to save you money. They charge as much as they can. If they see a problem that can be fixed at low-cost, they won’t mention it, but will only talk about “preventing serious damage” and try to frighten you into signing a big contract.

You can save thousands of dollars and many headaches by learning what is going on first. Often what looks like an expensive and serious problem may not be. Once the problem is explained, solving it is just common sense. I’ve used the knowledge I’ve put in The Home Waterproofers Manual – Home Waterproofing A to Z every day to fix water problems. It will work for you too.

But remember, when dealing with salesmen, in the waterproofing business it’s “buyer beware”. Most get a percentage of the sale and don’t consider it their job to save you money. They charge as much as they can. If they see a problem that can be fixed at low cost, or one that has a simple solution, they won’t mention it, but will only talk about “preventing serious damage” and try to scare you into signing a big contract.