Choosing a Material for Crawl Space

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Eugene10
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Hi Friends! I went into crawl space to make an observation of a condition of vapor barrier and I realized that it is in terrible state. It is some polyethylene sheeting with a lot of holes and it is very dirty, soiled with a lot of animal excrement, dirt, old trash, etc. So I decided to remove all from crawl space completely and make a new vapor barrier. Now I am in thoughts about a good material. Can you recommend anything? From my side I became interested in http://www.homedepot.com/p/Reach-Barrie ... 536782-_-N What do you think? Is it good for mobile home crawlspace vapor barrier?
1987Commodore
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Greg
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Are you talking about the vapor barrier that is attached to the bottom of the home, or a ground cover moisture barrier?

Commodore has the right link to what should be used on the bottom of the home. If you are doing a ground cover barrier, just use heavy plastic.

Greg
"If I can't fix it, I can screw it up so bad no one else can either."
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Eugene10
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Hi Guys! Thank you for your response. In my home I found no vapor barrier attached to the bottom of the home. So I think I am talking about a ground cover moisture barrier. Sorry for that confusion with definitions. And about heavy plastic - how many mil will be enough?
HouseMedic
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You could use something like this. http://www.crawlspacevaporbarrier.net/6 ... p_210.html

This shows a video of it.
http://youtu.be/MnLMW7sDr7M

Ron
1987Commodore
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For ground cover, 6 mil usually.
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Eugene10
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Thank you, guys. Also a couple of small questions: 1) how to fasten the sides of plastic sheeting and to what they should be attached? I have read some articles on Internet - they recommend to fasten to the walls. But I do not have walls in crawl space, only metal skirting. 2) What tape should be used for plastic film seams taping? Thank you in advance!
1987Commodore
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You would fasten the ground vapor barrier to the inside of the skirting, about 6" up. I wouldn't worry about taping the seams in the plastic, just overlap about 6". That is all I did, and it has been fine for the last 27 years. If you are putting down the plastic after the home is set, you will have to cut around the piers any how, so you will never get a perfect seal. Just do as best as you can, without stressing over it. As for tape, I have found that a metal foil faced tape used for sealing ducts, (not what you think of as duct tape,) holds best. I used it 27 years ago to wrap plastic and insulation around my drain line, and it's still there.
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Greg S
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I bury the plastic down along the back of the skirting. This allowes any water that might collect under the home, from say a water line leak, to drain out from under the home rather than creating a swimming pool..
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Eugene10
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Thank you, guys! If I want to fasten the barrier to the inside of skirting then what a technology should I use - screws, glue, planks or something else?
1987Commodore
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http://images.lowes.com/product/convert ... 8112lg.jpg
Something like this. It's a foil backed adhesive tape. Search at Lowes.com for foil tape.
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