Metairie homeowner thought his moisture problems were solved
Like many property owners in the humid South, Bruce W. of Georgia discovered that the subflooring in his Louisiana rental property had been infiltrated by crawlspace moisture. The result? The floors of the Metairie cottage were buckling, cupping, and rotting from the bottom up.
He did what any property owner would do under the circumstances: he tore out the rotten flooring and replaced it with beautiful new hardwood floors. With the old, damaged wood gone, Bruce felt like the cottage had a fresh start.
However, within six years, the new floors had begun warping. Bruce realized that replacing the hardwood hadn’t solved the problem; it had only disguised it. The moisture that had damaged his previous floors had never been properly dealt with, which meant that the problem was bound to recur.
This posed a particular conundrum for an out-of-state property owner. Bruce didn’t have the means to oversee a solution himself from across the country. He needed to find a contractor he could trust to provide him with an honest assessment and a permanent solution to his moisture problem.
While looking for the right team to do the job, Bruce came across hundreds of positive reviews for Sunlight Contractors. One call was enough to convince Bruce that the moisture remediation experts at Sunlight were equipped to resolve his crawlspace catastrophe once and for all.
A moisture-damage solution from a Louisiana flooring expert
Sunlight Contractors began Bruce’s job in the same way they begin every job: with a thorough examination of the situation. The contractors took readings throughout Bruce’s crawlspace to determine the extent of the problem, revealing the expected high levels of moisture. They also took three mold samples, which they sent to PRO-LAB® for next day reports. The team updated Bruce in Georgia, sharing all that they’d discovered and offering a solution to remediate the moisture penetration and the mold infiltration.
With Bruce’s consent, Sunlight’s licensed project manager and experienced four-man crew began taking the necessary steps to put an end to crawl space damage permanently. They laid out heavy gauge plastic in the crawlspace to prevent moisture from the perpetually waterlogged soil from penetrating the subfloor. They cold fogged the EPA-certified MoldSTAT on the entire subfloor and all wooden members to eliminate mold that had invaded the moisture-rich environment.
The Next Steps
Next, the contractors set up commercial air movers to pull moisture from the air and thoroughly dry out the area beneath Bruce’s crawlspace. The crew returned daily to move the fans around, take moisture readings, and keep the indirect heater fueled in order to dry the area faster. They kept Bruce updated on new discoveries and potential pitfalls the entire time, which Bruce appreciated since he wasn’t able to be on location himself.
The crew followed up with two heavy coats of Sherwin William water blocker primer and finisher. This proprietary paint pulls more moisture out of the wood, ensuring that all of the elements most susceptible to mold and rot will be entirely dry before further work is done. After coating the wood with this revolutionary product, the crew reset their commercial air movers and took one more swipe at the existing moisture. This commitment to getting the job done right is one of the many qualities that Sunlight Contractors clients like Bruce appreciate.
Once the crawl space was moisture-free, the crew installed Gaco Western 183m closed cell spray foam at a thickness of 2” on the subfloor, covering all wood members. The spray foam application was conducted by Sunlight’s master spray foam installer along with his crew of pros. Closed cell foam quickly expands, enveloping pipes, wires, and cross-bridging, rendering the subfloor water impermeable.
This moisture-resistance is particularly important in a southern Louisiana crawl space where damp earth leeches its moisture into the air and invades treated and untreated wood alike, causing rot, mold, and even termite infestation. Closed cell spray foam’s impenetrable nature makes it the best solution to subflooring at the mercy of southern Louisiana’s humidity.
The crew got Bruce’s crawlspace in shape, but they didn’t stop there. They also got his damaged flooring sorted out. Where the flooring had begun to buckle, they dried it out, sanded it, and stained it to match the undamaged floorboards.
If they see a problem, they call
From moisture and mold assessments to finished hardwood floors, the crew at Sunlight Contractors worked to make sure that Bruce won’t have the same problem in six years. The pioneering spray foam insulation will prevent future moisture damage, and it’ll also help to lower Bruce’s utility costs. Closed cell spray foam has the highest R-value on the market, and when it’s applied to crawl spaces, it helps to eliminate the stack effect that causes so much wasted energy.
How impressed was Bruce with the work that Sunlight Contractors did? He’s got the crew working on roof repairs now!
“They did a great job on the floor,” he said, “Their level of communication was impressive. They provided constant updates across the country the entire time, so there were no surprises. I can say that more than any contractor I’ve worked with before: Sunlight Contractors goes above and beyond. If they see a problem, they call.”