Musty smell, damp floors or water under the house? We fix the water first, then cover the ground so moisture stays down.
A crawl space vapor barrier in Lake Charles is heavy plastic sheeting laid over the dirt under your house, so the moisture coming off damp soil stays down instead of rising into the crawl space and the floors above it.
Most people call us because of what they notice upstairs. The house smells musty after rain, the floors feel cold or damp, or the AC tech came out from under the house and mentioned water. Bare dirt under a raised house gives off moisture all the time, and in a vented crawl space it rises right into the framing, which is what a ground cover is there to stop.
The price turns on how big the crawl space is, how low it is to work in, how much junk or old insulation has to come out first, and whether a leak needs fixing before any plastic goes down. Choosing a plain ground cover or a fully sealed crawl space moves it the most. The schedule mostly waits on that water repair and the permit check, and the written estimate spells out both.
One rule to know before you hire anyone. In Louisiana, a home improvement job over $7,500 and up to $50,000 has to be bid or done by a registered home improvement contractor or a licensed contractor, so ask whoever quotes you which one they are.
Laying plastic is the easy part. These are the things under your house that decide whether the cover actually works, and they're what I'm looking for when I crawl in to measure.
Shutting the foundation vents and calling the crawl space sealed can trap more moisture than it stops. It can also turn deadly if a gas water heater or furnace down there depends on that open air to vent, because closing it off can push fumes back into the house. Before we talk about sealing anything, I check what burns fuel under your floor.
If water from the roof or yard runs under the house and pools on top of the cover, the plastic just gives it a place to sit and evaporate into the crawl space. So I look at where your gutters drain and which way the ground slopes, and we sort that out with you before covering anything.
Plenty of crawl spaces have floor insulation that's sagging, soaked or full of droppings. Putting new plastic under that leaves the smell and the moisture right where they were. If it has to come out, I say so in the estimate and we plan the insulation removal first, so the clean cover isn't sitting under the old problem.
Here's how a crawl space vapor barrier job runs with us, from your first call to the walk-through at the end. Nothing goes in until you've seen what I found.
Call (337) 474-1146 or fill out the form on this page. Tell us what you're noticing, like a smell, damp floors or water under the house, and we'll set a time for me to come out.
I go under the house, measure, check for standing water, leaks, wet wood and wiring that needs a look, and write down what I find. Then you get a written estimate based on what's really there.
If you go ahead, we check permit needs with the city or parish office that covers your address. Our crew then does the work the estimate describes, with me or a lead installer on site.
When the plastic is down, we walk you through what we did and what we found. Keep stored items off the cover afterward, and let us know if a repair under the house tears it.
Water comes first. If there's standing water under your house, we clear it out and track down where it's coming from before any plastic goes down. Usually that's a leaking pipe or water getting in from outside, and covering it just hides the problem while the wood stays wet. Once the source is fixed, the cover has dry ground to lie on.
The sheeting depends on who goes under the house. Where a plumber or HVAC tech has to crawl to a water heater, ducts or a unit, we use tougher sheeting so it holds up to knees and tools. Thin plastic tears in those spots, and a torn cover lets moisture right back up. Where nobody goes, standard sheeting usually does the job.
A crawl space cover handles the ground. If moisture is getting into your walls or another part of the house, our vapor barrier installation work covers those spots. And because a house tends to pull air up from below and let it out the top, attic air sealing, closing the gaps around lights, pipes and the attic hatch, is often worth doing alongside it.
We cover the soil and leave your foundation vents working. It costs less and it's simpler, and for most raised homes around here it's what I recommend, given the flood exposure covered below.
We run the plastic up the walls, close the vents and treat the crawl space like part of the house. It costs more, needs a check of any gas equipment down there and suits higher, drier lots best.
We reply within one business day, and the on-site estimate is free with no obligation. Once you send the form, we set a time, I come out and look over the crawl space myself, and you get a written estimate based on what I find.
(337) 474-1146Start with the permit question. Calcasieu Parish requires permits before any construction or remodeling project, and the city's Permit Center answers permit questions on building, electrical, mechanical and plumbing work at 337-491-1294. That list doesn't name crawl space vapor barriers, so we check with the city or parish office that covers your address before we start. If your job needs a permit, we apply for it and keep you posted.
Your flood zone matters just as much. The city asks owners to know their flood zone even before a simple remodel, and homes in Zone A or AE have guidelines that owners or contractors must follow. Very little of the parish sits outside the 100- or 500-year flood plain. In Special Flood Hazard Areas, crawl spaces must have flood openings that meet National Flood Insurance Program rules, so we lay the cover around them and leave them working.
We're based in Lake Charles and do the same work in the cities around it, including Sulphur and Moss Bluff. Most of what we see is raised houses with open foundation vents, bare dirt underneath and ductwork or a water heater sharing the space, which is why the vented or sealed choice gets made house by house.
I learned this trade on a municipal crew, where every job got written up and checked before anyone signed off. I started Lake Charles Insulation Company in 2023, and three years in, I still come out to look at your crawl space and write the estimate myself. Our crew does the work, with me or a lead installer on site.
What I care about most is catching problems before they get covered up. If I see a leak, wet wood or wiring that needs a look, I point it out, show you, and we plan around it before any plastic goes down. We're licensed and insured. Your satisfaction, guaranteed.
If something under your house has you wondering, call (337) 474-1146 or send the form on this page, and I'll come take a look. We pick up Monday through Friday from 8 AM to 9 PM, and Saturday and Sunday from 6 AM to 9 PM.
When damp shows up in walls or rooms above and not just under the floor, a barrier in those spots keeps it out there too.
Closing the gaps up top can cut the drafts that pull damp crawl space air up through your house.
We're based in Lake Charles and work in the cities around it, including Sulphur, Jennings and Orange, TX, plus areas like Moss Bluff and Prien. Find your city below.
Full crawl space encapsulation in Louisiana usually runs about $4,500 to $8,500 per home. That's the going rate statewide for sealing the whole space, not a plain ground cover in a vented crawl space, which is a smaller job. Your own number comes from the written estimate after I've been under the house.
Usually not. University extension guidance for Louisiana says a closed crawl space isn't advisable in flood-prone areas, because in a flood its walls slow drainage and drying, and floodwater contaminants and mold can reach the air inside your house. For most homes here, I'd put down a ground cover and keep the vents working.
It is wherever people crawl through. Thicker, reinforced polyethylene holds up better than unreinforced sheeting, which needs protecting anywhere workers reach equipment for service. If a water heater, ducts or an HVAC unit sits under your house, that's where the sturdier plastic pays off.
Clear out anything stored under the house, along with loose boards and debris, so the plastic can cover the ground completely. If you know where a shutoff, cleanout or piece of equipment sits, tell us, and keep pets away from the crawl space door on work day.
Usually you can stay home, because laying plastic sheeting involves no spray or fumes. How long we're under there turns on the crawl space's size and height and whether a leak gets fixed first, and I'll lay that out in the estimate.
Call (337) 474-1146 or send the form with your flood zone, any standing water and the equipment under the house, so I show up knowing what to check.
