Musty smell or damp soil under the house? We deal with the water first, then lay a plastic cover over the bare ground.
Vapor barrier installation in Lake Charles means laying plastic sheeting, such as polyethylene, over the bare soil in your crawl space, so less moisture rises from the wet ground into the space under your house.
Most calls start with something you notice. The floors feel cold, there's a musty smell, or the plastic under the house is torn, bunched up or missing. Soil under a raised house stays wet long after rain, and that moisture works up toward the framing and any insulation under the floor. A cover slows that down, but only if the space is set up for it.
The price moves with the size of your crawl space and how tight it is to work in, any leak or drainage problem that has to be fixed first, the weight of sheet you need, and whether we're repairing an old cover or laying a new one. The water repairs and our permit check with the office that covers your address set most of the schedule. I measure and write all of it down, so your estimate fits what's really there.
Three things shape the plan before any plastic goes down. That's whether water is already standing, what equipment lives under the house, and whether your crawl space stays vented or gets sealed.
If water is standing in the crawl space, it has to be removed and its source found and repaired before the cover goes down. Usually that's a leaking pipe overhead or groundwater coming in, so your plan may start with a pipe repair or a groundwater fix instead of plastic.
Plain plastic sheeting without reinforcement needs protecting wherever someone crawls in to service equipment, because knees and tools wear it through. Thicker, reinforced sheeting holds up better. If you've got ductwork, a unit or plumbing under the house, ask about the tougher sheet along those paths.
In a sealed crawl space, the seams and the spots where pipes or posts pass through the sheet get a durable sealant that's made to work with the plastic. That step belongs to the sealed option, so how your crawl space is set up changes what goes on your estimate.
Here's who does what, from the first call to the walk-through, so you know who's under your house and when.
Call (337) 474-1146 or send the form and tell us what you've noticed, like a musty smell, cold floors or torn plastic. We get back to you to set a time for me to come out.
I go into the crawl space, check where water drains, look for leaks, wet wood and wiring that needs attention, and measure. You get a written estimate built on what I found, and I show you why.
If you go ahead, we check permit needs with the office that covers your address. Then our crew does the work the estimate describes, water repairs first, with me or a lead installer on site.
I walk you through what we covered and point out any spots to keep an eye on. If anyone goes under later for plumbing or ductwork, ask them to stay on the reinforced paths so the sheet doesn't tear.
I start by looking at where rain goes once it gets under the house, because a ground cover only helps if water can't pool on top of it. A sheet with puddles sitting on it can do more harm than good. The cover also has to leave the ground's own drainage paths working, so if your crawl space gets wet, we plan the drainage along with the plastic.
Then our crew runs the sheet as far as the space allows, across the soil and up the walls and piers, so as little bare ground as possible is left showing. A cover only handles moisture from below. If rooms upstairs run hot or drafty, attic air sealing closes the gaps around lights, pipes and the hatch, and retrofit insulation adds insulation to an older house without starting over.
If the plastic down there is mostly whole and the ground under it is dry, we patch the tears, add sheet where it stops short and run it up the walls and piers.
When the old sheet is shredded, buried in debris or sitting in water, we fix the water problem first, pull the old plastic and lay new sheeting as far as the space allows.
We reply within one business day, and I come out to look at the crawl space and give you a free estimate on site, with no obligation. It helps to know whether your house is inside city limits or out in the parish, what flood zone it's in, and whether you've seen standing water under it.
(337) 474-1146Calcasieu Parish says very little of its land sits outside the 100 or 500-year flood plain, and homes along waterways carry the most risk. That's why the vented-or-sealed question in the FAQ below matters so much here. If your property is in Flood Zone A or AE, the city has specific remodeling guidelines that you and your contractor have to follow, so knowing your zone before the estimate helps.
We're based in Lake Charles and do the same work in Sulphur, Jennings, Orange, TX, Moss Bluff and Prien. Around here we mostly see raised houses with vented crawl spaces, old plastic that's torn or never reached the edges, and soil that stays damp long after a hard rain.
I learned this work on a municipal crew, where every job got written up and checked before anyone signed off. I started Lake Charles Insulation Company here in 2023 to work the same way. I come out and write your estimate myself, and if I find a leaking pipe, wet wood or wiring that needs a look, I show you and we plan around it before any plastic goes down.
Our crew does the work, with me or a lead installer on site. We're licensed and insured, and our promise is simple. Your satisfaction, guaranteed. To have your crawl space looked at, call (337) 474-1146 or fill out our estimate form.
If the upstairs stays hot or drafty after the floor is dry, sealing the gaps in the attic floor keeps cooled air from slipping out the top of the house.
When an older house came up short on insulation, retrofit work adds to what's in the walls, attic or floor without tearing the house apart.
We're based in Lake Charles and lay crawl space covers in the cities around it. These are the ones with their own page, and we work past them too, so call if yours isn't listed.
For most homes here, I'd keep the crawl space vented and put a cover over the soil. A closed crawl space isn't advisable in flood-prone areas because its walls slow drainage and drying after a flood. A ground cover with wall vents is a well-researched approach, and I'll talk it through for your house at the estimate.
Any standing water has to be dealt with first, as covered above, and stored items and debris have to come out so the sheet can reach every part of the crawl space. Those two things set most of the schedule. If a pipe or drainage repair is needed, it comes before the plastic does.
There's no blanket answer for this job, so we check with the office that covers your address before work starts. Calcasieu Parish requires a permit before any type of construction or remodeling project, and the city's Permit Center answers permit questions on building, electrical, mechanical or plumbing work at 337-491-1294. If your job needs one, we apply for it and keep you posted.
On a home improvement job worth more than $7,500 and up to $50,000, the bid and the work have to come from a home improvement registrant or a licensed contractor. That's a state licensing board rule, and it applies to whoever you hire, so ask about it before you sign anything.
Your price comes from your crawl space, so I give you a figure after I've measured it. Size and how tight the space is matter most, then any water or pipe repair that comes first, a reinforced sheet near equipment, and whether we repair the old cover or lay new. A sealed crawl space adds steps a vented one doesn't.
Plastic laid over a slow leak or a low spot just hides the problem, so call (337) 474-1146 or send the form and I'll find out what's down there before anything gets covered.
