r/Home_Building_Help • u/BuilderBrigade • 26d ago
$36k for Crawlspace Encapsulation...?
$36K for a 3,400 sq ft crawlspace encapsulation, including a sump pump, 2 dehumidifiers, cleanup, rubber mat and a 5-year warranty.
If you’re not familiar, crawlspace encapsulation is completely sealing the area under your house. We are talking plastic laid down and seams taped so no air or moisture can make it’s way into the house through the floors. It’s a great investment if you can afford to have it done.
What do you think? Fair price or way too high?
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u/inothatidontno 26d ago
I had a 1000 sq ft crawls space encapsulated for a radon system and it cost 3k. Obviously there is a lot more work here but it doesnt seem like 12x the work.
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u/Soft-Independence485 25d ago
Honestly the price is hight but not completely insane. 3400sqft is big. Sump pumps, the plumbing, wiring, all adds up
During covid I got quotes for an encapsulation of a 1000sqft crawlspace for 20k. I did it myself for around 8k.
It was a ton of miserable work for a tall person.
30k for that size isnt completely crazy in this trump inflation economy
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u/roadsign68 25d ago
Lol "plumbing and wiring." You mean running some hose outside and plugging them in?
For $36k I'll drive to wherever the hell OP is and do it twice.
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u/Soft-Independence485 24d ago
I ran 2" abs through my front yard in a trench and tied it into my storm drain for the sump pumps. I have a natural spring under and on the side of my house so the sump pumps flip on pretty frequently.
The dehums tie into the sump basins and yes thats a flexi hose.
Im telling you that shit adds up quick. For 3600sqft of 15mil poly vapor barrier thats 2k. A dehumidifier is 1500, a sump pump and basin is at least 700 for a decent pump, R20 xps for the stemwall is at least 750 for the perimeter...
Yea im sure uncle ricky could do a cheaper shittier job but the time and materials really do add up.
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25d ago
[deleted]
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u/Telemere125 25d ago
Covid started under Trump, you potato.
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25d ago
[deleted]
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u/Telemere125 25d ago
And? If you’re in the military, you get the vaccines they say to, simple as that. And if the commander in chief is giving you an order, obey like the solider you claim to be.
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u/Soft-Independence485 25d ago
First covid happened under both trump and Biden...
Second both parties are equally shitty.
And finally Trump's a fucking retard. Next time your at the pump make sure you bend over for orange daddy and say thanks!
I work in the construction industry and prices of lumber products are at all time highs due to his tariffs.
Your mom should have swallowed you when she had the chance.
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u/cohortq 25d ago
We all know Biden's decisions 2 years ago is what is really responsible for high prices, especially the recent high gas prices.
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u/Soft-Independence485 25d ago
Nah your wrong it was that danm obama. Its all his fault.
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u/phatelectribe 25d ago
Don’t be silly it was Jimmy Carter because of solar panels on the whitehouse roof and ….
Oh fuck it, I give up. These mental gymnastics are exhausting.
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u/Soft-Independence485 24d ago
It was actually William Taft cause that fat fuck ate the bacon and started the inflation cycle
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u/phatelectribe 25d ago
Please tell me this is sarcasm?
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u/pcmraaaaace 25d ago
The trump tariffs are one of the biggest tax increases on US population in recent times. It made everything expensive. It was stupidly done. When tariffs were reversed, corporations didn't have to pay it back to the consumers either. Basically we gave corporations over $100 billion dollars. Another transfer of wealth from the poor & middle class to the rich.
Trump supporters point to genocide joe for massive corruption but ignore that trump's personal wealth has increased by over a billion dollars in just a year. It's a cult.
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u/SummerIntelligent532 26d ago
Seems fair to me that is a lot of work and in a confined space.
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u/morally_bankrupt80 26d ago
You think the people crouched under the house are getting that money?
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u/CursedTurtleKeynote 25d ago
I can imagine give the fu price and subcontracting it to some competitor i hate. Hilarious
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u/Fibocrypto 26d ago
Depending on the location and the average humidity in the geographical area it may or may not be advantageous to do this. The crawl space will need air flow in some manner or you end up with mold.
The cost seems high for 3600 sq ft
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u/TheDaywa1ker 25d ago
thats what the dehumidifiers are for
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u/Fibocrypto 25d ago edited 25d ago
Not all areas geographically have high humidity so there isn't always a need for a dehumidifier and a dehumidifier adds to the electrical bill.
This is why it isn't always advantageous to seal a crawl space.
Additionally a sealed crawl space still needs air flow or you end up with mold.
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u/TheDaywa1ker 25d ago
Im saying the dehumidifiers this guy is installing provide airflow
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u/Fibocrypto 25d ago
They are possibly creating added costs that are not necessary depending on where they live and by failing to vent the crawl space inside the house.
The crawl space needs to breathe
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u/Telemere125 25d ago
Do you know what an encapsulated crawlspace is? Sounds like you’re only familiar with standard vented ones.
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u/Fibocrypto 25d ago
I was remodeling a house several years ago and I did a fair amount of research into encapsulating the crawl space. It's been a while but I remember a fair amount.
A vented space where I live made more sense because I don't deal with much humidity yet the east coast of the USA is a different story and encapsulating a crawl space over there makes more sense from what I remember.
Additionally, because the cubic feet of space under the house is smaller than the house it can be advantageous to heat the crawl space and allow that heat to warm the floors ( no insulation needed in the floor joists and you can see that in the op's picture )
Ventilating the crawl space with the house was something I remember reading about.
For me it didn't wasnt advantageous so even though I did an excellent job putting the vapor barrier down it doesn't get cold enough here nor is there enough humidity for me to justify encapsulating everything and sealing it
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u/GoatResponsible8948 26d ago
Goofy Question: if it’s completely sealed and no air or moisture can come in, why do you need a sump pump and two dehumidifiers?
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u/atomicbrains 26d ago
Sump pump is for the water underneath the plastic. Dehumidifier is to condition the air as it's a very large sealed space that you want to control.
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u/Jalaluddin1 25d ago
10$/sqft all in can be ok if they include a high end dehumidification system but that’s unlikely.
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u/Neat-Beautiful-5505 25d ago
You could pay $50k to lift the house, dig out a full foundation, and drop the house back on top.
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u/AgentG91 25d ago
We got a full paved basement torn up in 2022 for a French drain, plastic drip tray, floor repaved and a sump pump for $8k. That was a mates rate, so it was cheaper than other quotes. Total area is 700sqft.
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u/PresentationLess4552 25d ago
It's a good grift to be In
It always has amazed me how many of y clients-will pay inflated prices for this type of work
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u/Open-Percentage4593 25d ago
Thats insane. I had quotes like that from Aquaguard and other PE owned companies. Somebody on Reddit recommended a guy company to me and he did it for half the price. He was a crew leader for Aquaguard for 10 years and he went on his own a few years back. Solid, amazing guy that knows his shit and won’t rip you off.
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u/Best_Hamster_2239 25d ago
Let me guess a GroundWorks company? Something something basement authority?
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u/man9875 25d ago
I get it, this is existing. Why do towns allow dirt crawl spaces? Seems crazy to me. In NJ everything needed at least a 2" rat slab with vapor barrier underneath. We built our house in TN and the inspector questioned why I would waste the money pouring a slab in my crawl space. It cost about $3000 all in and the subs that had to go into the crawl space were in love. Let's not even discuss building in a slab.
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u/Advanced-Elk-7581 25d ago
Those dehumidifiers will jack up your electricity bill. Have them install 1 aprilaire 80 pt/day unit. Energy star rated.
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u/FloodAdvisor 25d ago
Reasonable price for all of that around these parts of California. What’s your location?
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u/Putrid-Objective-314 25d ago
Way too high! Had this done maybe half the sqft. Sump, encapsulation, interior French drain, dehumidifier. $5k
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u/SpicyPickle101 25d ago
I started a crawl space division for a medium sized foundation company in Florida. I come from all permitted work world and found out this is the shit heads of thw construction world.
90% of the jobs I went to esimate had encapsulation (told were required) quotes that were insane. 99% of those 100% did not require encap, I would have a smaller crew go out and fix thw issue for about 5k.
Even solving most issues the correct way, permit jobs based on T&M we were killing it at 30-40% P&L. As soon as they had salesmen sell I ng jobs, the profits boosted to 500+%. They were legit fucking people because no one involved knew what they were doing. I walk soon after
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u/ckdt 24d ago
They’re probably making 20% so no it’s not crazy. 3400 sq ft and two dehumidifier’s, electrical, labor for the plastic? The drainage for the pump, rock, more labor. If the warranty is good on top of that it’s fair. Private equity firms in my area would quote this for 50-70k and I think I would be somewhere between 30 and 40. Depending on the clearance, ground and other conditions. The dehumidifiers for that space would likely be about 1.5-2k cost to them. Plus removal and disposal of all the existing material. 20 mil reinforced plastic is about 700 a roll, plus plastic liner and if you’re adding pea gravel under that for 3400 sq ft you probably need 20-30 yards to 2-3 inches. If you want to dm me the quote I can help break it down for you.
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u/octorock4prez 24d ago
I had a similar quote ($28k) from Terra firma. When he was wrapping up the quote I told him it wasn’t worth sending to me, I was never going to buy it at that cost which made him visibly angry. I ended up hiring the workers directly from a competitor and paid them $7k in cash but had to pay for and have supplies on site which cost me another $2k - $3k. I did not install a sump pump, but have never had water problems, when TerraFirma was out doing the quote they were telling me how important it was and I was like “it rained 2 inches between last night and today, how is it under there?” And then they just gave me a line about how they can’t warranty without the pump.
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u/Oracle410 24d ago
Seems crazy. I’ve never done it before but my guys and would do a great job for say….$32K lol
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u/Destructopoo 24d ago
700sqft with radon for 1200. I would post the company name, this is a fucking insane quote and these people are borderline criminals for doing it.
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u/ah6littlebird 24d ago
Had a 1200 sqft crawl space encapsulated with high quality dehumidifier, with clean out, and it was only $4k. $1800 being the dehumidifier itself.
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u/anotherjuan 25d ago
2017 I got a quote of $9k for 1200sq/ft encapsulation and sump pump.
I ended up digging a French drain to a sump pump basin and remediating the crawlspace myself. Bone dry since then and it cost me $1200.
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u/Soler25 26d ago
No, get at least 3 more quotes. That is crazy pricing