Bare dirt with nothing over it
Plenty of older houses have nothing but dirt under the floor, and that ground keeps giving off moisture into the space right below the rooms you live in.
Crawl space vapor barrier in Hesperia CA - a ground cover that stays in place
Bare, damp dirt under your house? We check where the water comes from, then cover the crawl space ground with plastic that stays put.
- Licensed and fully insured.
- Free quotes on site.
- Expect a reply within 1 business day.
What a crawl space vapor barrier does
A crawl space vapor barrier is plastic sheeting laid over the bare ground under your house, and in Hesperia we put it down to keep ground moisture and soil gases from coming up into your home.
Most of these calls start with cold floors or a repair person who came out from under the house and said the dirt looks damp. What moves the price is the size of the crawl space, how many piers and pipes we have to fit around, how much has to come out first and whether you need tougher plastic near equipment. The schedule mostly turns on how easy it is to get in and whether drainage or watering problems have to be sorted before we lay anything. I look at it myself and give you your own figure on site.
We're licensed and fully insured, which matters on a job like this because California only lets someone without a contractor's license take small jobs under its $1,000 limit, and only when the work needs no permit and they hire no one to help.
I come out and look myself
I'm the one who goes in, looks at the space and writes the estimate, so the person pricing your job is the person who actually saw what's under there.
Our own crew does the install
Our own crew lays the plastic, and I check the work before we leave, so you're not handing the job to strangers. Satisfaction guaranteed on every job.
Straight answers since 2013
I've run this business in Hesperia since 2013, and if your crawl space is dry and the old cover is still doing its job, I'll tell you it can wait.
How we lay a crawl space cover
Plastic on the ground won't stop water running in from the yard, so before we lay anything I look at how the dirt slopes around the house, where the downspouts drain and how the yard gets watered. If sprinklers are soaking the foundation or the ground tips toward the house, I'll tell you, because otherwise the new cover just sits in a puddle. We also lay it so the drainage under the house keeps working the way it was built to.
Once the space is clear, we pull out any old torn plastic and cover the whole floor, with the sheets overlapping at the seams. Depending on the space, we either run the plastic up the walls and piers and fasten it, or stake it down along the edges so it stays where we put it. Where someone has to crawl to reach equipment like ducts or water lines, we use tougher plastic, because plain sheeting doesn't hold up long under knees and tools.
A crawl space cover is one kind of vapor barrier installation, and we put barriers in other parts of a house too. If the rooms are drafty as well, I'll usually look at the attic, because air leaking out through gaps up there pulls air up from below, and attic air sealing closes those gaps.
When a crawl space cover makes sense
Old plastic that's torn or bunched
A cover that's ripped, shoved into the corners or buried under junk isn't doing much, so we pull out what's failed and cover the whole floor again.
A damp smell you can't trace
When the house smells damp and nothing upstairs explains it, the crawl space is the first place I look, before you spend money on anything in the rooms above.
Getting ready to insulate below
If you're planning to insulate the crawl space, the ground cover goes in first, because insulation laid over damp dirt just hides the problem instead of fixing it.
Get a free crawl space estimate
Send the form and we'll reply within one business day to set a time. I'll come out, look at the crawl space myself and give you a free estimate on site, with no obligation.
No obligation to book
The estimate is free and you don't owe us anything for it, so if you'd rather fix the drainage yourself first, that's fine by me.
Have the access clear
Make sure we can get to the crawl space opening, because I'll want to go in and see the ground, the piers and any equipment down there.
Tell us about water trouble
If you've seen standing water, a wet patch after the sprinklers run or a downspout that dumps by the house, jot it down so I know where to look first.
Crawl space vapor barrier layout examples
These example photos show ground cover layouts, overlapped seams and edges run up walls or staked down, so you can point to what you'd like.
Crawl space vapor barrier questions
Questions we hear from Hesperia homeowners about covering a crawl space, from price and vents to permits and radon.
How much does a crawl space vapor barrier cost in Hesperia?
Across the US, installing a crawl space vapor barrier usually runs about $1,200 to $4,000 per job, and that's a national figure, not our price. Where yours lands depends on what I find under your house, mostly size and prep. We do estimates in Hesperia, Victorville, Apple Valley, Phelan and the cities around it.
Do I need a vapor barrier if my crawl space has vents?
Yes, national building guidance says the plastic ground cover should go in whether your crawl space is vented or not. The vents don't change what goes on the ground, so a Hesperia house gets the same cover either way. In vented crawl spaces the water usually gets in from the yard, which is why I check drainage first.
Who gets the permit for crawl space work in Hesperia?
In Hesperia, only the owner, the owner's licensed contractor or an authorized agent can pull a building permit, and when a job needs one, we handle it and set up the inspections. The city's permit list names work like decks and room additions, not vapor barriers, so ask Hesperia's Building & Safety Division, which issues permits and does the field inspections.
How do I find out my home's radon level in Hesperia?
The only way to know your home's radon level is to test it, because radon maps are only advisory and can't show what's inside one house. A ground cover helps keep soil gases from coming up into the house, but it doesn't tell you your number, so a test is still worth doing.
What should I do before the crew comes to lay a vapor barrier?
Clear out whatever's stored in the crawl space and any junk lying around, so the cover can go over the whole floor. That goes for a new cover or a repair of an old one. If something's too heavy or too tight to move, tell me at the estimate and we'll plan for it.
Other work that goes with a crawl space cover
Book a look under your house
Call (760) 713-8598 any day from 7 AM to 11 PM, or send the form, and I'll tell you what needs doing now.