Moisture barriers · Marysville, WA
Moisture barriers for Marysville's delta soil
Ground near the Snohomish River delta stays wet for months. We replace thin or torn sheeting under Marysville homes with a sealed, reinforced barrier that keeps that moisture out.
- Thin builder plastic stopping short of the walls
- High winter water table on the flats
- Condensation on the underside of the subfloor
Moisture barriers for Marysville homes · Kent, WAMarysville homes
Moisture barriers built around Marysville houses
Marysville's newer homes went up quickly, and many crawl spaces were finished with the minimum: a single layer of thin plastic, loosely laid, stopping short of the foundation walls and patched with whatever was handy. On the hills, that can hold up for a while. On the lowlands near Ebey Slough and the delta, where the water table sits close to the surface in winter, it doesn't. Ground moisture rises around the edges, condensation builds up under the floor, and the subfloor and insulation slowly take on water. Fog that settles over the flats adds humid air through the crawl space vents.
We replace the old sheeting with a reinforced barrier laid across the entire crawl space, overlapped and taped at every seam and fastened to the foundation walls. Piers, posts and plumbing penetrations get sealed around. Where the ground is uneven or muddy, we prepare it first so the barrier lies flat and doesn't trap pockets of water. We also look at grading, downspouts and gutters, because on flat lots water often has nowhere to go but toward the house. For crawl spaces with persistent dampness, we'll discuss encapsulation as the next step. Photos show you the before and after, edge to edge.
- Thin builder plastic stopping short of the walls
- High winter water table on the flats
- Condensation on the underside of the subfloor
- Flat lots where runoff drains toward the house
Local conditions
What Marysville throws at attics and crawl spaces
The houses
Marysville has grown fast, and much of its housing is recent. Downtown and the older blocks near Ebey Slough hold modest homes from the early and middle 1900s, many on low crawl spaces. Post-war ramblers and 1970s split-levels spread out from there. The big wave came from the 1990s on, when Sunnyside, Whiskey Ridge, Getchell and Cedarcrest filled with two-story tract homes on crawl spaces, with blown-in attic insulation and flexible ducts in the attic or crawl space. Manufactured homes and older farmhouses remain on the edges of town.
The weather
Marysville sits at the north edge of the Snohomish River delta, with Ebey Slough, Quilceda Creek and Allen Creek running through low ground. The flats get fog and stay damp through winter, while homes on the hills to the east catch more wind. The area also sees convergence zone storms that drop heavy rain or snow in short bursts. Soil on the lowlands holds water well into spring.
The wildlife
Farm fields, sloughs and fresh construction edges surround many Marysville neighborhoods. Norway rats live along ditches, sloughs and farm buildings, and they move into new subdivisions as fields are cleared. Mice come indoors when crops are harvested and nights cool. Roof rats, squirrels and raccoons work the wooded ravines and hillsides.
Typical results
What moisture barriers looks like
BeforeAfterHow it works
Same crew, same standard, in Marysville
- 01
Inspect inside and out
- 02
Trace each water source
- 03
Fix the barrier and the vents
- 04
Get roof water away
- 05
Recheck and photos
FAQ
Moisture barriers in Marysville: FAQ
Still unsure? Call (800) 674-4933 and talk it through with us.
My crawl space already has a barrier. Why replace it?
If it's thin, torn, bunched up or stops short of the foundation walls, it's leaving a lot of ground exposed, and moisture rises through those gaps. A full replacement with a reinforced, sealed barrier covers the whole floor and stays in place. We photograph the current one so you can see its condition.
Does a vapor barrier help with crawl space smells?
Often, yes. Much of the musty smell in a crawl space comes from damp soil, wet insulation and organic debris. Cleaning out the debris and laying a sealed barrier stops most of that moisture. If rodents have been present, their mess needs to be cleaned first, since that's another common source of odor.
More in Marysville
Other services here
Other cities
Moisture barriers nearby
Free moisture barriers inspection in Marysville.
Book a free inspection. We'll photograph your attic and crawl space and walk you through what we find, before you decide anything.