Installing Post Jacks or Repairing Wood in Crawl Space? Do This First

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Before you begin any foundation repair or structural work in your crawl space—like installing post jacks or repairing wood beams—there’s one crucial step you must take first: remove the mold! 🦠 Mold growth in crawl spaces is a common issue that can weaken the wood structure and affect the long-term integrity of your foundation. 

Ever wonder why your crawl space repairs keep getting plagued by mold and moisture issues? Stick around because Michael Church from Crawl Space Ninja is about to reveal a critical mistake many contractors make that could save you thousands of dollars. Imagine investing in brand-new wood supports, only to watch them be compromised by mold due to overlooked moisture problems. Michael shares an eye-opening story from his early days, showing how failing to address mold and moisture before structural repairs led to disastrous and costly consequences.

You'll get practical advice on ensuring your crawl space is ready for structural support, especially if you're planning to add heavy features like a kitchen island. Michael stresses the importance of drying out existing wood and eliminating mold to avoid infecting new installations. This episode is a must-listen for any homeowner looking to safeguard their investment by addressing moisture and mold before diving into structural repairs. Michael's insights are invaluable for anyone wanting to maintain the integrity and longevity of their home.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 0 (00:00):
Michael Church, crawl Space Ninja.
We are continuing our CrawlSpace Misconception Series, and
today I want to talk aboutsomething that a lot of
contractors overlook, and thatis should you start structural
repair in the crawl space,sistering joys, putting in post
jacks before drying the wood andaddressing mold?
Many years ago I went to thishouse and we fixed the crawl

(00:21):
space, and then I had this ideato knock on the house next door
and introduce myself and tellthem that we did the work on the
house their neighbor's houseand so I knock on the door.
This nice couple answers thedoor.
They said oh yeah, we had somestructural issues taken care of
in our crawl space, but if youwant to go down there and look,
they were really kind and I knowknocking on a stranger's door

(00:41):
isn't really practiced today,but this was many years ago.
So I go in the crawl space and Ilook up and they had all this
wood sistered against nasty,moldy, disgusting wood.
And guess what happened to thatbrand new wood that they had
installed on that nasty, moldy,bad wood?
It started growing mold.
So we actually had to go in andwe had to cut out the new wood

(01:06):
that they installed as well asthe old wood because the company
that addressed the bouncingfloors and different things like
that did not dry the old woodout.
They did not address the mold.
They didn't put any kind ofprotectant on the wood to keep
it from growing new mold andinfecting the new wood.
So if you're looking to addressyour bouncing floors, you're

(01:28):
maybe putting an island in thekitchen.
You're putting some floor jackposts underneath there to
support that, because thatisland's going to be heavy.
Make sure that the wood isdried out and there's no mold on
that wood or you can becreating a huge problem in the
future wood, or you can becreating a huge problem in the

(01:48):
future and it was way more moneyto redo that project than it
was if they would have done itcorrectly the first time.
So dry and remove all the moldoff the wood before you address
any structural issues.
I'm Michael Church Crawl SpaceNinja.
We hope you make it a happy andblessed day and we'll see you
later.