Vapor barrier installation in Santa Barbara CA - ground moisture kept below your floors
Musty air or cold floors over a dirt crawl space? We cover the ground with sturdy plastic so moisture stays below the sheet.
- Fully licensed and insured.
- Free in-person estimates.
- We reply within 1 business day.
Does your crawl space need a vapor barrier?
Vapor barrier installation in Santa Barbara means laying a sturdy polyethylene sheet, a heavy plastic, over the dirt under your house. It keeps ground moisture and soil gases in the crawl space, where they can't be pulled up into your rooms through gaps in and around the floor.
Maybe you've opened the crawl space hatch and found bare dirt, or old plastic that's torn and bunched up from years of people crawling over it. At Santa Barbara Insulation & Spray Foam, we cover crawl spaces in Santa Barbara and the cities around it, from Goleta and Montecito to Carpinteria and Ventura. The price comes down to the size of the floor, how much has to be cleared out first, whether you want a plain ground cover or a fully sealed crawl space, and whether water has to be dealt with before any plastic goes down. The schedule turns on those same things, plus a permit if your job needs one, and I'll lay all of it out in the plan I write up after I've seen the space.
How do you know your crawl space needs covering?
A musty smell indoors
An earthy, damp smell in the rooms over the crawl space usually means moisture is coming up off bare dirt. The longer it goes, the longer that damp sits on the wood and insulation under your floor.
Bare dirt or torn plastic
If you look through the hatch and see open soil, or a sheet with rips and gaps, the ground is breathing straight into the space under your house. A cover with holes in it lets moisture through wherever it's open.
Puddles or mud after rain
Standing water, wet soil or mud lines on the foundation walls point to a drainage problem. Plastic laid over that just hides the water, so it has to be handled first.
Work that often goes with it
Attic air sealing
Closing the leaks at the top of the house slows the draft that pulls air up from the crawl space in the first place.
Retrofit insulation
Once the ground is covered, it's a good time to bring an older house's walls or attic up to a sensible amount of insulation.
How we do vapor barrier installation
I start by laying out two plans side by side, a simple ground cover and a fully sealed crawl space, so you can weigh the bigger project against your budget before anything is ordered. Once you pick, our crew clears out debris so the plastic can reach every corner, rolls the polyethylene across the dirt and laps it up the walls and around the piers so there's no open soil at the edges. Where a tech crawls in to service your furnace or ducts, we lay a heavier sheet along that path, because a plain sheet wears through fast under knees and tools. On a sealed crawl space we also seal the seams and the spots where pipes and wires come through, with a sealant that suits the sheet, and we clean up on the way out.
Covering the ground is often only the bottom half of the fix. If the upstairs rooms feel drafty, attic air sealing closes the gaps that pull air up through the house, and if an older home is thin on insulation, retrofit insulation adds it without tearing out walls. I'll tell you on the first visit whether either one is worth doing now or can wait.
Ground cover over the dirt
This suits a vented crawl space where you want the ground moisture held down without a big project. It's plastic over the floor, lapped up the walls and piers, and it's the lower-cost choice.
Fully sealed crawl space
This seals the floor and the perimeter walls and adds a way to dry the space, such as a dehumidifier or a supply of conditioned air from the house. Kitchen, bath and dryer exhausts also have to end outside the crawl space, so it's a bigger job with a bigger budget.
Heavier sheet on service paths
Thicker, reinforced plastic holds up much better than a plain sheet. It makes sense anywhere someone crawls in to service equipment under your house.
Get both crawl space options priced for your house
Send the form and we'll reply within one business day to set up my visit. The estimate is free and on-site, with no pressure to book, and calling (805) 284-9538 works too.
Call (805) 284-9538Why Santa Barbara homeowners call us for crawl space plastic
I do the estimate myself
I come out for the first look and the estimate, our installers do the work, and I come back to walk the finished job with you. You deal with the same person at the start and the end, so nothing gets lost between the quote and the crawl space.
In business since 2017
I ran the schedule for a busy company and learned the trade beside installers in crawl spaces before we started this business in 2017. That's why every job starts with the order of the work, so nothing new goes down over a problem that should have been fixed first.
Licensed in California, insured
We're fully licensed and insured. California's Contractors State License Board lets an unlicensed person take only jobs up to $1,000 that need no permit and where they employ no one, so on anything bigger, ask whoever you hire for a license you can check with the board.
On a vapor barrier, the order is the job, so water gets handled before plastic and plastic before sealing. Call (805) 284-9538 or tell us about your crawl space to set up a visit.
What happens after you call about a vapor barrier?
Call or send the form
You call (805) 284-9538 or send the form, and we set a time for me to come out. Tell us if you know of any water under the house so I can look for it.
I look at the space
I crawl the space, measure the floor and note anything that has to be fixed first, like standing water or old torn plastic. You get a written plan with the ground cover and the sealed option side by side and a price for each.
We sort permits and book
Once you say yes, we check which office covers your address, apply for a permit if one is needed and set up any inspections. Then we book the work in the right order and tell you how it fits your schedule.
Install and walk-through
Our installers lay and seal the barrier and clean up as they go. Then I come back and walk the finished crawl space with you, hatch open, so you see exactly what's down there.
Common questions
Does every crawl space need a vapor barrier?
Yes, national building guidance says every crawl space should have a polyethylene ground cover. Without one, moisture and soil gases can be pulled up into your rooms through gaps in and around the floor, so any Santa Barbara house built over a crawl space is a candidate. A well-installed barrier also helps keep down soil gases such as radon.
Should I cover the floor or seal the whole crawl space?
Cover the floor if you want ground moisture held down at the lowest cost, and seal the whole crawl space if you're ready for a bigger project that adds a drying system and exhausts that vent outside. Any drainage problem gets fixed before a crawl space is sealed, so if water shows up after rain, that goes first in the plan and the budget. For a lot of houses a good floor cover is plenty, and sealing earns its cost when ducts or equipment live down there.
How much does a crawl space vapor barrier cost?
A basic crawl space vapor barrier, plastic over a dirt floor only, usually costs about $0.50 to $1.50 per square foot across the US. That's the typical market range, not our price, and a sealed crawl space costs more because it adds the walls, sealing, a drying system and exhaust work. I'll price your space once I've measured it and seen what has to be fixed first.
Do I need a permit for a vapor barrier in Santa Barbara?
You might, because the City of Santa Barbara says building permits are generally required whenever you alter, repair, replace or improve a building. The city's chief building official can exempt some minor work from permits, fees and inspections, but that starts with an application to the city. To ask about your project, call the Building & Safety Counter at (805) 564-5485 x4371 or stop by 630 Garden Street.
How long does a vapor barrier installation take?
It depends mostly on what has to happen before the plastic goes down, so a clear, dry crawl space with a simple floor cover is the quick case. A sealed crawl space, drainage work or a permit all add time, and I'll put the order and the schedule in your plan so nothing on work day is a surprise.
How do I get my crawl space ready for a vapor barrier?
Clear out stored boxes and loose debris so the plastic can cover the whole floor. If something down there is too heavy or awkward to move, tell us when you book and we'll plan around it.
Book a look at your crawl space
Call (805) 284-9538 or send the form with the rough size of your crawl space, whether it has vents and any water you've seen down there, and I'll come out already thinking about which option fits.