If it seems as though home maintenance takes up more of your time, you might be looking for longer-lasting alternatives. You can save both time and stress when you install a crawl space door. The door creates a barrier against many environmental issues that can damage your home’s foundation, frame, and systems.
Take a closer look at these five key benefits of installing a crawl space door.
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Protect Against Water Damage
One of the most significant issues homeowners face in protecting any type of foundation is water damage. This is a more critical concern with a crawl space due to its open entry point. Whether due to flooding or excessive soil moisture, water damage can affect the underside of your home in multiple ways.
For example, your foundation walls can erode faster as a result of moisture exposure. Additionally, your home’s wood frame may rot faster. Installing a crawl space door helps you eliminate or reduce the risks of water damage. You can prevent flooding with a high-quality PVC door and keep the soil beneath your home drier.
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Keep Pests From Damaging Your Home
Insects, rodents, and other pests represent significant crawl space hazards. Termites, carpenter ants, rats, and mice all gnaw at wood, drywall, and electrical wiring. Some eat these materials for nourishment. Other pests will destroy these materials to build nests or gain access to other parts of your home.
Rodents and insects carry diseases that they transmit through scratches, bites, and droppings. Even mild exposure can be enough to transmit diseases. Hantavirus, Zika virus, and rabies are some of the most common pest-to-human transmittable diseases.
Installing a crawl space door prevents access to a large majority of pests. Regular inspections and spraying keep other pests away.
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Maintain Better Energy Efficiency
Installing a crawl space door can help you retain heat in this part of your home. This is an important concern in all homes, but especially so with older homes.
Through the natural wear and tear that occurs over time, air leaks can develop in your home. Treated air that escapes to your crawl space will travel outside, making it harder for your HVAC system to maintain a consistent indoor temperature.
Closing off your crawl space with a durable PVC door keeps that treated air trapped in your crawl space. As a result, the indoor temperature throughout your entire home can remain more consistent. In addition to lowering your utility costs, fewer HVAC cycles can reduce the wear and tear damage the system suffers.
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Promote Better Indoor Air Quality
It’s easy to forget that poor home maintenance increases crawl space health risks to your family. A health hazard that starts in your crawl space can quickly spread to the rest of your home. These hazards can get spread to your living spaces through the air or via infected pests that bite or scratch the members of your household.
A common risk is the spread of fungal spores through your indoor air. When moisture and humidity create the perfect environment, mold and mildew will thrive in your crawl space. The release of spores that travel through your home can cause respiratory infections and other health conditions.
Installing a crawl space door is one of the easiest and most effective ways of preventing the spread of airborne contaminants. The door helps you maintain a dry and warm temperature in your crawl space, eliminating the conditions for fungal growth. As a result, you can enjoy cleaner indoor air throughout your entire home.
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Protect Against Liability Claims
As a homeowner, you know that you can be liable for injuries that occur on your property. While you may have liability coverage with your homeowners’ insurance policy, you’ll still want to minimize the likelihood of an accident on your property.
Closing off your crawl space is one way to address this issue. Children and pets will stay out of a crawl space when it’s more difficult to enter.
Additionally, you can lower your insurance premiums after installing a crawl space door. There will be a lower risk of injury claims, and you’ll protect your home from other types of damage. Many insurance companies reward their customers who rarely file claims. At the very least, avoiding claims can help you prevent premium increases.
Quality, Customizable Crawl Space Doors
When you install a customizable crawl space door from Cathmer Crawl Space Doors, your whole family can enjoy the benefits of a healthier and more secure home. Our high-quality doors are manufactured in both standard and customizable sizes. Shop today for a crawl space door that is perfect for your space.