Ada County, Idaho
Crawl space repair in Kuna
Kuna has grown fast, and a lot of the new homes went in on old farm ground near canals and laterals. Indian Creek runs through town and is fed by the New York Canal during irrigation season, so the creek is up in summer and much lower in winter.
That seasonal swing is the pattern we look for here. If your crawl space is wet in summer and dry in winter, it’s probably not a plumbing leak.
What we run into in Kuna
Seasonal water
Groundwater that shows up after the canals open in spring and goes away after they shut off in fall.
Newer homes, thin plastic
Builder barriers that were never sealed or fastened, often already damaged.
Sump pumps
Where water comes up from below, a sump pump with a sensible discharge is usually the fix.
A recent Kuna job
[A real Kuna job: neighborhood, what you found, what you did, one photo]Why it’s dry in March and wet in August.
From roughly April to October the canals run full for irrigation. In parts of Kuna, that pushes the water table up, and it comes into the crawl space from underneath, not through the walls.
Exact dates vary by irrigation district and by year. So does how much it affects a given street.
What that means for you: a crawl space that looks fine at a spring inspection can have standing water by midsummer. If you put a new barrier down without handling that, the water ends up trapped under the plastic.
If yours is wet in summer and dry in winter, it’s probably groundwater, not a leak. That’s the first thing we check. Water removal and sump pumps
What we do in Kuna
Selling a Kuna home and the inspector flagged the crawl space? Here’s how home-sale repairs work.
Water removal and sump pumps
Pump it out, find where it comes from, and give it a permanent way out.
Call when: Standing water, wet dirt, or a pump that runs all summer.
Vapor barrier replacement
Pull the old plastic, fix what’s under it, and put down a barrier that’s sealed and fastened.
Call when: Torn, thin, or missing plastic, or an inspector’s note about the barrier.
Crawl space encapsulation
Sealed liner on the ground and walls, vents closed, and the air dried.
Call when: Repeat moisture, ductwork in the crawl space, or you want it done once.
Mold remediation
Clean and treat the framing, then fix whatever kept it wet.
Call when: Dark staining or growth on joists and subfloor, or a musty smell.
Crawl space insulation
New insulation under the floor or on the walls, with old, wet, or damaged insulation pulled out first.
Call when: Cold floors, no insulation at all, or batts hanging down, wet, or torn up by rodents.
