Schedule A Consultation 845-445-8255

845-445-8255

Schedule A Consultation

Crawl Space Encapsulation Contractor Serving Westchester & North Jersey

A vented crawl space in this climate pulls humid summer air in to condense on the pipes and framing, and makes the floor above it the coldest surface in the house all winter. We seal it, insulate the walls and rim joist with closed-cell foam, line it, dry it and measure the result.

workspace_premiumBPI Accredited
ecoNYSERDA Participant
diversity_1Woman Owned, Family Run
verifiedServing NY & NJ since 2005
Finished crawl space encapsulation by Metro NY Insulation: closed-cell spray foam on the foundation walls and rim joist, sealed white vapor barrier across the floor and up the walls, columns wrapped

A complete encapsulation

Sealed · Insulated · Lined · Dried

Crawl space encapsulation seals the space under your house off from the ground and the outdoors and brings it inside the building envelope. The foundation vents and every penetration get closed and sealed, the walls and rim joist get insulated with closed-cell spray foam, a heavy vapor barrier goes down across the ground and up the walls, and a dehumidifier keeps the sealed space dry. The crawl space stops behaving like the outdoors and starts behaving like a basement.

Most of the companies that sell this in Westchester and Bergen County are waterproofers, and they treat it as a moisture job. We treat it as what it also is: the largest uninsulated, unsealed surface in the house. Done as energy work, by a BPI-accredited participating contractor, it is measured with a blower door before and after and it is eligible for NYSERDA Comfort Home incentives. Done as a moisture job, it is not.

What a Vented Crawl Space Does to Your House

Crawl spaces were vented on the theory that outside air would dry them out. In a Hudson Valley summer, outside air is the moisture.

water_drop

The musty smell and the mold

July air at 70% humidity comes through the vents and hits pipes, ducts and joists that are twenty degrees cooler. It condenses. Wet wood grows mold, the mold smell rises into the living room, and over enough summers the joists start to soften.

thermostat

Cold floors and the bill that goes with them

In January the vents let the crawl space drop toward outdoor temperature, and the floor above it becomes the coldest surface in the house. Warm air escaping through the attic pulls replacement air up from the crawl space, so the whole first floor is being fed from below.

hvac

Everything that lives down there

Ductwork, water lines, the air handler in a lot of split-levels and ranches. Ducts running through a crawl space that is outdoors in all but name lose conditioned air on every cycle, and the pipes are the ones that freeze.

Vapor Barrier, Waterproofing, or Encapsulation

Three different jobs get sold under the same name. Here is what each one actually includes and who should be doing it.

Vapor barrier onlyWaterproofingEncapsulation (insulation contractor)
What it isA sheet of plastic on the dirt.Drainage, sump pump, sealing against liquid water coming through the foundation.The space sealed, insulated, lined and dried, and brought inside the thermal envelope.
SolvesGround moisture, partly.Standing water and seepage. Essential if you have them.Humidity, condensation, mold, cold floors, energy loss, frozen pipes.
Vents and penetrationsLeft open.Usually left open.Closed and sealed. This is the step that changes the space.
Walls and rim joistUntouched.Untouched, or a thin liner.Closed-cell spray foam, which insulates and air seals in one pass and does not absorb moisture.
Humidity controlNone.Sometimes a dehumidifier.Dehumidifier sized to the space, or conditioned supply air where that is the better fit.
Verified howIt isn't.Visual.Blower door before and after; moisture readings in the framing.
NYSERDA Comfort HomeNo.Not through most waterproofers — the work has to be done by a BPI-accredited participating contractor.Yes — crawl space walls and floor are the scope that moves a project to Package B.

If water is coming in, call a waterproofer first and then call us. If the problem is damp air, a smell, cold floors and bills, encapsulation is the job, and it is the one we do. If the space is dry and the problem is only cold floors and failed batts, crawl space insulation on its own may be all it needs.

How We Encapsulate a Crawl Space

Usually one to two days on site, depending on the size of the space and what has to come out of it first.

1

Assess and measure

Moisture readings in the joists and sill, a look at drainage and grading, a blower door on the house. If there is liquid water, we tell you that needs a waterproofer before anything else.

2

Clear and prepare

Old fiberglass hanging from the joists comes out, along with debris and anything wet. Damaged or moldy material is removed and the space is left clean and bare.

3

Seal the vents and penetrations

Foundation vents are closed and sealed from inside. Every pipe, wire, duct and dryer vent through the walls and rim gets sealed individually.

4

Foam the walls and rim joist

Closed-cell spray foam on the foundation walls and across the rim joist bays. It insulates, air seals and acts as the vapor retarder in one layer, and it does not hold moisture the way batts do.

5

Line the ground

A heavy reinforced vapor barrier across the entire floor, seams taped, run up the walls and sealed to the foam, wrapped and sealed around every column and pipe.

6

Dry it and verify

A crawl space dehumidifier plumbed to a drain, set to hold the space in the 50% range. Then a second blower door reading, which goes in your file and on the NYSERDA paperwork we submit for you.

Crawl Spaces We Have Encapsulated

Our photos, from our jobs. The one at the top of the page is a finished encapsulation; these show the walls, the ductwork and the equipment along the way.

Closed-cell spray foam covering the foundation wall and rim joist of a crawl space in northern Westchester County
Northern Westchester. Foundation wall and rim joist foamed in one continuous layer, before the floor liner goes down.
Crawl space with spray foam on the walls and insulated flexible ductwork running through it, northern Westchester County
Same job. The ductwork that runs through this space was losing conditioned air to the outdoors on every cycle. Now it is inside the envelope.
Encapsulated crawl space with sealed vapor barrier, spray foam walls, and a crawl space dehumidifier installed among the ductwork
Dehumidifier in. Sealed liner, foamed walls, and the unit that keeps the space dry once there is no airflow to do it.
Crawl space encapsulation in progress showing vapor barrier and insulated foundation walls
Liner going in. Seams taped, run up the walls and sealed to the foam so the ground is closed off completely.

Encapsulation Is Energy Work — Which Is Why NYSERDA Pays for It

The ranches, split-levels and raised ranches across Westchester, Rockland and Bergen County were built on crawl spaces, and most of them still have the original vents open. We encapsulate crawl spaces in Yonkers, White Plains, Scarsdale, New Rochelle, Rye, Tarrytown, Chappaqua, Mount Kisco, Bedford, Yorktown and Cortlandt in Westchester; across Rockland, Orange and Dutchess; and in Bergen, Essex, Passaic and Hudson counties in New Jersey.

Metro NY Insulation is a NYSERDA participating contractor and BPI accredited. We file the paperwork. New York only — New Jersey homes go through Home Performance with ENERGY STAR, which has its own incentive structure, and we work in both states.

Westchester County, NY Rockland County, NY Orange County, NY Dutchess County, NY Bergen County, NJ Essex County, NJ Passaic County, NJ Hudson County, NJ

Comfort Home Package A

$2,500 — attic and rim joist

The rim joist in a crawl space is part of this. Sealing the vents and the rim is where every encapsulation starts.

Comfort Home Package B

$3,000 — adds walls or floor

Insulating the crawl space walls and the floor above them is the wall-and-floor scope that moves a project to Package B. We confirm which package your home falls under during the assessment.

Westchester bonus · through December 31, 2026

Up to $5,000 combined

Westchester homeowners add $2,000 as Con Edison customers, or $1,000 on other utilities, on top of their Comfort Home package. Con Edison's own Weather Ready program is closed; this adder is fulfilled by NYSERDA.

The Crawl Space Is the Bottom of the Envelope

Air that comes in below goes out above. The crawl space, the rim joist and the attic get assessed together, because sealing one end without the other is half a job.

foundation

Rim Joist Insulation

The band of framing on top of the crawl space wall. Foamed as part of every encapsulation, and its own job in a basement.

 roofing

Attic Air Sealing

The top of the stack effect that pulls crawl space air up through the house. Package A pairs it with the rim joist.

 menu_book

What Is Crawl Space Encapsulation?

The longer explainer: how vented crawl spaces came to be, and why the theory behind them fails in this climate.

 speed

Home Energy Assessment

The blower door and infrared pass that put a number on where the house is leaking before anything is sealed.

Crawl Space Encapsulation Questions

What does crawl space encapsulation include?add
A full encapsulation seals the crawl space off from the ground and the outdoors and brings it inside the house's thermal envelope. That means closing and sealing the foundation vents and every penetration, insulating the foundation walls and rim joist with closed-cell spray foam, laying a heavy sealed vapor barrier across the ground and up the walls and around the columns, and installing a dehumidifier sized for the space. A vapor barrier on its own is not an encapsulation.
Is crawl space encapsulation worth it in New York and New Jersey?add
In this climate, usually yes, and for two separate reasons. Summer air here is humid, and a vented crawl space pulls it in where it condenses on cold pipes, ducts and framing; that is where the musty smell, the mold and the wood rot come from. In winter the same vents make the floor above the crawl space the coldest surface in the house. Sealing and insulating the space fixes both, and the rooms above it are the ones that change the most.
What is the difference between a vapor barrier and encapsulation?add
A vapor barrier is a sheet of plastic on the dirt. It slows ground moisture but does nothing about the vents, the uninsulated walls or the humid air coming in from outside. Encapsulation seals the vents and penetrations, insulates the walls and rim joist, seals a heavier liner up the walls, and controls humidity with a dehumidifier. The liner is one part of the job, not the job.
Do I need a dehumidifier after encapsulation?add
In most cases, yes. Once the space is sealed there is no longer any airflow to carry moisture out, so whatever humidity is left, and whatever comes through the foundation, has to be removed mechanically. A crawl space dehumidifier drains to a condensate pump or floor drain and runs on its own. Some sealed crawl spaces can instead be conditioned with a small supply of house air; we recommend based on the space.
Does crawl space encapsulation qualify for NYSERDA incentives?add
Yes, when it is done by a NYSERDA participating contractor as part of an energy efficiency scope. Sealing and insulating the crawl space walls and the floor above them is the wall-and-floor work that moves a Comfort Home project from Package A ($2,500, attic and rim joist) to Package B ($3,000). Westchester homeowners can add $1,000 to $2,000 more through December 31, 2026 depending on their utility, up to $5,000 combined. Metro NY Insulation is BPI accredited and NYSERDA participating and files the application. New Jersey homes use the Home Performance with ENERGY STAR program instead.
Why hire an insulation contractor for crawl space encapsulation instead of a waterproofing company?add
Both can seal a crawl space. The difference is what the job is treated as. A waterproofing company treats it as a moisture problem, and most are not BPI-accredited or NYSERDA participating, so the work is not eligible for state incentives through them. An insulation contractor treats the crawl space as part of the building envelope: the walls get insulated, the rim joist gets sealed, the result is measured with a blower door, and the project qualifies for NYSERDA Comfort Home. If you also have standing water or a failing foundation, you need a waterproofer first; if the problem is humidity, cold floors and energy bills, this is the right trade.

Find Out What Your Crawl Space Is Doing

Moisture readings, a blower door test and a look at what is actually down there. If encapsulation is the answer, we will tell you what it covers and which NYSERDA package it falls under.

Schedule A Home Assessment With Our Insulation Experts