Humid air meets cool crawlspace surfaces and condenses — all summer. Add clay soil drainage and canopy shade, and untreated crawlspaces grow mold, rot joists, and invite the wood-destroying insects your inspector flags.
Start basic: ground vapor barrier, functioning vents or sealed-and-conditioned design (pick a strategy, not both), downspouts extended away, grading sloped out. Step up: dehumidifier with a condensate pump. Full answer: encapsulation — a real capital item that pays at sale in this market.
Twice a year with a flashlight: standing water, vapor-barrier gaps, duct condensation, joist staining, and insect mud tubes. Ten minutes of crawling beats five figures of sistered joists.
Georgia is termite country; keep a bond active and treat wood-to-soil contact as forbidden. Encapsulation does not replace termite protection.
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