Healthy Basement Certificate
What is a Healthy Basement Certificate?
A Healthy Basement Certificate provides homeowners with the reassurance that their basement meets the necessary requirements that promotes a healthy indoor living environment. Air pollutants, excessive moisture, and water entering the basement can produce dangerous living conditions, which may lead to serious health risks. A Healthy Basement Certificate is verification that your basement has met all of the qualifications for each level of the Healthy Home Basement process.
What is a Healthy Crawl Space Certificate?
A Healthy Crawl Space Certificate says you can rest assured your home is healthy from the ground up. Since few owners want to crawl underneath their home, they don't realize the amount of moisture and mildew that could be seaping through the floor. Our process can give you the reassurance that the air will be cleaner and unnecessary moisture will not invade your home.
Why a Healthy Basement or Health Crawl Space Certificate?
After years in business, Reeds Waterproofing & Construction has seen all the heartaches of homeowners suffering from a wet, damp, and flooded basements and crawl spaces. Throughout the years there has been no standard for creating a healthy basement environment.
Grate Products LLC, a manufacturer and distributor of quality basement products, has established a standard designed to protect homeowners from the dangerous conditions that can exist in their basement. Reeds Waterproofing & Construction Basement, a Grate Products Certified Contractor, is leading the effort in providing their customers with specifications for what is needed for achieving a healthy basement and ultimately a healthy home.
When contractors perform work in your home, they should always adhere to a level of quality, which delivers expected results. In the basement and crawl space industry, there has not been a standard. When it gets busy and there is a demand for basement and crawl space services, many companies claim to be an expert without having the necessary experience, materials and proper training for providing homeowners with reliable and dependable solutions. How do homeowners know they will get their job (home improvements) done right? The Healthy Basement and Healthy Crawl Space Certificate is that standard for achieving a level of protection that all homeowners deserve.
Why would someone want to take care of their basement or crawl space?
Avoiding cleanup (shop vac) and reducing potential damage to a home are all good reasons why a person would take care of their basement and crawl space, but we now know that it is so much more than that. We've learned that people want to take of their basement and crawl space, because they know the health upstairs in their home will be much better. Moisture, dampness, and leaks in a basement and crawl space can create an unhealthy environment and through a natural occurrence of stack-effect, air is constantly rising from the basement or crawl space into the upper levels of the home. This bad air can introduce a wide range of toxins and soil gases into the home's living space. Studies have shown that people who occupy damp buildings are at an increased risk of health problems. The World Health Organization (WHO) published guidelines on indoor air quality reporting that occupants of damp or mouldy buildings, both private and public, have up to a 75% greater risk of respiratory symptoms and asthma. Studies have also established an association between indoor dampness with respiratory infections and disturbing the immune system. Many people take care of the basement not to just get rid of the nuisance, but rather to make their home healthy for themselves and their family.
Grate Products rewards customers with a Nationally Backed Warranty through the Healthy Basement Certificate & the Healthy Crawl Space Certificate process.
Our Nationally Backed Warranty is designed to protect the home owner. With a Healthy Basement or Healthy Crawl Space Certificate, your GP Contractor is covered by a National Backed Warranty from Grate Products LLC. We stand behind the GP Contractor in safeguarding any warranty issues so that the products and services provided will continue to promote a healthy basement environment. Qualifying installations once registered with Grate Products will be backed by our National Limited Transferable Warranty.
What customers typically don't know?
- A basement is really a hole in the ground and at some point it will leak. It like digging a hole at the beach and watching water seep in from below.
- A basement is not protected by building codes. Structural problems would exist if building codes protected basements due to the pressure of the water on the outside trying to come in.
- Any organic material such as cardboard, paper, and wood is a food source for mold and should not be stored in a basement that is not moisture controlled.
- Thinking a sump pump, battery back up pump, dehumidifier does not need maintaining.
- Over estimating the capability of a box store purchased dehumidifier. Most box store dehumidifiers (35 pint) will protect your entire basement. They are designed for a limited area.
- A lifetime warranty lasts as long as the company is in business.
- The air in the basement is constantly rising into the upper levels of the home through a natural occurrence called stack-effect.
- If your basement is not repaired properly, it can worsen the overall health of your home by allowing soil gases and toxins to enter the indoor living environment.
References:
http://www.euro.who.int/en/media-centre/sections/press-releases/2009/07/who-publishes-first-indoor-air-quality-guidelines-on-dampness-and-mould
http://www.euro.who.int/en/health-topics/environment-and-health/air-quality/publications/2009/who-guidelines-for-indoor-air-quality-dampness-and-mould
http://www.lung.org/healthy-air/home/resources/mold-and-dampness.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mold_health_issues
