It’s Snowing in Portland! What Happens When It Melts?

Crawl Space Flooding – Well, the snow has finally arrived in Portland and southwest Washington for 2025. As I write this, it is coming down in flurries, covering the New Leaf Crawl Space Solutions parking lot and beyond. By the time this storm passes, it is likely that we will have a couple of inches of snow in our yards and on our homes. So, what happens when it starts to melt? That is when our crew is most busy because the snow that melts around your home works its way through the ground near your foundation and, often times, finds itself pooling under your home — which can lead to Crawl Space Flooding.

How Water Gets Into Your Crawl Space

Water will usually find a way into your crawlspace if there is enough of it and certain factors exist. The most common entry point for water is the footer of your foundation. When water is pooling against your home and runs down the foundation, it will find that seam where the footer is located at the very bottom of your foundation and flow right in. It can also flow underneath the footer and rise up through hydrostatic pressure into the crawl space. These conditions are what typically cause Crawl Space Flooding in many homes around Portland and Vancouver.

How To Get Water Out Of A Crawl Space

The process for getting water out of a crawl space is simple to understand, but hard to do. Generally, this process is going to start with a sump pump. If the crawl space is really flooded, the first step is to crawl through the water and find the lowest point of the crawl space and start digging.

On our Portland and Vancouver homes that are flooded, we will usually dig a hole that is about 2 feet deep and one foot wide (I know, sounds fun, right?).

Once we have our hole, we will install a basin with holes in it and place a pump in the basin with a temporary hose that will discharge water out of a foundation screen into your yard or the street in front of your home. We then place fans down there and let it sit for a day or so. At this point, we have gotten rid of the water, but have not done anything to stop Crawl Space Flooding from happening again. That is where a drainage system comes in.

Learn more about preventing moisture and flooding issues in your crawl space from EPA’s moisture control guide.

New Leaf Crawl Space Solutions Drainage System

A drainage system is fairly simple to explain, but again, not so simple to install. Generally, it will consist of a sump pump at the lowest point of the crawlspace that is plumbed into your rain drains and the installation of a crawl space french drain that is sloped to the pump. These projects usually take our team of hard-working guys about 2 days to install. At the end of those projects, you will see a nice, clean, and dry crawl space with a system designed to stop Crawl Space Flooding from ever happening again.

If you are concerned about water in your crawl space or are already experiencing Crawl Space Flooding, we provide this service for free to our customers in Portland, Vancouver, and the surrounding areas. Please contact New Leaf Crawl Space Solutions today to schedule your free inspection and protect your home from future Crawl Space Flooding.