Our house is over a crawl space. It was built in the late 50's or early 60's. Whats left of any moisture barrier is pretty much all bunched up and gone from work done to the plumbing etc. under the house. I want to rip it all out and put down a new moisture barrier. I've been told that I should put down lime underneath. I see conflicting answers if I just google search it. Any of ya'll have any experience with it? (Not sighting scripture but calling Straycat)?

I wouldn't put any lime under a house, if you ever have to crawl under a house with lime it's a pain. Put new poly under the house and check and see if you have enough ground vents. You can also buy automatic fans that mount on crawl door that can pull moisture out from under the house.

bad move my friend, I was having moisture issues, seems fans and vents are bad, it pulls in moisture. I spend $13000 on a encapsulation. no vents totally closed off. Humidity dropped from 70 percent to less than 30 percent under my house. System has dehumidifier, sump pump and antimicrobial poly barrier. with a temp gauge, with humidity gauge. 300 gr on here did his also.

Wow, serious subject for 1 am in the morning. All kidding aside, I don't understand how the lime is supposed to work to reduce moisture? Are we talking agricultural lime or hydrated lime? If agricultural lime only, I don't think it will do much good. After the lime absorbs x amount of moisture it will be saturated and any excess will still migrate from a state of high moisture to low moisture in search of equilibrium.

Maybe they are recommending the lime for being used as a bedding/ leveling material beneath the moisture barrier to reduce puncture of the moisture barrier?

I'd just put the moisture barrier down and go a few inches up the foundation. Encapsulation can void or downgrade any termite contract you have on the house because it makes it impossible to do a termite inspection.

Just put down the thick mil moisture barrier. Nature will take care of anything underneath. However, I would spray Boracare (ethylene glycol, aka -- uncolored anti-freeze) on the underside of your floorboards to prevent termites and other bugs, that is what they call a termite-bond and charge you out the ass for.

I worked for a water damage company, we dealt with a lot of busted sewer pipes in crawl spaces. The only time we recommended lime was when the individual didn't have the resources to hire us yet needed a quick fix. We would suggest the lime to help reduce the smell and eat away at any bacterias then cover with 4 mil plastic from Lowes. I really don't think the lime will do more than the plastic when it comes to moisture but lime is cheap so if it makes you feel better I don't think it would hurt anything to spread some out.

Encapsulation has nothing to do with termite inspection. The only thing covered is the ground and blocks, the wood floor must be exposed to reduce moisture. (Which means removable of insulation also) last time I checked Tuscaloosa termites don't eat concrete

I had an musty odor problem under my house (not a lot of moister ) I used lime covered with plastic now no odor. It worked for me.

How do you think the termites travel to get to the wood? Do they fly there? Do they magically appear there? Or do they build mud tubes up the hollow-block foundation to get to their food source?

New moisture barrier material and good ventilation gets my vote. I don't understand what the lime would do for ya, especially if you seal it over with moisture barrier anyway.

spray foam insulation

Did exactly the same with similar results years ago at the advice of my dad. Worked for me

Cooks told me the same thing.

I do termite inspections for a living and moisture control is a big factor in termite prevention. I think encapsulation is unnecessary, but rich folks sure do love bragging about it. If you dry it out too much, you can actually cause your floor joists to buckle. They need SOME moisture so I'd just do the moisture barrier for the whole thing and see if that works. It's the cheapest option also

This is why I put 2 layers of plastic under my house when we built it. Well, this problem and the fact that my sis in law had a new greenhouse plastic cover that was sent too small to fit her greenhouse. My top layer of plastic is white 6 mil and all one piece.