Crawl space help in Headland

Headland is the largest city in Henry County, with 4,973 residents in 2020. It borders Dothan to the south, and U.S. 431 runs about 10 miles to the center of Dothan. Founded as "Head's Land" in 1871 and incorporated in 1884, the town keeps a classic square with the Spirit of the American Doughboy statue, erected in 1926.

Home of the Dothan soil

Here's a local curiosity: the Dothan soil series, mapped across the Southern Coastal Plain, has its official type location in Henry County at the Wiregrass agricultural research station on Alabama Highway 134, the site of Auburn University's Wiregrass Research and Extension Center in Headland. The USDA describes the soil as well drained at the surface but with plinthite beginning 24 to 60 inches down, where permeability slows. That doesn't mean every Headland lot is wet. It does mean a covered, sealed ground surface under the house is worth having.

Older homes around the square

A town this old has many homes built well before modern crawl space practices. Under those houses, expect brick piers, older framing lumber, and sometimes bare dirt with no ground cover. Adding piers under long spans and covering the ground are common first projects.

Permits

Ask the City of Headland what it requires before work starts inside city limits, and check with Henry County for rural addresses.

Services in Headland

• Crawl space encapsulationClose the vents, seal a liner over the ground and walls, and control humidity.
• Vapor barrier replacementNew ground cover for crawl spaces with torn, thin or missing plastic.
• Moisture control and dehumidifiersDehumidifiers, gutters, grading, interior drains and sump pumps.
• Sagging floor supportSupplemental piers, new beams and sistered joists under soft or sloping floors.
• Crawl space repairRotted sills and subfloor, ruined insulation, broken piers and storm damage.

Nearby areas

• Dothan
• Ozark
• Enterprise