How to Install an EZ Breathe Ventilation System in Your Crawl Space

Posted by Andre & Erika Lacroix on

Maintaining healthy air quality inside your home often starts below your feet — in your crawl space. In this step-by-step guide, we walk you through installing an EZ Breathe Ventilation System, a simple yet powerful solution to exhaust stale, humid air from your crawl space while drawing in conditioned air from your living areas.

Whether you’re looking to combat moisture issues, prevent mold growth, or simply improve overall indoor air quality, installing an EZ Breathe system is an excellent investment.

Why Install an EZ Breathe System?

Traditional crawl spaces often suffer from trapped moisture and poor air circulation, leading to a host of problems including musty odors, mold, and even structural damage. The EZ Breathe system addresses these issues by:

  • Exhausting stale air from the crawl space

  • Pulling fresh, conditioned air from the home above

  • Reducing humidity levels automatically

  • Creating a healthier living environment

Tools & Materials You’ll Need

Before starting, gather the following:

  • Hacksaw

  • Precision screwdriver

  • Jigsaw

  • Utility knife

  • Paddle bit

  • Low-voltage wiring kit

  • Duct sealant

  • Cable staples

Step 1: Setting Up the Exhaust Base Unit

The base unit is the heart of the system, designed to expel humid air outside. Typically, you would use a 6-inch hole saw to cut an opening through the rim joist. However, if your crawl space already has an existing vent opening (like in our example), you can adapt it.

  • Cut a piece of plywood to fit the opening.

  • Screw it into the sill plate and seal it with removable caulk adhesive (CA).

  • Important: You want to prevent outside air from entering; only draw conditioned indoor air into the crawl space.

Once the opening is prepped:

  • Connect the top cone to the wider section of the chute using four screws.

  • Secure the chute against the wall to keep it stable.

  • Attach the bottom chute to the base unit with four screws.

Pro Tip: If the curved top of the cone doesn’t align perfectly with the duct, trim it with a hacksaw for a custom fit.

Step 2: Preparing and Sealing the Duct

Measure and cut the duct to the correct length, then:

  • Slide the duct over the top cone.

  • Use removable CA to seal the plywood and duct, allowing easier removal later if cleaning is necessary.

Step 3: Wiring the Intake Fans

The EZ Breathe system uses Dual Intake Fans to pull conditioned air from the living space down into the crawl space.

  • Connect the intake fan adapter into the side of the base unit.

  • Strip the low-voltage wires.

  • Connect the positive wire to the positive terminal using a precision screwdriver.

  • Secure the remaining wire.

When the base unit activates, the intake fans automatically turn on.

Step 4: Installing the Dual Intake Fans

To maximize airflow, install the intake fans on the opposite end of the crawl space from the base unit.

  • Face the fans upward, with the louvers directed toward the main area of the crawl space.

  • Mark the fan’s outline and its inner dimensions on the subfloor.

  • Drill up through the four corners (being careful not to pull carpet fibers) to mark your cut lines.

Use a wire hanger to puncture the carpet at the drill holes, then:

  • Cut out the carpet carefully with a utility knife.

  • Create openings with a paddle bit for your jigsaw.

  • Secure the fan with four screws.

Use cable staples to safely secure the low-voltage wire along the subfloor.

Step 5: Setting Humidity Controls

The EZ Breathe unit allows you to set a target humidity level between 20% and 60%.

For best performance:

  • Set the humidity dial to 20%.

  • Set the fan speed between low and medium.

This setting ensures continuous ventilation and optimal moisture control, keeping your crawl space dry and your home’s air clean.

Final Pro Tips

  • Always double-check that no outdoor air is entering the crawl space.

  • Make sure wiring connections are tight and secured properly.

Written by Andre & Erika Lacroix

We are a 2nd generation family owned and operated business that has been working in homes with basements and crawl spaces for over 40 years.  We have been waterproofing and sealing about 500 foundations a month during that time as the largest Waterproofing contractor in the Midwest with 15 locations servicing 8 states.

20 years ago we would seal a foundation and recommend a standard dehumidifier to address the additional water vapor (humidity in the air) inherently found in below grade environments, such as basements and crawlspaces.  Back then, dehumidifiers were the industry standard to help with this problem. However, many of our customers were looking to us as the “foundation expert”, asking…

“What else do you have? I really am not getting results with this messy, expensive dehumidifier. My foundation is dry, walls are dry, floor is dry, so why does it still smell and feel like a basement?” 

We needed to find something better. Our company’s core values include offering world class customer service to every customer, every time.   So, we challenged our Research and Development department to find a real solution for our customers to combat not only the moisture, but also the odors, pollutants and unhealthy environment our customers were concerned about. We found, tested and installed a ventilation product for a period of three years. We private labeled that product as the EZ Breathe Ventilation System. The feedback in those first three years from our customers, as well as our installation crews, did not live up to the standard of quality to be included in our waterproofing process that offered a life time warranty. Once again, we needed something better.

We valued not only the results, but what we were learning from our customers. So, we went back to the drawing board, took matters into our own hands and made quality improvements to that first generation ventilation unit.

Our own EZ Breathe Ventilation System was born…reengineered, redesigned and much improved! We quickly learned that our crews were thrilled with the quality improvements, ease of operation and installation, but more importantly, our waterproofing customers loved the new, improved EZ Breathe unit as well.

Their feedback told us the air in their basements and crawlspaces felt better, but their entire home was benefiting from their EZ Breathe as well. We received countless letters thanking us because their whole house felt different, less odors, fresher air upstairs too, family members were feeling better, needing less allergy medicine, husbands were no longer snoring, children were no longer coughing as much, the home and it’s family were living healthier lives!

It was time for us to move beyond simply offering this innovative technology to just our waterproofing customers. Our passion and commitment to helping people improve their indoor air environments is what drove us to incorporate EZ Breathe Ventilation Systems as an independent company in 2003. We strongly believe that homeowners everywhere deserve a healthy indoor air quality.

We have spent the last 20 years dedicated to learning about the relationship between our home and our health; indoor air quality, the home as a system, building science and how it relates to indoor air quality as well as the challenges our modern day practices pose to the quality of air we breathe in our homes.