Crawlspaces

[Ben]

I just finished one of my most hated homeowner duties: inspecting the crawlspace. I just loathe it. This is the first place where I have had a crawlspace, so I don't know how "normal" mine is.

Half the time I'm belly crawling rather than crawling crawling, and while I see there are what appears to be manways between the footing sections, where instead of 16"OC it's 32"OC, and the footing is cut down lower to the ground, some dummies decided those were easy places to run big ass ducting, so I mostly have to squeeze through the elevated 16" spaces to get from one side of the house to the other.

Then there's the dust, for which I always wear an N95 mask because I'm afraid it might contain dead mouse or who knows what. I have looked at crawlspace inspection websites where they show a space like mine, with the same plastic sheeting that I have, but they look like a freakin' clean room where you could eat off the floor. I don't know if that's more normal or if mine is more normal.

I inspect mine usually three times a year. For you guys with crawlspaces, how often are you in yours? I have no idea if I'm in mine a lot or not enough. I was mostly in it this time because my patio is slumping and I was concerned there might be some water intrusion or something affecting the foundation. Dry as a bone and looks shipshape at that corner of the crawlspace though, so that's a relief.

[Brad Johnson]

I got to do that as a kid, mostly because I was the only one who could fit in all the nooks and crannies. Always took a hoe with me because it was a rare day if there weren't also a couple of rattlesnakes there.

Brad

[RoadKingLarry]

I'm usually in mine a couple times a year. Mostly for inspections. Occasionally for minor repairs.
The SE corner where the access is located is the highest, where I can actually sit up comfortably between the 2X10 floor joists, tapering to belly crawling through the dug out passages I dug out 26 years ago on the NW corner. Getting old and stove up sucks.
Because of the shoulder problems I hadn't been under the house for almost 3 years. I've got a section of floor that has sunk a little and I was worried it was due to termites.
I got under there a month or so ago and found that it was just due to poor construction and bracing. A more or less easy fix except for the 40+ foot of belly crawling and dragging tools and material to the area I need to fix. Probably try to get that done before the end of the month.

[MechAg94]

My house is on a concrete slab.  Is this space between the house and the ground or something else?

[Brad Johnson]

Slab construction = no crawl space.

Pier and beam = crawl space.

Brad

[BobR]

Weird, just today I got a FB ad on my feed that was advertising crawl space encapsulation.

https://www.baycrawlspace.com/encapsulation-the-dos-and-donts-of-crawl-space-encapsulation/


bob

[MechAg94]

That link has a picture.  Thanks.  I doubt people put much in those spaces down here due to flooding potential.

I was told my great grandfather put quicklime or something like that under the house to keep stuff out.  I don't supposed people do anything similar to keep animals from nesting there beyond screening them in. 

I remember buying some extra smoke bombs for my boss at the fireworks stand so he could smoke out any animals that might get under his house.  He never used it partly due to the fire hazard. 

[Ben]

Weird, just today I got a FB ad on my feed that was advertising crawl space encapsulation.

https://www.baycrawlspace.com/encapsulation-the-dos-and-donts-of-crawl-space-encapsulation/


bob

I've gone back and forth on that. We have such low humidity here most of the year that I'm not sure it's worth it for me.

[Ben]

That link has a picture.  Thanks.  I doubt people put much in those spaces down here due to flooding potential.

That picture is an encapsulated crawlspace. Kind of that "eat off the floor" thing I mentioned earlier. I would not store anything in mine. Well, maybe bury some guns and ammo when the country goes full totalitarian. 

[Boomhauer]

I’ve always hated crawlspaces. Friend of mine does pest control and a lot of his business is putting in the vapor barrier and encapsulation work.

[zahc]

I go in mine all the time whenever I need to do work. I'll be running some coax cable this weekend. It sucks going down there but it's better than having a slab and having no possible way to modify anything.

[Nick1911]

Ugh, I hate them.

I've done work in them plenty, either for ductwork changes or on the rare occasion someone sticks their furnace down there.

My requirements for the house I'm in now were brick siding, a full basement, and single story.  I can maintain and work on everything and it's not a PITA.

[K Frame]

Never had to deal with one, thank God.

Full basements are common here on the East Coast.

When I make my retirement move to the area I'm looking at, though, then I'll likely have to deal with a crawl space.

[Ben]

I will say that doing a belly crawl over the entire area and slithering sideways up and over piers and through studs is a really good full body workout. It's just a crappy workout environment. 

[MillCreek]

My crawlspace is about four feet high and the dirt is covered with heavy duty plastic.  Reasonably clean, dry and critter-free.  I use it for storage, like the Christmas decorations.  The hatch is in the garage at floor level, so I have a stepladder permanently in place at the hatch so I can easily climb in and out.

[Kingcreek]

I have crawl space under part of my house but it’s 42” and concrete floor dry as a bone.
The house I spent most of youth in was 18-24” deep and gravel base, don’t know if there was plastic sheeting or not but my dad cussed it at least once a year. I remember helping him sweat a copper supply line repair that had been leaking for awhile before we discovered it. Lots of adult words that day laying on our backs and torch sweating at cross eyed end of his nose distance.

[Grandpa Shooter]

When I was in the home maintenance and remodel business I spent a lot of time in attics and crawlspaces.  I used to re-level mobile homes and repair plumbing under them.  I insulated attics and floors after site built homes were built.  That was 40 pounds ago.  I can't say I ever enjoyed it, but it kept the bills paid.  Attics and crawlspaces come with all kinds of fun stuff, from beer cans and cigarette buts, to cockroaches, snakes and spiders, oh and bats.

[Ben]

I have crawl space under part of my house but it’s 42” and concrete floor dry as a bone.

Mine is probably about that high, but there are pipes and stuff all over the place running under the joists that keep you from "regular crawling" more than a few feet, and I'm always worried about not paying attention and smacking into a waste pipe and breaking it open, so I just belly crawl everywhere. 

I have the heavy plastic sheeting all along the ground, but it's just plain dirt underneath and runs from dry to moist. I have one area where I have occasionally seen a small amount of water, but I know exactly where it is coming from - a weirdly laid out part of the roof that funnels water in the rain  enough to really saturate the ground there. I'll be working on the exterior ground in that area this Spring to improve the slope and drainage.

[WLJ]

Heard those Giant Parachuting Spiders like crawl spaces






 

[JTHunter]

Several years ago, I wrapped the distribution ducts with insulation.  That was the last time I was in my crawl as I am no longer "flexible enough" to do that crawling, especially not on my knees. 

[thebaldguy]

We have a crawlspace. It's the world's worst basement. We store stuff in plastic covered totes and I have an air rifle pellet trap at the far end.

[charby]

Once again, I'm glad I live in basement country.

[French G.]

My current one averages about 60”. I have more grief with my basement when it rains and catches my sump pump off guard leading to 12”+ flooding. Only happened twice in ten years but one cost me an hvac board.

In Newport News I had a great one that was 18” max and had construction and remodeling debris from 1920 on. I just assumed any wire was hot until proven otherwise. Dust and spiders like no other.

[Ben]

I have only necro'd the thread so that I can complain that I had to crawl through the crawlspace again. 

I just hate it so much. I was actually down there for nearly an hour just now because I wanted to do a careful check of all the wood for moisture or rot (all the wood appeared both solid and dry). I've done interweb searches to the point of driving myself crazy looking for acceptable humidity levels for crawlspaces. I have seen everything from "under 40%" to "up to 60%". The "under 40" sites seem to think your house will collapse if humidity gets above that, and the "up to 60" sites seem to care less, even stating that higher levels for shorter periods, depending on season and climate, are not a big deal.

Mine averages 50% (at least at the one spot where I have a meter). In the dead of Winter I have seen it in the high30s (but mostly 40s), and this year, when we had an unusually high humidity level for nearly three weeks in the Summer, I saw it get into the 70% range, even peaking around 75% at the hotter parts of the day. During that time, it averaged in the low 60s for over a month.

I keep my vents open  from ~APR-NOV and shut the rest of the year. I haven't figured out if that's good or bad. It's another area where there are a ton of opinions. I'm almost thinking of maybe keeping them closed for the full year this next go round to see what Summer humidity levels are then.

Anyways, I HATE CRAWLSAPCES! 

[K Frame]

Haven't you filled that thing with bodies yet?

Jeesh, get a move on!