Crawlspace damp concern

Post Reply | Watch this Post

My crawlspace is bone dry everywhere in winter rainy season in No. CA except in two places. My main question is, I have absolutly no standing water but I do have about 8 feet of damp to the touch soil in my crawlspace along the cement poured foundation wall that only extends about a foot into the crawl near one side of the house that gets the most winddriven rain. That side of the house does have a french drain outside the house under concrete that leads to an operating sump. Someone told me that the reason it is damp is because the first part of the french drain is not as low as the last part that leads to the pit which is bone dry, but the first part is damp. Another tiny area on a complete different side of the house has only a 1 foot long damp area (no standing water) in the crawl against the cement foundation and again only extends into the crawl a half a foot. That area has a french drain outside too but right where the 1 foot of damp is is where the french drain starts because there is a wood deck that never had the french drain extended under. So, my question, is should I do something to insure my crawl stays bone dry everywhere or is this okay to have a few small areas against the cement foundation that are damp during winter and drys come summer? Could I put gravel along the foundation in the crawl where these areas are damp areas are which might help by not have damp soil against it?