Latest Discussions : Basement & Foundation

05:51PM | 08/11/03

Member Since: 08/10/03
2 lifetime posts

Crawl Space

HELP!!! We live in a cement block house, with
a crawl space. The floor joices, etc...had to be replaced from the bathroom to the front of the house. I noticed that the ventilation spaces where all blocked off. Now that I have removed the insulation and blocks to let air circulate, I noticed that the one's in the bedroom have been boarded over with only about 1/4 inch opening and with no screen to keep the critters out. (And they are cominging in, yuck.) It is heated by oil and they have used one the ventilation spaces to run the oil into the house. Of course I don't know what I am doing but I have thought about drilling some holes in the wood and then using cement nails to attach the screen on the outside of the cement block. And then maybe makeing some kind of wood thingy(?) with insulation to lay up against it in the winter. I have also noticed that the addition to the house(it's a very old house) does not have any ventilation space area openings for the crawl space. Any suggestions? Also what is ground gases, how do you detect it and how do you prevent it?
Thanks,
AnnaEva

devildog

04:20AM | 09/05/03

Member Since: 09/16/02
250 lifetime posts

It sounds like you still have it mostly closed. I was told by a house inspector to close one of my houses completly off (the crawl space) and run a dehumidifier. He told me a crawl space is like a basement. Close it off and dry it out so the wood doesn't get humidity and rot. He said you can also cut holes in a couple spots in the duct work to blow heat or A/C down there. The heat will warm the floor in the winter and act as a dehumidifier in the winter if you have A/C. If you do any of this you will want to spread plastic down there. It comes in a roll and is measured in mils. Go to the local home center and tell them what you are doing and they will point you in the right direction.
Good luck.

AnnaEva

02:50PM | 09/05/03

Member Since: 08/10/03
2 lifetime posts

DevilDog,
Thanks for the advice. Sorry if I sound a little (more than a little) brain dead, but where should the dehumidifier be placed. In the crawl space? Or inside the house?
Thanks
AnnaEva

devildog

05:10AM | 09/08/03

Member Since: 09/16/02
250 lifetime posts

That's why we're all here to learn more or help others learn more. I'm here more for the learning part. I just seem to have run into a lot of this with other houses.

The inspector told me to put the dehumidifier in the crawl space. Keep in mind this is only if you close off the entire crawl space. By closing off I mean building a woody thing to put in the window wells. Or you could but foam insulation (about 1" thick) and cut it to size.

If you go the dehum route the object is to keep all the outside air out and just dehum the air that is down there.

As far as ground gases. Radon is the big one that I have heard talked about. Here's a website to check that out. http://www.epa.gov/iaq/radon/
You can order a kit from them or go to your hardware or home center and buy one. To test for radon isn't expensive. You just hang a cardboard packet from the ceiling in the lowest living level of the house for 10 days and then mail the packet in. They will send you back the test results.

Do you have any water down in your crawl space?

Do you have plastic spread?