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1960's Crawlspace dirt invasion. Help with next steps?
Just moved into a 1960's rambler with a cinderblock-wall crawlspace under part of the house. There was so much dirt inside we didn't even realize it had a cement floor. The crawlspace has been professionally cleaned out and remediated for water/mold. We removed the old foam insulation (fire hazard), which revealed that in one corner there were crumbling and missing cinder blocks and dirt/earth was pouring into the crawlspace. Looks like some red bricks are missing from the facade of the house (behind the cinder blocks) and the facade is just open to earth behind it. There is a poured concrete patio behind the problem corner with some large cracks and gaps in it that may have played a role (we have added concrete sealant here as a start). I can also see plant(tree?) roots in the earth that came into the space, so maybe the roots put pressure on things? We haven't had much rain since we cleaned it, so not sure if moisture is an issue, but we can see water pitting marks on the cement floor. I understand there are codes to meet (Minnesota) and vented/unvented determines the path forward. There are no vents to the exterior. There is a vent from the HVAC system that blows into this crawlspace. There may also have been an open vent in the floor above, acting as a return vent to make it a "conditioned crawlspace." (Since we also removed the floor/subfloor for water damage from a leak, I don't actually know.) Is this what my plan should look like? Exterior grading on the non-patio side & downspout extenders shore up the red bricks with what?? shore up the cinder block with fresh cinder block and ...mortar? seal gaps/cracks in the walls with concrete sealant insulate the rim joists insulate the walls (and floor?) w/ fireproof foam vapor barrier on the walls and floor (inside) replace subfloor+floor with a return vent to the livable area for "conditioned" status How bad is it if I don't bother with a sump pump & dehumidifier? There's no drainage and no electrical down there so those would push this job to the next $$$ level. Thanks for reading! submitted by /u/OrneryRegion615 [link] [comments]
| | Just moved into a 1960's rambler with a cinderblock-wall crawlspace under part of the house. There was so much dirt inside we didn't even realize it had a cement floor. The crawlspace has been professionally cleaned out and remediated for water/mold. We removed the old foam insulation (fire hazard), which revealed that in one corner there were crumbling and missing cinder blocks and dirt/earth was pouring into the crawlspace. Looks like some red bricks are missing from the facade of the house (behind the cinder blocks) and the facade is just open to earth behind it. There is a poured concrete patio behind the problem corner with some large cracks and gaps in it that may have played a role (we have added concrete sealant here as a start). I can also see plant(tree?) roots in the earth that came into the space, so maybe the roots put pressure on things? We haven't had much rain since we cleaned it, so not sure if moisture is an issue, but we can see water pitting marks on the cement floor. I understand there are codes to meet (Minnesota) and vented/unvented determines the path forward. There are no vents to the exterior. There is a vent from the HVAC system that blows into this crawlspace. There may also have been an open vent in the floor above, acting as a return vent to make it a "conditioned crawlspace." (Since we also removed the floor/subfloor for water damage from a leak, I don't actually know.) Is this what my plan should look like?
How bad is it if I don't bother with a sump pump & dehumidifier? There's no drainage and no electrical down there so those would push this job to the next $$$ level. Thanks for reading! [link] [comments] |
