*
I live in Florida in a 60 year old house. During the summer months, we get a tremendous amount of rain and all of the rain in the neighborhood flows towards my lot. As a result, the ground under the house is wet during the summer and remains damp throughout the rest of the year. My oak floors buckle and I don’t know what other problems this is causing. I’ve cut additional vents to the crawl space but this hasn’t helped. I’m considering installing a fan in one of the vents to increase the air circulation. Does anyone have any experience with this? Should be directed to blow fresh air into the crawl space or should it be the other way around? How about a vapor barrier installed under the flooring? Would this help and if so, what type? Any suggestions will be appreciated.
Discussion Forum
Discussion Forum
Up Next
Video Shorts
Featured Story
The recipe for linoleum hasn't changed much in nearly 170 years, yet it's still one of the greenest floors money can buy.
Featured Video
How to Install Exterior Window TrimHighlights
"I have learned so much thanks to the searchable articles on the FHB website. I can confidently say that I expect to be a life-long subscriber." - M.K.
Replies
*
Hi-I live in the northwest.Here we are required by code to cover the ground and up the foundation walls with 6 mil poly.If you have more than one strip,overlap at least 6".Hope this helps.BL
i I
*
Had a customer here in NW Ohio who had to dig in a sump crock to eliminate standing water in his crawl. The sump sent it to the storm sewer, not just out into the yard. If there's no water in the low spots....
The poly should help control evaporation up into your floor. You'll want to stop that moisture at ground level.
Don't know much about power venting your crawl, but I would think if you expel the moist air down there, you'll probably be sucking in more moist air. Just a thought.
*
Several years ago i built an addition on to my house, as part of the work apiece of duct had to be extended to heat and cool the new space. The duct man left the new addition using 10" round galvanized duct until he got to the existing crawl space, he then ran to the furnace with 10" flex. MY prob. is the metal duct condensates and runs down into the flex loading up with water and pulling off of the metal. A lot of water accumulates. The metal is insulated as is the flex, the crawl space is covered in poly and i have been keeping the vents closed. Any suggestions.
*
Good advice by Freddy Lu as usual.
I would also add that since you have drainage problems, you need to do some excavation around the permimeter of the home, to collect and divert that water.
I recommend a french drain system, using perforated ABS in a shallow trench filled with poly and pea gravel which drains somewhere, or is collected somewhere (like a cystern or a couple 100 gal tanks with holes in them) or if there is quite a bit of water, then collected and pumped out somewhere like the storm drain or street. The reason your crawl space is so damp is the excess water, and if you want FreddyLu's plan to work, it would help if you minimized the moisture in the crawl space to begin with.
*I'm really just repeating what's already been said but I've installed a gravel sump with a pipe sloping down to daylight. This keeps standing water out. Poly over the ground. I usually spread some stone over the poly to keep it from moving (although I really can't think of any reason it would move.)I think Fred has good advice for many areas. However, if the air in your crawlspace is more humid than the air outside, and unless you really can guarantee a near perfect seal against moisture intrusion, a vent is a good idea.I've seen power vents that were activated by humidistats so they only vent when the outside humidity is low. When the outside humidity is high, the fan turns off and the vent closes.
*An all to common problem here in NC where we enjoy some humid summer time air. IMHO the best solution available is to divert water away from your home, seal off the vents, roll plastic on the ground, and install a power vent blowing out. The vent has to be sized to meet the floor space. In NC the code calls for 1 cfm for each 50 sqft of floor space. The biggest vent we've installed is a 50 cfm model. It wasn't much bigger than a hair dryer and couldn't be heard from inside the house.The best benefit to sealing the crawlspace and blowing air out is that you're creating a slight imbalance. The air you're expelling has to be replaced.......and if you do a good job with sealing, that replacement air will leak in from inside the house where the air is conditioned.
*J.B. HardeeThere is some good advice given above but don't get sucked in by all the hot air concerning venting or not venting, as it is not the root, or only answer to your problem. As you said: i "During the summer months, we get a tremendous amount of rain and all of the rain in the neighborhood flows towards my lot."As Ryan & Calvin touch on above, the first thing you need to do is eliminate exterior sources of i water. This includes installing a drainage system around the outside perimeter of your home if necessary, insuring that the lot grading provides positive drainage away from the house, and being sure that the water from gutters/downspouts is directed well away from your foundation. You may have to resort to a sump pump if you cannot get positive drainage any other way. Do not drain your downspouts into your foundation drain system. Look for other sources of water too, such as plumbing leaks. These items, in concert with the plastic ground cover that Fred suggests will resolve your problem.Once the ground moisture is eliminated, you may want to think about blocking the vents as Fred suggests, especially since more ventalation has already failed.Here are a few previous threads that discuss problems similar to yours. There have been i many postings here at Breaktime dealing with wet crawlspaces. Condensation in crawl space is good and contains links to other threads. French Drain Question relates to foundation drainage systems.When reading through this and other threads keep in mind that building techniques are highly regional due to differing climates, so take what you read with a grain of salt. If you want more opinions/info, use the Breaktime i search Function. I have also found info elsewhere on the http://WWW.I will say that Chase's suggestion of depressurizing the crawl is a novel idea. Hadn't heard that one. May require some investigation on my part.You need to get this problem resolved, otherwise, you will have problems with a rotted floor system, possible insect infestation (some like damp environments and soft chewy wood), mold that could make the home's occupants sick, etc, etc, etc.Good LuckMatt PS: What kind of HVAC system does your house have, and where is/are the unit(s) located.
*
I live in Florida in a 60 year old house. During the summer months, we get a tremendous amount of rain and all of the rain in the neighborhood flows towards my lot. As a result, the ground under the house is wet during the summer and remains damp throughout the rest of the year. My oak floors buckle and I don't know what other problems this is causing. I've cut additional vents to the crawl space but this hasn't helped. I'm considering installing a fan in one of the vents to increase the air circulation. Does anyone have any experience with this? Should be directed to blow fresh air into the crawl space or should it be the other way around? How about a vapor barrier installed under the flooring? Would this help and if so, what type? Any suggestions will be appreciated.