I have a house that is 120 years old with a 120 sq. ft. crawl space with an exposed dirt floor. The height from the floor to the bottom of the joists is about 12-16 inches. I am looking at putting down 6 mil plastic to cover the dirt floor but the height may make this a bit of a problem. I am thinking of spreading the plastic around with a piece of 1 x 3. I won’t be able to go up the walls this way and am not sure if that is truely necessary. Any suggestion would be helpful.
Thanks
Rob
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Hire an 11 year old gymnast. I was in Sloppy Joe's in Key West at midnite once when they had a limbo contest. We all tried our drunken best but were smoked by an eleven year old girl that was there with both her mommies (only in Key West). That kid could slide under a door.
A small agile kid could shimmy under there and even tape it up the walls for you. Just tie a rope to the kid's waist in case there's need for immediate extrication such as reptile encounters.
Rob,
I had a similar situation in a much newer house. The crawl space (about 160 ft2) was vented to the outside and had a dirt floor that ranged from 12-14 inches below the floor joists. The insulation had fallen from the joists onto the dirt and the entire space was a complete mess not to mention a haven for rodents and other creepy crawlies as my five year old referred to them. I recalled my father from much younger days imploring me to do the job right or not at all......... His words were not in vain. I removed the flooring and underlay and cut the subfloor and removed everything. Once I did (not a pleasant task or sight) I was glad I did. I was able to make some repairs, seal the vent to the outside, clean the entire area, and cut an access panel into the existing basement. I installed a continuous vapor barrier across the entire floor area and up onto the mudsill. Before I installed the vapor barrier, I ran a dehumidifier in the area for 3-4 days to dry everything out. After installing new subfloor, I was amazed at the difference. No more dampness, no more mold or mildew odor, and no more rodents to torment the family pets!
Good approach, have to do same to 550sq'. Moving a set of stupid/badly made stairs in sisters coach house making way for winder set and need extra framing, maybe even an anchored post.
I would like advise on appropriate venting for this space, an attic has a specific amount of ventilation(given that it is exposed to heat/cold) so could a below grade crawl space require some?
I currently, save some disscussion time, plan to apply poly barrier to underside of joists the fill cavity w. batt insul. Most of flooring could/may come up due to age of improper instalation and this may lead to a gravel and concrete subfloor which will solve smell and damp but be least hospitable solution.
Any input on barrier on dirt w. vent above and/or vapour barrier under OSB subfloor? We have a chance to fix it right and for good(50+ yrs).
sorry if piggyback inquiery is bad form.
thanx thom
There's really no consensus as to how tight the poly should be anyway. Lots of "experts" recommend leaving the outer few inches around the perimeter uncovered.
DOn't run it up the walls of the foundation.
In older houses, that just traps moisture in the foundation which sometimes then ends up rising up into the sill plate (or, in your case, probably a beam) and causing rot.
Tool Donations Sought
I'm matching tool donors to a church mission to Haiti - we're shipping a bus converted to a medical facility in (now it looks like) April and can fill it with clothes, tools and all sorts of stuff needed in that poorest of all countries. A few hand tools or power tools can provide a livelihood for an otherwise destitute family. Please email me if you have tools to donate.
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