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Geography and Stats
I have a 60’ by 30’ ranch. That use to be a 30 by 30 not sure if that was the original dimensions but it’s close to that. The house is in South Jersey. Have the same weather as Phila. and Delaware. I live around flood zones since I am two miles away from the Delaware River. The ground is Clay.
Problems are 1. In some areas the clay ground is up to the floor’s bottom. There are three areas of the craw space each needs you to tunnel on your back to the area. The door down to the craw space is in the middle section. I would have loved this when I was a kid but now it’s a drag crawing aroung like a mole. I want to dig out the whole thing at least so I wont have to craw through there on my back and even a little more so I can scoot around on my legs. But I am thinking could this earth by some how my support to the house? I hope not 🙁 2. It’s never dry and smells like mildew. There are signs of mold down there. The owner before scraped it off and opened the vents on both 30’ sides of the house, they had been filled with leaves. From reading here that will never work and in fact as I just said it is not working. Also I find the sump pump coming to life when it rains. I don’t blame the sump pump for doing it’s job but I would like to kind of limit it’s use to a real flood. Also I noticed the rain from my roof is pouring down the sides of the house that will be fixed. So I have a good start as to re-establishing my drainage system. I need a good strategy of how to claim back the earth under my home and make it dry and essay to manage from here on. (by the way I notice some termite activity 40 feet from my house what are some affective way to kill them off?) This house needs a lot of repair to it craw space as I said by the wy so far no signs of rot, bathroom, roof, electric, Kitchen remodel and two add ons from the kitchen (laundry room) and other side for a larger bedroom. that was the order I had in mind. I plan to be DIY for all that a can do. So I guess Help! With your time and thoughts.
Here is a quick list of things to help me.
1. How to open up craw space to one large room and how to dig out some depth as well.
2. How do keep a dry craw space (condensation & rain)
3. How to kill them wood killing beast!?
4. and any misc. that might help me plan what next.
Burning the whole thing down is not new ideal I think of that one every day!!!!! Thanks Theharvs
Replies
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Dear Harvanators,
Don't lower the water, raise the bridge!
You forgot to mention what the house actually sat on. Concrete footing, frost walls, masonry, piers and columns, wood beams etc.
Seems to me you are asking for a lifetime of headaches by not raising the house. You're on a flood plain. This is a fact of life.
Gabe
*Harvanators:Make no mistake about it, excessive moisture under your house will destroy it!Prior to "raising the house", as Gabe recommends, (best solution, but likely very costly) or lowering the crawl, as you suggested, try to alleviate the moisture problems as much as possible from outside the foundation:1) Be certain that your lot is graded to drain water away from your house as much as possible.2) If you don't have gutters, install them, and be sure the downspouts direct the water at least 10' away from your house.3) Consider installing a french drain system around the outside perimeter of your house if one is not already installed (assuming you have a low point to drain it to). This would include 2 or 3 hundred feet of draintile (that black corrugated plastic pipe with holes in it), about 15 - 30 tons of gravel, and some type of filter fabric, for a total cost of about $100 - $400 in materials and a significant amount of labor.Here is a document that includes some diagrams that illustrate what I have said above:http://www.mes.umn.edu/Documents/D/K/Other/7051-04.htmlInside the crawl:If your crawl space floor is not covered with plastic cover it with 6 mil poly or a high-performance vapor barrier (which would cost about $120).In my opinion, by digging out the crawl will not help you moisture problem at all, and, you may create a under house swimming pool! Further, I think you will find that digging out your crawl will be impracticalOn the other hand, some lots just do not have enough slope to get any decent drainage going, in which case the only option would be to raise the house (as Gabe suggested) and bring in fill dirt to get the proper grade falling away from the foundation.As far as a possible termite problem, hire an exterminator.A few final questions: How bad is the moisture problem? Is any of the framing lumber rotting?
*As a builder in Portland Oregon I see a lot of crawl space water problems. The gutter, grading and drainage ideas are absolutely necessary! We suffer from blackouts in bad weather so many have backup generators to run the sumps and some even have dual sumps (one for backup, either both electric or one manual or 12-volt-- like a boat bilge pump.In addition, we have installed more crawl space vents and powered exhaust fans on humidistats and/or timers.We've considered but not yet needed to install an external sump pump next to the house at the lowest point with an electric sump pump. Sure a lot eiser to build! Good luck.
*Been there, done that. I once spent several days with an electric jack hammer under a house doing just what you need to do, digging out the crawl space. In spite of the well intentioned advice about rasing the house, this will not eliminate digging. In order to get the necessary jacks and cribbing in there you will have to dig anyway, maybe even more. What you don't want to do is undermine your foundation. Make sure your footings (footers for those of you who speak the other dialect) are at least 12" below your finish grade. Piers can be lowered and replaced a few at a time with temporary support.
*I fogot this... Masonry Block. Thanks The Harvs
*I was not clear on showing you my thoughts on digging out the craw space. I wanted to know should I level it out. The craw space is 4’ deep in the middle with the sum pump there. Then on the left and right side it’s around 2’. ( for the sum pump sake. I know it should all grade down towards the sump pump. Just wanted you to let you know I understand that) There is a mound of dirt on both sides of the middle section with a little tunnel to enter each adjacent side. I am not able to reach some areas at all due to the height of the earth. My perception to putting down vapor barrier is that it should in a sense be wall to wall. I think it would not settle right as it is, or would it? I don’t know I never did this yet : ) What should I do to the under structure of the sub floor? Should that get covered? Or should I just seal the insides of the foundation and, bottom to make it part of my house’s envelope? I would like to make it a low maintenance place, after I am done. If that were so.... You drainage ideals are very helpful. Going to do that first. Thanks The Harvs
*I am going to be very cautious when digging down there. I was thinking about the possibility of under mining it. You say on the inside of my masonry block foundation depth should be at 12” lower then the earth in there right? I am worried about raising the house as well. I know it can be done but not by me. The house is like two houses put together. The add on’s work looks pretty shoty. I don’t think it would do well with the ideal of getting out of bed for a stretch. Let alone just lifting it’s head up a tad to change the pillow. No sir keep it where it is, if it can be helped! The flood area is not that bad. There is never water running down the street. Nor do I find a lake under my house ( please God don’t let that happen to me!). It’s just that is wet to the touch down there. I just have this cozy ideal of making it dry like a bone. There has to be a way to do it. With out owing JOE SMOE THE BANKER my tighty whitees, and lifting my home and moving it on top of a skyscraper. Thanks The Harvs
*Better Yet! How level does the ground need to be. When putting down the "6 mil poly" or a "high-performance vapor barrier" as you suggested? Thanks The harv
*If I understand your situation correctly, the crawl only needs to be graded so as to give you whatever drainage you need toward your sump pump. There must be no areas that hold water. If the crawl grade is reasonably even, - say no bumps larger than 6" or so, the vapor barrier should be able to be applied in a fairly air-tight fashion, provided that you remove rocks, sticks and other things that might puncture the film. The idea is that the vapor barrier cover the *entire* crawl floor with all joints lapped 6" to 12". The joints could even be sealed.