Without a doubt, the most neglected part of most houses is the under-floor crawl space. Some homes in Oregon don’t have a crawl space but most do.
What is a crawl space and why does your home have one?
The frost depth, soil conditions, and a variety of other reasons in this area require that we build houses with an elevated, decked floor. This is, as the name sounds, like the deck off the back of your house, but with concrete foundation walls around the perimeter. So, just like there is an area under the deck in your backyard, there is an area under your house, and it’s typically called a crawl space.
Crawl spaces usually contain wood framing, ductwork, plumbing pipes, electrical wires, insulation, and other items necessary to make your house operate. It’s very easy to let weeks, months, and years go by without thinking about what’s happening under your house. However, I’d encourage you to keep an eye on things down there. Like anything in life, little problems will turn into big ones.
Animals
If you’re an animal and it’s the middle of winter, you won’t find a better place than a crawl space. There is no rain under a house and catching a nap on top of a heat duct is certainly better than any other place you are likely to find. Unfortunately, animals are not respectful guests once in a crawl space. They routinely chew wires, tear up insulation, damage heat ducts, and use the space as a bathroom. If all of that isn’t bad enough, they also often die in the space which really turns into a mess. Finding dead animals in crawl spaces during our home inspections is actually quite common. Therefore, you’ll want to make sure those furry critters can’t get in.
Water in a Crawl Space
Water in a crawl space is also a big problem. Grading issues, malfunctioning gutters and drains, and leaking pipes can all lead to excess water collection under a house. Water collection under a home leads to excess moisture which is the biggest threat to a crawl space. Damp soil can allow foundations and concrete footings to sink. This, in turn, will cause your floors to slope and door frames to fall out of level.
Additional Problem
An additional problem in crawl spaces with excess moisture includes damage from wood-boring insects and wood rot. All of the bad insect and rot problems we have in this part of the world are caused, or made substantially worse, by elevated moisture. Luckily, dry lumber lacks the necessary nutrients for wood destroying insects like termites and wood-boring beetles to survive on.
This is why wood has historically proven to be a reliable natural building product. The trick to keeping it intact is to keep the moisture content low enough that insects and rot fungi cannot survive within it. When excess water lingers under a house, the moisture level in the wood will rise.
The damp wood then provides habitat for the insects and organisms that can destroy it.
Protect the largest investment you make and keep an eye on your crawl space. Just a little bit of maintenance and repair can prevent tens of thousands of dollars worth of problems.
Check out Crawl Space Care 101 as well for additional information.
