Here in the Pacific Northwest we have a zillion crawl spaces. Seriously, they are way more common than slabs or basements. And, in these unconditioned crawl spaces, foundation vents are required. They are usually put in place but then, often, the soil around the house is shoved up against the vents. A good plan is to put in "wells" at the vents. The builder clears soil back in front of the vent, hopefully fills the area with pea-gravel up until a few inches under the vent. They use metal, plastic and pressure treated lumber for the wells. So far, okay. But the problem comes in when someone makes the well but does not seem to understand the point of the well, so the soil is left at the same level to the vent as it would be if the well was elsewhere. Makes no sense but common practice. This is not a complicated fix -- dig out the well, make it deeper. Thanks for stopping by, Steven L. Smith
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I thought the new mantra was "Plug the hole!"
Jay,
That is FOR SURE not the case here. With anobiid beetle, they just thrive in crawl spaces with plugged vents. WSDA regulations for structural pest inspectors are tough. An inspector who does not call out all variations of plugged vents is subject to a fine. The only exception to this is a conditioned crawl space, as in heated, etc
I was being a bit fa-see-shus.
Jay,
I did not know because in some parts of the country I guess they are blocking the vents and it works out okay.
Actually you are right. A completely enclosed, ventless and totally insulated with foam (walls and under the floor) is the new "green" crawl space. Up to now I have only seen one. It was dry, but I don't know the long-term implications! I have seen it in attics too, but to date only one as well.
My "plug the hole" comment was what they are saying about the oil leak in the Gulf.
Steve,
Oh well, guess we can get it right on the next one!
Hi Steven, crawl spaces are very common in North Carolina also. We see similar installations which render the vent at best compromised. Have you seen a move toward sealed or conditioned crawl spaces in WA?