A general guideline, reinforced by the Washington State Department of Agriculture, is that substructure lumber must have minimum clearances from soil. The clearances are defined as 12" from grade to the bottom of beams and 18" from grade to the bottom of joists (they rest on top of the beams.) These clearances were not dreamed up to be mean, or to give inspectors an easy excuse to duck going in the crawl space. The fact of the matter is that, if wood is much lower than that, it is extremely difficult for workers to do any jobs in the crawl space -- plumbing, HVAC, electrical. And when wood to soil is not in the ballpark as far as clearances, it reduces potential ventilation and proper air circulation. There is another side to it as well: If the home inspector or structural pest inspector is tenacious and tries to do the job, as best as is possible, even when clearances are tight, it can lead to pretty uncomfortable crawling. Here is a photo of a friend, average size man, who is, like me, trying to do the best job possible in a crawl space where joists are, at no point, higher than 12" over grade and in some locations they drop down to 7" over grade. All of this crawl space was difficult access and half of it was inaccessible -- no way to get around safely. Getting stuck is not an option. Thanks for stopping by, Steven L. Smith
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Very interesting. I can understand the Department of Ag having an interest. However, what about the building code???
Or, do the two departments not speak with each other?
Looks pretty tight. I'm glad we have almost no crawl spaces in my area.
I hate it when you have 7 to 10 inches of clearance and then have to crawl over something.
Ugh - this is why I could never be an inspector. A friend of mine sends his dog under the house first to run around and clear out all of the cobwebs. Goes to show you can't eat at McDonalds AND be a home inspector!
It is not a job for anyone with claustrophobia.
Since Nutsy got run over by the semi he should be thin enough to get in there----I don't understand the problem. He does have closetphobia though I hear.
Nutsy's mother says the Boss is starving him to gain better access to these spaces. I thought the law in England on behalf of chimney sweeps prohibited employers from this but it doesn't protect squirrels.
I had one the other day so low I nearly got stuck!
It amazes me that you inspectors can climb into a space so small. We need a group photo to see if all of you are skinny!
Barbara,
We are all skinny here except for Charlie Bee and that paunch. Too much partying with Nutsy in the lower 48.
I got into a space the other day Barbara that was only 7" wide and nearly got stuck!
Believe that? Would you like to buy some really good, really new, stuff from my garage? Please let me know!
Oh my.. Leave it to me.. I would get stuck... I always get stuck.. since I was a kid.. lol.. oh what memories have just returned.. thanks for the post..