Crawlspaces Don't Have to Suck. How to Build the Best Crawlspace!
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- Опубликовано: 29 сен 2024
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To do a cost-benefit analysis, I think you need to know something about the cost ... which wasn't even mentioned (unless I missed it)
That's what I'm thinking. I'd bet that crawlspace cost more than most basements.
Raising the house up on high piers is even better. Useful open space under the house. None of the problems of crawlspaces or slabs.
love the "tallspace" area for easy access. i'm a pretty big hombre, and cannot fit in my crawlspace if i HAD to, which means i gotta tear up floorboards whenever things go south...
if only more people took the extra thousand or so to do it "right" and make it an extra foot or two taller, future generations would have things MUCH easier for repairs/renovations.
I like Crawlspaces that you can stand-up in.
If you could convince the other builders to not put tge air handlers in the incredible hot attic so us AC guys don't have to die to make a repair do maintenance. Would be great as well as make the unit more efficient.
100%. Attics are the worst place for a furnace and generally highlights poor layout planning for a mechanical room.
My crawlspace is crappy and probably has a family of bears living in it
I think I have some squatters moving in!
If you're going to build a crawl space that nice, you might as well build a basement. It will only cost a little bit more. Even better, if you have the right slope, put the garage under your house.
He said they hit rock so they had to do it this way.
Did you watch the video?
@@OliverBund Yes I did it was a good video
Not many southern homes have basements maybe in the northern south but here in Florida slab is the way to go
Hey guys.
I think he was implying that on an average build similar to that why build a nice 3 or 4 foothigh crawl space when you can do a basement for not much more
Although that's very debatable
With that said, I wish mine was half as nice as that one in the video
I know a concrete contractor who makes most of his money from slabs and he built a home with a crawlspace, but still poured the cement for the ground of the crawlspace
Just make sure when it's all sealed up, there is RADON ventilation.
I highly doubt they did that. With it being encapsulated/sealed they won’t have any radon. Only time radon mitigation is recommended is if they have break in the seal like with sump pump basins and sewer access.
@@RadDadisRad Unless your sealing with solid lead sheets, the radon will get in. Sealing with concrete and a membrane alone won't block the radon from getting through. The radon needs a new path to exit hence a sub-slab depressurization radon system. This house just needs a test and if it fails, a very simple system can be installed to reduce it 90+%. I also notice homes built near lakes or creeks have abnormal radon spikes, I would have recommended just putting one in here.
@@theradonpros interesting
4:03 Never thought to use a casement window as a hatch. Brilliant! 👏 👏 👏
Matt’s solutions never have a budget consideration
These sorts of details must be a priority in a budget, not bathrooms and kitchens.
@ajbeck2121 exactly. I always bite my tongue when I see friends or family move into a new house and they wanna dump a bunch of money into kitchens, bathrooms etc. Meanwhile they got a vented dirty crawl space or a leaky attic with next to no insulation. Foolish
I really love your programming Matt. Very informative and entertaining with you and your guests.
I live in Phoenix where all construction is slab on grade. But I always wondered why crawlspaces are not treated as just a small basement, fully enclose and condition it. So you get a much longer life out of your floor system, rodents out, no insulation ripping and falling out of the floor. And so much more. It never made sense to me to just have dirt and mud and cold and hot under the floor of your house.
Most likely has to do with cost, and since most crawl spaces are not used that's "unjustified cost" to most ppl
@@versatile.mindsetthey do that with crawl spaces in homes in Colorado from what I’ve seen. They also do slab on grade construction.
@@versatile.mindsetif homes don’t have crawl spaces or a slab they have a basement which is a plus imo.
@@versatile.mindsethaving a conditioned crawl space is more beneficial than having an insulated conditioned attic space In my opinion and experience
Why is the tankless water heater pulling air from the crawl space?
Yeah - should have been direct vented - for a few dollars worth of pvc pipe. All gas water heaters and furnaces should be high efficiency direct vent.
Hate the tight belly crawling spider web crawl spaces here in KS. Next house, full basement or slab.
We have a name for crawlspaces that don't suck: they are called basements. We have them up here in the Northeast.
I like that. Never thought about it but the investment will contribute to better temperature and moisture control in the house.
I built my tiny 384 square foot house, 16'x24', on a 16"x16" footings then after I added a 16'x24' screened in porch and 16'x24' carport then I went back and mixed 80ib cement bags in a mixer and poured rectangles of slabs until all my 1200 square foot under my house, porch, and carport were poured. I LOVE my slab under my house! I am on 4 cinder blocks high and I can see under my house, no grass, no lakes. I can use a vehicle creeper to roll under my house to work or repair under my house. It works great. I also installed solar string lights on the edge so I can light it up for looks when I have guest over after dark.
I hate that builders often do the bare minimum and sell for a high dollar. Maybe that's not the truth but that's how I feel.
It’s the truth. If you told any builder in my area you wanted this crawl space, zip system wall sheething ect. The tab would prob jump from 145 to 175 per square foot with basic finishes.
Of course the majority of all new construction in my area is slab. Because of the issues laid out in the video most everyone tries to avoid them.
It's why I am building our own home. Stay tuned. I'll try and give monthly updates!
Good building science when being forced to build a partial crawl. 👍
This is not a crawlspace its a basement. Why do you think they call them crawlspace.
Why don’t Americans just build a concrete foundation?
Well damn. Florence is where I live. Pretty cool.
You’ve helped me very much.🙏
Rats, Rodents and Raccoons ! Oh My!
Crawl spaces should be outlawed. Slab or basement. No more of this in between bs
I don’t like most crawl spaces and neither does my employees
Tip #1: Make a basement instead
Money is a limited resource for most people, and most people would rather use that money on a nicer kitchen rather than improving the life of the random handyman who has to access the crawlspace.
Building a “short basement” is incredibly expensive (concrete work is some of the most cost intensive for a house), and just doing it for a little bit of efficiency gains and longevity simply doesn’t make sense for most people.
Well said.
Most people don't give 2 nickles about what it looks like under there.
This is why “most people” buy garbage track homes. You can always come back later and renovate the kitchen when you have more money. You can’t easily go back and and make a more efficient crawl space.
Just depends on your priorities I guess, whether you want to build better and more efficient in the first place or throw that money away on a kitchen and aesthetics that are going to be outdated in 10-15 years anyway.
Would love to see a video on this topic. TX and S.FL use almost 100 percent slab but when I was in VA and NC everything is crawl space even though its red clay that holds moister. Would love to know why one or the other is used other than cost. Also, the crawl spaces I viewed had 6 mil plastic then rock on top, that's it.
In Colorado they have basements usually so the furnace is in the basement which is a really good idea. Same with crawl spaces which are usually insulated and sealed off from moisture.
What’s the cost between a slab and a normal build 2ft basement and why choose one over the other?
Budget. One is cheaper than the other
Either do a full basement or a slab on grade. Crawl spaces make no sense.
I have a full basement and a crawl space
I wonder how much it costs to do that
Wow that house is nice!
I wasn’t clear on what the video was saying about putting insulation on the ground: yes? No? Depends on climate??
All crawl spaces should be closed. But you can do it for 1/4 of this guys price. You don’t need spray foam, state of the art dehumidifier and a concrete floor just to roll around on a sleeper. Instead use a block foundation with 4’ headroom and 12-20 mil plastic and foam board on walls.
I love those crawlspaces, absolutly the way to go.
Agreed
Nice, but All these extra 15-30k usd costs begin to add up to do everything better. I would like more videos that discussed price/cost analysis. Yes, this crawlspace is much better than most but using a good vapor barrier putting 4 inches of quarter minus on top and insulating all the lines and under the flooring might be good enough for most people and save 15-30k
Yeah... Spend 30k extra just to be able to change your air filter easier.
Well the old cliche pertaining to real estate, is location, location.
And that same cliche should be applied to selecting the property to build a home on to begin with.
As for (water proofing), there is no such thing when it comes to water infiltration in basements and crawl spaces.
If the situation is serious, water will find a way in, or it will make a way in, regardless of the precautions taken to prevent it.
Water will find its way in by infiltrating where lolly collums are located in the slab for example.
The only way to prevent water infiltration is by installing a good french drain system along with what ever moisture barrier is chosen.
But again, location comes into play, because not every location will allow for a drain system to be installed.
Certainly there are areas where soil type alone is more favorable for having dry basements.
Local builders as a rule know the good and poor locations.
Unfortunately, they are not always involved during the land selecting process.
Also, as they say money talks, meaning not all customers are very interested in spending money on things that cant be seen.
Like french drain systems for example.
Hey that Stegocrawl picture looks familiar…that was a house I did a couple years ago! Awesome to see it shared by Matt Risinger 😊
I had my crawl encapsulated and all vents sealed off. But the epa now recommends a vent fan to exhaust some of the stale air / gasses that would otherwise accumulate in an encapsulated crawl. I have one now plus a dehumidifier but I’m not sure I want the fan. Any advice? I live in the south.
tips to having a good crawl space
1) pour footings/chain walls for load bearing areas then pour at least 2 inches of cement for a complete slab under house.
2) cinder block exterior with several 4 foot wide openings for access, at least one on each side preferably in the center, these can be fitted and framed to be decorative and lockable
3) install solar string lighting all under neath for easy lighting
4) install several receptacles for working underneath and on the outside of the house
5) install a garden hose reel on each side underneath for easy to use water on all sides of the house and away from freezing winds.
Since our crawl space is only under a small addition off the back of our home, we are not going to encapsulate it. We are however are going to put concrete in there so we can use it for storage
Florence!? Tell me u came to the rocket city😂(Huntsville)
If everything is sealed where is the moisture comimg from that you need the dehumidifier for?
How to prevent flood water from getting inside the crawl space?
I'm wanting to encapsulate my crawlspace but not sure what the best solution is for a big front porch that is open to crawl space below. Do you make a wall out of foam board to separate the front porch area or is another method recommended?
The best features of the crawlspace werent in the crawlspace. Geeze.
I noticed @5:52 there isn't a vent after the P trap for the dehumidifier. Is that needed? Thanks
The tankless instant gas water heater looked like it was getting supply air from the internal envelope... is that to code in the US? It wouldn't be in Europe.
Nope! That's a massive code violation
Why make an extra hole outside? It’s hideous when you have two pipes 4’ apart and for what? Just to suck oxygen in?
@@ozzy2753 two holes are better than one
I checked on putting tankless heaters in my crawl space. Upon asking I was told that it’s been some years since a fired heater could be under a house. There are few reasons this is a good rule. After more thought I was not pleased with myself for even remotely considering it. No hot water tanks, boilers, or fired devises anywhere that can’t very easily be checked every day….as they all should be.
Is the rinnai combustion air intake not ducted outside?
any reason the builder chose plywood over OSB for subfloor?
Limitless budget. Actually, I'm surprised that the subfloor wasn't hardwood planking.
@@timothyvanderschultzen9640 which is mor expensive
OSB is crap
literally houses are held with glue eh@@Nancy-y8q1n
how many people does this video actually apply to? I'd bed the target audience is not doing a short basement.
This video totally applies to my basement crawl space over an addition! I have a huge boulder in my crawl space addition is the reason for my short basement. Prefer to have a full basement on the addition, but would have cost too much.
No insulation? Are you kidding me! Terrible construction
I've got an above ground crawlspace in a barndominim. Concrete floors xps Foam on the walls and also over the concrete. Complete dry and clean
Slick work.
So if power does go down for long Period of time, does the enclosed crawl space become a humid mess with no ventilation?
I imagine it would but the humidity has to come from somewhere so it's a concern for situations where you wouldn't have power for many weeks or months.
Could always keep the doors open so they’d equilibrate. The only air coming in is from tiny leaks from outside or tiny leaks from your home. The dehu shouldn’t run too much in there as it’s so air tight.
Nc also
How about a video on a vented crawl space that doesn’t suck?
He’s saying vented crawlspaces DO suck so don’t do them.
It’s a bit late if you already have one. But there are several ways to make them suck less - that’s what I want to see
This house is protected by the de-humidifier as long as it remains operating if you seal the crawl space denying O2 w/o venting and moisture is added either thru upward mitigation thru concrete slabs on grade, the foundation or more likely downward mitigation when a leak happens within the house the water will find its way to the crawlspace and without ventilation wood will dry rot and the wood will lose all its structural integrity. I love an accessible crawl space and it never occured to me to do this, however I would ventilate to prevent rot. Your builds are tremendous I would seek you out for my builds if I was in your area your clients are lucky. Ray Stormont
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