Crawl Space

Discussion in 'Home Improvement' started by Ken Anderson, Jul 11, 2018.

  1. John Brunner

    John Brunner Senior Staff
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    When I was looking to buy this place I hired a woman Home Inspector. She let me tag along so I could see what see saw.

    We went into the crawl space and I saw something like this:

    snakes.jpg

    That's a pic of when I was installing the water softener. We were under there by flashlight.
    Those things hanging down are snake sheds (their old skin.) There are lots more.

    I told her that I was gonna pretend to be cool with it, but if I hadn't been under there with a woman, I'd be shrieking like a schoolgirl and heading for the exit.

    Actually, they are black snakes and help keep the rodent population in check. But still...
     
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  2. Nancy Hart

    Nancy Hart Veteran Member
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    I had to crawl under the mobile home just a couple weeks ago, trying to rule out a possible cable/wiring problem with the satellite TV reception. You had to carry a stick to swipe the spider webs out of the way. At least you could move on your knees, but knees don't do well crawling on clay dirt with stones any more. What's with that, anyway? :confused:
     
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  3. Maggie Rose

    Maggie Rose Very Well-Known Member
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    Oh, that splains that! Yes, I welcome being taught. As long as the teacher knows what the heck he or she is talking about, I'm always willing to learn. I haven't been on a forum for years and years. thank you!
     
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  4. Maggie Rose

    Maggie Rose Very Well-Known Member
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    Oh, hell no! I'd be running back the heck out of there!
     
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  5. John Brunner

    John Brunner Senior Staff
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    I've looked into having my crawlspace wrapped.

    -The cheap option is having someone spray insulating foam on the walls, and nothing else.
    -The really expensive option involves them removing every stone and foreign object from the ground and wrapping the entire space in plastic, including the floor.

    The problem with the really expensive option--besides the cost--is that the thing is truly sealed, so any plumbing leaks have nowhere to go. You gotta mop or vacuum up the water. A water leak would be one thing. A sewer backup would be a real problem.

    But with the expensive option, I could crawl without being tortured. I think when we're younger, we're more flexible and we're lighter...there's a lower PSI on our knees.

    I really wish I had a basement.
     
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  6. Frank Sanoica

    Frank Sanoica Supreme Member
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    @John Brunner

    This is the "natural ground" here (with a few quail) in front of our house. The crawl space is identical: thousands of rocks up to 3" size.

    [​IMG]


    The vertical height is such that hands and knees is almost impossible, so one must wiggle along on one's belly. I have repaired several water leaks under there. There is no evidence of snakes or insects or spiders of any kind. In advance, I was fearing scorpions.......needlessly. They inhabit places where there is something for them to eat.

    I have owned 10 houses over my lifetime; 2 had crawlspaces, only one had a basement (the one I grew up in in Berwyn, Illinois), and the rest were on concrete slabs except the Show Low (AZ) cabing, which was wooden throughout.

    Frank
     
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  7. John Brunner

    John Brunner Senior Staff
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    Those rocks look painful. And a scorpion sting would not be good under any circumstances. As you said, food is what likely attracts my snakes. Every few years I get a field mouse in the house, and use snap-traps. I'm not gonna poison the food chain.

    The 2 houses I've owned had crawls tall enough you could sit up cross-legged in most of it, but had to bend your head down 'cause they weren't that tall. There are places under my current house with a little less headroom as you make your way uphill. I practically lived under the one in my first home (built in '45) because it had an old oil floor furnace...used to get water in the line pretty often.

    We had one when I was a kid that you had to belly-crawl under. I was 11 years old when I learned how to solder copper pipes...I was the only one who could fit under there when the pipes froze, and was sorta old enough to figure it out. We finally got an electric heat wrap.

    This all reminds me of a friend who was a plumber. He told the story of his helper going underneath an old home to turn off the main water. Access was at the end of the house opposite the shut-off, so he had to crawl the entire length. The helper was under there when my friend heard the muffled cry of "Snake!" followed by "Thud!Thud!Thud!Thud!" as the helper tried to get out of there as fast as he could, smacking his head on every floor joist in his blind panic.
     
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