Air vents under the house
We live in a double wide. It’s dirt underneath. We’ve got skirting around the bottom. I know that you need air flow under the house to keep moisture down. We have 6 vents in the skirting. We also have 2 pieces of skirting that can be removed for access to the crawl space. I’m trying to make sure the area remains dry and mold free... I’m thinking about replacing the solid access panels with panels that have a large screen area in them. This should, in my mind, allow a great deal of airflow and keep the crawl space dry during the summer.
During the winter I cover all the vents and would replace the access panels with solid panels. All screens and vents have winter mesh as well as normal screen.
Anyone know if this would be a mistake or cause problems?
Anyone know if this would be a mistake or cause problems?
0
-
I think its a good plan. I have a box fan I put on my crawl space access to pull out air from under the house after it rains. I run it on low during the heat of the day for a few hours for a day or two. 3 -
yep...have an access underneath the lake cabin for crawl space and vents on the other end...mount up a box fan from dollar general , cost less than $20...the fan opening and the vents are covered with screen wire.... let it run all summer...doesn't use any amount of elec....when you buy one of these plug it in and try it at the store before you leave to see if it runs smooth without vibrating...have got a couple that i could NOT get to run smooth....one lasted 5 summers under there. ....cheap 0 -
Maybe put down some plastic on top of the dirt as a moisture barrier. Looks like that would help some. 6 -
+ 1 on the fan and vapor barrier. Keep it fresh and clean for very little expence and very good health result. 0 -
Living in a very warm climate we used the vented panels all the way around, also have a few cut short that can slide up and plastic vapor barrier is required here. 0 -
Our house was built in the late 1800s. Sat on 3 concrete blocks! Had a bsm't put under it 20+ years ago. Best investment I've ever made. 0 -
That's a good plan, as long as the mesh on the screen you are going to use is small enough to keep critters out. 0 -
I would think 6 vents is enough.
You get to a point where in venting you allow too much outside air,light,humidity under the house. This can cause weeds and grasses to grow, cause mold / musk and become a breeding ground for insects.
If you can put down a good thick vapor barrier, do so. Good luck.0 -
Many houses built now have a "sealed and conditioned crawl". I ended up doing this to my house years ago and its bone dry under it. I put down 4mil poly and used styrofoam cutouts to fill the vents. We have crazy humidity here in the summer and with the vents open, it was getting damp under there from the humid air. All good now. 3 -
My neighbor got a new "factory built" home around 1985. It was set on a block foundation with only a few inches of crawl space and very limited ventilation. They had some serious hail damage in 2018 and when the damaged siding was removed they found the entire outer walls contained mold at a level that gave cause to demolish the entire structure. 0 -
Thanks for all the input folks! I really appreciate it! 0
Please sign in to leave a comment.
Comments
11 comments