Six Tips For Identifying Issues Within Your Crawl Space

Your home may have a crawl space in addition to, or instead of, a basement. This space serves your house in many ways. It can keep the home off the ground to circulate air, but also hold plumbing equipment, pipes, and electrical wires without the installation expense of a full basement. Unfortunately, crawl spaces tend to have more issues, such as dampness and humidity, which can lead to more damage to your home. Here’s how to identify some of the issues within your crawl space.

1. Look for dampness

 Examine the crawl space for any standing water, leaking, dripping, or condensation. If you can’t get into the space, swirl a dry towel around to check for dampness. Your basement professional will be able to find out where it’s coming from.

2. Examine the materials

Surfaces should not be warped or cracked. Check the girders, columns, and any flooring for splits, cracks, and buckles. That’s a sign that there might be rot or moisture.

3. Check for sagging

When a crawl space begins to sag, everything above it starts to sag, too. Examine the walls, ceiling, and other structural elements for sagging. You’ll also want to pay attention to any odors, as those can be a major red flag that something is going on.

4. Watch out for pests

Because crawl spaces tend to be damp, pests just love to live there. They’re also full of food, especially for termites and powderpost beetles. Look for the actual pests themselves, as well as what they leave behind, including droppings and powdered wood from support beams.

5. Inspect any drywall cracks

If you’re starting to see cracks in your drywall in other areas of your home, your crawl space might be doing damage far above the basement area.

6. Look for uneven floors

If you can roll a marble on the floor above your crawl space and it rolls immediately to one side of your home or the other, you’re getting some warping in your floor that might be due to moisture in your crawl space Get in touch with your local basement professional to really check out what’s going on below the surface. Get help with identifying more issues with your crawl space and finding the right solutions during a free consultation with Dale Giraudin’s Basement Systems of New York. They will assess your crawl space condition, identify any issues, and create a plan that will give you a crawl space that works for your home.

Since 1994, Dale Giraudin’s Basement Systems of New York has been the company to call for waterproofing basements in the Hudson Valley, fixing wet and moldy basements, as well as crawl spaces. As a locally owned and operated company, we are able to design a custom, warrantied waterproofing system for your basement and provide you with the personalized service you deserve. Find out more about basement waterproofing by making an appointment for a free estimate or call 1-800-719-9240.