What problems are created with crawl spaces?
Crawl spaces have been challenges in the past because of uncertainty about whether a crawl space is inside or outside the house. Moisture control has been poorly understood. Many building code regulations, based on outmoded assumptions, have contributed to this confusion. Surprisingly, performance testing has shown that vented crawl spaces are much more closely connected to the house than to outdoors. Many vented crawl spaces have problems with heat loss, moisture and radon. Another problem with crawl spaces is that they are out-of-sight, out-of-mind. Homeowners rarely poke their head into a crawl space. In the past, crawl spaces have often received too little attention during the construction process, with hasty work and little quality control. This has further compromised crawl space performance. Deep crawl spaces built below suspended basement floors in areas with expansive soils are often in wetter soils than traditional at-grade crawl spaces. Again, moisture control has been poorl
