Crawlspace Maintenance Access 1

[VBDave]

I recently purchased a ranch home in Virginia Beach. There is a two cinder block height access under the house. I'm a big guy and cant get under there to do some basic maintenance I want to do.

In general web research I've seen the idea of creating "V" shaped swails or trenches in the middle of the crawl between the piers and foundation. Staying away from the piers / foundation walls by a few feet. This would allow for crawling access.

The home is not located in a flood zone and while i don't know what the depth of the water table is i do know when I've dug holes for various reasons i have never found wet soil.

Has anyone had any experience with this type of crawlspace work?

 

[phamENG]

What part of Virginia Beach? I'm in Hampton Roads, too, and have vastly different experience with wet soil. Then again, I'm just a few miles from the Dismal Swamp, so that's a big part of it! There are areas of Virginia Beach that are high and dry, and others that are just as swampy as my place. Sounds like you're probably on the dry side.

What you're suggesting is reasonable as long as you stay away from any foundation walls. Most of the individual piers won't be a big deal as they probably have limited lateral resistance to begin with. That said, I would give them as wide a berth as you can manage - just in case.

 

[dhengr]

VBDave:
Your under-house crawl space should generally be graded with a hump down the middle, so any water tends to drain outward and into the yard. And, the yard should be graded to carry this surface water further away from the house and foundation. If this is the general lay-of-the-land, then what you want to do is probably o.k. Do stay away from the found. walls and interior piers, as much as possible, certainly don’t start to undermine them. And, don’t remove any bracing under there, work around it. Then if you don’t have a high water table problem, and keep rain water draining well away from the bldg. you should be o.k. Otherwise, your shallow trenches could become water holding messes which will not drain, and in fact just add to the humidity under the house, and this is not a good situation either. Rock gardens, plantings and edging around the house also tend to hold water near or under the house, and these should be fixed accordingly, to drain out into the yard. If you want to study the water table, take a post hole digger and drill down 6’ or 8’. Case this hole with a piece of PVC pipe, with a loose cap, and you can see any seasonal changes in the water table. RE: the trench digging, get yourself a kids plastic snow sliding (elongated dish type, sled?); tie a rope to each end; one for the digger and one for the guy outside the found., and you shuttle this back-n-forth with the spoils. For the digging a flat garden hoe and a round nosed shovel with the handle cut down to about 2’ long. Have fun, it’s a messy job.

 

[XR250]

Might be better to pay a skinny guy to do the maintenance needed and then get the crawlspace sealed. Not much to do under there unless you have filters to change or if there is some current structural issues.

 

[VBDave]

phamENG: were in the thoroughgood area. Its pretty high and dry even though the WB of the lynnhaven is near by.

 

[phamENG]

Very nice. I'm familiar with the area. Not sure if you're new in town or not, but if so - welcome to Hampton Roads. Oh, and welcome to Eng-Tips, too.