Girder Moisture Help

[mhoge]

Hello all. I found this forum after a lot of searching for some help on my topic, but unfortunately I haven't been able to find any answers yet. Hopefully you guys can help me.

I recently bought a house built on a pier & beam foundation with a crawl space. The house is 19 years old. The crawl space gets a decent amount of moisture, which I am dealing with by installing a sump pump and plastic moisture barrier. I think that the majority of the moisture comes from a high water table and no current moisture barrier.

My problem is that I recently noticed that the girder rests directly on the pocket in the foundation wall, and the end of the girder is turning black from the moisture. I read that there is supposed to be a half inch gap between the girder and foundation wall, but this gap simply is not there, allowing the beam to absorb the moisture.

My question is what can I do to create a gap or moisture barrier between the girder and foundation wall to stop the moisture absorbtion before the wood rots out (assuming it's not already rotted on the inside of the beam). Any ideas? Thanks in advance.

 

[MikeHalloran]

How about a photo or two?



Mike Halloran
Pembroke Pines, FL, USA

 

[a2mfk]

What part of the country?

I agree with mike, get a crawlin' and picture takin'

And if you own or can borrow a moisture meter, probe the wood in that area. Mold growth can occur on the surface and the wood moisture content may still be below 19%...