If your home has a basement, it may have windows that are below finish grade.
These windows should be “window-wells” around them that, besides creating a place for the windows to open into, keep dirt from impacting the wood trim and other window components. These window wells should be kept free of dirt, debris and vegetation—-or the covered wood components will be subject to Rot and/or infestation by wood destroying insects.
They should be big enough to allow for the necessary clearances between finish grade and the wood components—the same as is required all around the home.
It seems that homeowners rarely keep these window-wells free of vegetation and debris and hidden damage is common.
Of course if the window is used for escape and rescue from the basement, keeping these windows clear becomes even more important.
What do your window-wells look like?
Charles Buell, Seattle Home Inspector
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Please write about crawl space vents! How far above ground should they be? And how far below the siding? To block them off in winter in the Pacific Northwest or not? (Insulated heat ducts run through the crawl space, and there is underfloor insulation.) And what about bathroom sink plumbing dropping down across crawl space vent opening only two or three inches from the outside — I block this in winter for fear of freezing pipes. Who ever thought a crawl space was a good idea, anyway?
The clearances to crawl space vents should be the same as for any untreated wood structures—like siding etc. They can be in the field of the siding if need be. They should NOT be blocked in the winter in the Pacific NW. In most places in the NW—until you get into the mountains or East of the mountains piping in crawl spaces does OK—they should be insulated and protected from freezing in that sense. I am not much of a fan of crawl spaces and would argue for closing crawl spaces all together. But this requires that the crawl space communicate with the indoor space to make it “conditioned” space. This is difficult to retro-fit in most crawl spaces. You don’t say where you are in the NW so be careful—consult with someone knowledgeable in your area. Generally speaking it is NOT a good idea to close crawl spaces.
Thank you very much for your reply. I am in the Willamette Valley in Oregon, near Corvallis, close to the eastern side of the Coast Range. I have asked various builders and crawl space insulators their opinion on closing vent spaces. Some say “close,” some say “keep open.”
This past winter was the first one that I had insulation under the floor (one-storey house) and insulation on the pipes and heating ducts. Before that, no insulation under the floor and old insulation falling off the ducts; no foam around the pipe openings. In the past, I figured the ducts were so poorly insulated or not insulated at all that they kept the pipes warm, so the brief periods of freezing wouldn’t be a problem. But I closed the vents anyway in the hopes of keeping the house warmer. This past winter I started off not closing the vents, but then it got colder and colder outside and I began to think I would get some heating advantage by closing them, so I did.
What is the main reason NOT to close them? And is the clearance for crawl space vents the same as for wood structures because there is a wood frame inside the vent space, to which wire screen is attached? My vent spaces are openings in the poured concrete foundation, with the wood frames (pieces of 2X6) inside.
I really appreciate your website. Yours is the clearest and most sensible information I have found after much looking. And as I said, I got various opinions on what to do about crawl space vents when I had uninsulated space. I’ve learned, having repairs of various kinds done on the house, that there are all kinds of people out there doing repair work. All of them act like they know what they’re talking about, but not all of them do.
The main reason to not close the vents is so that moisture that would otherwise stay in the crawl space and create conditions conducive to wood destroying organisms can be flushed from the space. Even though you might think that the cold wet air entering the crawl space would raise the moisture in the crawl space, in actuality the opposite happens because the warmer crawl space air can hold more moisture than the cold air. The saturated (very high humidity) cold air actually will lower the humidity of the unsaturated warmer air. There is a lot that can be done to avoid all the issues you talk about in newer construction—in retrofits it can be more problematic. While there are ways to close those vents—it must be done properly by someone that knows what they are doing. Protecting the pipes from freezing is important—but so is keeping the space properly vented. From an energy savings point of view it would be better to seal the vents, insulate the foundation and take the insulation out of the floor, and condition the space. This approach is allowed by code—and frankly should be “required” by code—both for comfort and energy conservation. 95% of the time when you insulate the floors above a crawl space the floors feel colder to walk on—upsetting people that just spent a lot of money to insulate them 🙂
To answer you question about how close the vents are to the ground it is because you don’t want them filling up with debris and dirt and low enough that water could flow into them—regardless if they are made of wood or not.
Many thanks. My newly insulated floors are not warmer to walk on, but not colder either. My heating bill has gone down since my insulating efforts, and the noise of the cheap furnace blower is less. I wouldn’t have done any of it if it weren’t for the tax-credit and cash-back energy savings incentives. Conditioning this old crawl space, with its exterior access and walls with cracks (minor, by most opinions, but who knows) is way beyond what I’ll ever do here in this spec built house of 30-plus years. I feel virtuous enough as it is for having spent my money on insulation instead of marble counter tops and cherry cabinets in the kitchen.
I’ll be keeping my crawl space vents open in the coming winter; you’ve explained it in a way I can understand.
VERY helpful posts, thank you.
I’m in Seattle with a similar setup to the person above. Vented crawl space, tall enough to walk in. I have a heat pump with the air handler and all ducts in the crawl space.
There’s a drainage issues during Fall/Winter because house is built into slope. So, I have a small water path right through the crawl space. End up with about a 5 foot by 10 foot area that is wet during winter with an inch or so of standing water. Because of the layout of the house, and it being at the end of a long drive that has an elevation drop of about 30 feet, trying to keep water out is – realistically – impossible.
Last year, had a major mice problem and pulled out all the fiberglass insulation batts between the floor joists. I didn’t replace it until I knew for certain that I’d sealed every entry point for mice.
Funny thing is, in comparing my PSE bill from last year with insulation, to this year with no floor insulation, they’re the same. Absolutely no difference. In fact, if anything, the kw hours are a tad less this year.
I’ve had various PSE referred contractors recommend different solutions:
+ Sealing/encapsulating the crawl space
+ Leaving crawl space vented but spraying foam around rim joists and between floor joists
+ Installing fiberglass batts between floor joists, which I used to have
Question: How would you insulate a home like this in Seattle?
It’s hard to know what to do when you talk to these different contractors. They all say their way is the right way.
Yet… using simple math in looking at my power bill over the past few years, I don’t see the payback in insulating the floors. ESPECIALLY if you say the floors will feel colder!
Thanks a lot in advance. – Thomas
Elena, just make sure your pipes are well protected—hate to have to come down there and fix any pipes for you 🙂
One more thing… I put down a 10 mil vapor barrier and taped the seams. This has helped a lot with the musty odor coming into the house.
Is it okay if this is covering the water that’s standing about an inch or so? I know mold will grow under neath. But if the seems are taped, I thought this would be okay. It sure helps with the musty smell.
Thank you.
Thomas, I would hope that the “outdoor” component of the AC/Heat Pump is not in the crawl space. First of all, the water issue must be addressed before any good decision about whether to insulate and where as well as to vent or not vent. If it is absolutely impossible to address the water issue from the exterior (where it should be addressed), there are ways to deal with it from the interior of the crawl space. Having the situation analyzed by a qualified drainage contractor would give you options in this respect. Turning the space into “conditioned” space is the best approach in my opinion but that is not as simple as just closing the vents and insulating the foundation. Please see my post A Reasoned Indictment of the Green Movement for why this option is the best approach. I would be happy to consult with you off line if you like.