Many types of homes are designed to have crawl spaces underneath them. Certain parts of the world have houses that commonly come with crawl spaces instead of basements.
It can be beneficial to have a crawl space. It gives workers easy access to your pipes and vents.
However, you might be worried about having a dirt floor in the crawl space. It certainly won’t be the most pleasant thing in the world.
When you have to crawl underneath your house, it might be annoying to get dirty. What should you put on your crawl space floor, though?
Read on to learn a little bit about your options. After reading everything, you should have a better idea of what you can do.
What to Do with Dirt Floor in Crawl Space
You can encapsulate the crawl space if you want to. There are some clear benefits to doing this.
If you don’t take action, the dirt floor will allow moisture to enter the crawl space area. Moist air and water seeping up from the ground will be real issues.
Often, problems like this will cause mold and mildew to grow in the crawl space. The mold and mildew will continue to grow because a crawl space is a perfect environment.
The moist and humid conditions in the crawl space will allow mold to grow unchecked. It can become such an issue that it’ll cause damage to your home.
You could even have mold spores get through your vents. They can make you sick, and it’s truly best to take action before that occurs.
Dirt crawl spaces are incredibly common, but so are the problems that are associated with them. Encapsulating a crawl space involves installing a moisture barrier over a dirt floor.
What Does the Barrier Do?
The barrier that you install on the floor keeps moisture from entering the crawl space. Sometimes this is referred to as a plastic vapor barrier.
Typically, these barriers are made out of polyethylene plastic. It works to keep moisture at bay so your home can be protected.
You can still use the crawl space with the barrier installed. If you or workers need to access the crawl space, it’s fine to crawl over the top of the barrier.
So it doesn’t hinder you from using the crawl space as intended. It only works to protect you from significant moisture issues.
Without a barrier in place, it’s possible that your home could experience structural damage. The presence of water in the crawl space area can easily cause areas of your home to rot away.
Mold is also known to cause damage to homes. Installing a barrier and encapsulating the crawl space is the best method that you have available to you to keep things safe.
Can a Crawl Space Have a Concrete Floor?
A concrete floor can be added to a crawl space. Most experts say that it’s best for the crawl space to have at least three feet of clearance if you plan to add a concrete floor.
There are a few different ways that you can go about installing a concrete floor. Some people just put a concrete pad on top of the dirt.
Others choose to install a vapor barrier first and then put the concrete floor on top of that. Adding the vapor barrier first does more to protect the crawl space from moisture.
Using just a concrete floor as a means of protecting your home from moisture might prove to be insufficient. It just depends on how bad the moisture issues are in your area.
Either way, it’s good to know that adding a concrete floor to your crawl space is an option. If you currently have a dirt concrete floor, it’s possible to install a concrete floor by enlisting professional help.
You can call a local business and get them to come out to your home. They can check things out and tell you whether it’s practical and safe to install a concrete crawl space floor.
Can You Fill a Crawl Space with Concrete?
Technically, you can fill a crawl space with concrete. However, this isn’t always the most practical idea to implement.
Most experts say that filling a crawl space with concrete will have a negative impact on air quality. Also, it’s quite difficult to get the job done right.
Crawl spaces are somewhat small, and it’s difficult to pour the concrete properly. You need to pour the concrete in a specific way to ensure that the job is done safely.
Most people say that using concrete to fill the crawl space is a dangerous prospect. You don’t want to botch the job.
It’s more common to convert a home so that it will have a concrete slab. This is a very expensive job, and it requires raising the home so that the concrete slab can be poured and installed.
Truly, it’s better to save yourself some cash and just install a vapor barrier. A vapor barrier and a concrete floor will make your crawl space safer and much easier to use overall.
Final Thoughts
Having a dirt crawl space floor is very common, but it’s not the safest thing to have underneath your home. These types of crawl spaces often have significant issues with moisture.
Water will seep in from the ground, and it can cause issues with mold. Even standing water can become a serious concern depending on the conditions in the area.
To combat this, you will be wise to install a vapor barrier on top of the dirt floor. This makes it so you won’t have to worry about moisture in the crawl space any longer.
You can also choose to install a concrete floor on top of the moisture barrier. This makes it a little easier to use the space, but you have to have enough room in the crawl space to install the concrete floor.
Generally, you should only install a concrete floor if you have three feet of clearance in the crawl space. These floors can be installed without vapor barriers, but they don’t do as good of a job protecting from moisture issues without them.
Do your best to make good decisions for your home. As a homeowner, you want to protect your investment and keep your home from getting damaged.
Ben has a bachelor’s degree in construction engineering. When not constructing or remodeling X-Ray Rooms, Cardiovascular Labs, and Pharmacies, you can find him at home with wife and two daughters. Outside of family, He loves grilling and barbequing on his Big Green Egg and Blackstone Griddle, as well as working on projects around the house.
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