On Sep 27, 7:02*am, "badgolferman"
wrote:
RogerT wrote:
"badgolferman" wrote in message
...
It seems there is condensation building up underneath my house on
the end near the garage that doesn't have foundation vents. *Some
of the joists have mold or a fungus on them. *The prior owner
installed some crawlspace fans and had them on a timer. *I went
under there today and moved one of the fans from under the porch to
that wet area and aimed it toward the other fan that was blowing in
the direction of the vents at the other side of the house. *I had
to run a new wire from the old location to the new location of
course. *I've left the fans on continuously and will check it in a
few days.

The exterminating/moisture inspection company that told me about the
problem has offered a $560 treatment that sprays all exposed wood
under the house and kills any thing that is alive now. *I've
considered going under there and spraying bleach/water solution,
but I don't think I'll come out alive.

Does anyone have experience with this?

It would probably help to know where your home is located to get a
better idea of the climate in your area. *Also, is there any
insulation between the joists (with or without facing)? *And, is it
an uncovered dirt floor in the crawl space, or some other type of
floor?

I recently went to a meeting where an inspector talked about this
condition. He suggested no insulation between the joists or, if there
is insulation, to make sure it is unfaced insulation. *He said
placing 4-6 mil plastic on the dirt floor can create a moisture
barrier to help prevent the moisture in the soil from coming up. *And
he said that sometimes no vents are better than having vents because
the warm humid air from outside can come in through the vents and
cause the condensation you are seeing -- especially if there are fans
operating which bring in the humid air.

My house is in SE Virginia near the Chesapeake Bay. *We do not have
basements in this area due to the high water table. *The humidity is
high in this area. *I have a moisture barrier on the ground and
insulation between the joists. *The insulation has backing on the side
that touches the subfloor.

New construction houses around here continue to have crawlspace vents
built into the foundation, albeit bigger and more numerous than older
houses like mine. *The area affected under the house has no vents
because it's flanked on one side by the garage and on another side by
the porch wall. *There is a cutout for pipes to go through the area,
but there's really no path for air circulation.

I moved a fan from the porch area to the area that builds up
condensation and aimed it toward the other side of the house that is
dry and has a fan too. *That fan blows toward the foundation that has
vents. *The fans have been running straight for three days. *Hopefully
it has dried out enough to remove the condensation by now.

I think I will call the company today and have them perform the
spraying that kills everything.- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

I'd also figure out a permanent solution to getting more
air flow in there first. Once they spray it you don't want
the environment that created it to still be there.