Greetings,

I have a small 3 bed 2 bath house being built here in a small town in the
Northwest Inland. It should complete by the end of January. The builder is a
small builder that's typical here who has no more that 2 or 3 houses being
built at any given time.

The house is a one level rancher over a crawlspace of about 3' headroom.
Entire house is on the crawlspace, except the garage. It has GFA heating but
no AC. I have no plan to install AC since here in summer there is only time
of 2 or 3 weeks of hot weather.

As I currently live pretty close to that new home, I've got the chance to
visit the site quite a few times as the construction goes on. I did notice
something that I want to talk to the builder (he is very hard to get hold
on) but I want get some ideas first.

Currently it is in the phase of installing HVAC ductwork and plumbing
(installing bath tubs etc). The lot is slightly sloped from back to front.
The neighbor's lot across the backyard is higher than mine, and it goes
lower towards front yard and lower to the street. The builder told me he'd
grade the lot so there is a swale in my backyard that goes on to the sides
and finally to the street. I think it is the right way but he hasn't done
that yet so now the backyard still slopes to the back of the house.

1. I looked into the crawlspace a couple of times. It has a lot of water
there. After a good rain the water is ankle deep. Is it because the lot hasn
't been graded? Is it supposed to be dry even after rain, when grading is
complete?

2. After the foundation walls were poured, I saw them putting two ridged
black plastic pipes (about 6") along the outside of footings all around the
foundation. One has fabric over it. Someone told me the one with fabric is
perforated to collect water that otherwise would seep into the crawlspace.
The gutter downspouts would go to the other pipe. But I don't know to where
these pipes should direct water. I only saw the pipes lying in the trench
but they were not connected to anything!!. The next time I visited they
backfilled it all I saw were a few pipes sticking out a few places. Do these
pipes need to be connected to sewer or something?

3. There are 6 mil sheets on the dirt in the crawlspace (now it is floating
in water). But the sheets cover separate segments because there are two
additional concrete footings running through the space. There are 2x4 lumber
props on these footing to support the floor joists. Is it the right way to
put down the vapor retarder? I guess the concrete footings in the middle
also suck and evaporate a lot of water.

4. Currently there is no insulation under the subfloor. Are they supposed to
put batts between the TJI joists? The house specs do say R38 for attic and
R19 for walls and floor.

5. There are 11 vents on foundation walls (8x16 size). Are they sufficient
for this 1350 SQFT crawlspace?

6. I am going to install the standard 3/4" solid wood strip floor in the
dining/kitchen room. Can flooring store do the installation with the wet
crawlspace? It seems that many suggest that the house must be dry before
floor installation.

Thank you very much.

Bob