Doug Kanter wrote:
"Mark" wrote in message
oups.com...

put a vapor barrier plastic sheets down over the bare earth and add
some ventilation
in the crawl space to the outside, then seal it from the rest of the
basement (in a way that you can open it for service access).

Mark



That's what I'm going to do in the spring, but I can't access it through the
small holes. The entire kitchen floor is in bad shape (some sort of
linoleum). So, my plan is to rip it out, and in the 1/3 of the room that's
over the crawlspace, take out the floorboards, too, giving me total access
to the bare earth.

There are no pipes in or near the crawlspace area. I want to believe (?) I'm
not risking much if I close the two access holes for 3-4 months.


You're not risking anything. The standard procedure for
crawl spaces in cold areas is to close the foundation vents
in the winter. And they make vent closures that are not
only tight, but insulated as well. If the walls around that
craw space are tight, I'm not sure why you have cold air
pouring through the two slots to the basement. Nonetheless,
closing off those two slots to reduce air movement would
likely make the crawl space warmer. Moisture in the crawl
space is not normally a problem in winter.