Crawl Space Vent Covers Bad Idea?
 

I was looking on the Internet for some Window Wells to prevent dirt
from piling up near my crawl space vents. Then I see something like
this on the Internet suggesting that the thinking is now to seal the
vents to save on energy and keep out moisture?

http://www.basementsystems.com/crawl...space_vent.php

What is recommended, to seal the crawl space vents or leave them open
for air flow?

Crawl Space Vent Covers Bad Idea?
 

On Jun 17, 8:37*pm, Albert wrote:
I was looking on the Internet for some Window Wells to prevent dirt
from piling up near my crawl space vents. *Then I see something like
this on the Internet suggesting that the thinking is now to seal the
vents to save on energy and keep out moisture?

http://www.basementsystems.com/crawl...oducts/crawlsp...

What is recommended, to seal the crawl space vents or leave them open
for air flow?

Ventilation is very important. It is much better to properly insulate
the floor joists in the crawl space than to seal off the vents. That
is what they are there for.

Crawl Space Vent Covers Bad Idea?
 

wrote in message
...
On Jun 17, 8:37 pm, Albert wrote:
I was looking on the Internet for some Window Wells to prevent dirt
from piling up near my crawl space vents. Then I see something like
this on the Internet suggesting that the thinking is now to seal the
vents to save on energy and keep out moisture?

http://www.basementsystems.com/crawl...oducts/crawlsp...

What is recommended, to seal the crawl space vents or leave them open
for air flow?

Ventilation is very important. It is much better to properly insulate
the floor joists in the crawl space than to seal off the vents. That
is what they are there for.

************************************************

Curious, did you read the web page posted? What are you basing your
statements on?

It states:
If Crawl Space Ventilation Doesn't Work, What's the Solution?
There is an informative article by Advanced Energy, a national
resource who focuses on applied building science, on venting crawl spaces
entitled, "To Vent or Not to Vent." [Download PDF]
Crawl space encapsulation is the solution! Seal the crawl space with a vapor
barrier, sealer the crawl space vents with vent covers, seal any gaps or
holes to the outside, seal the crawl space door - seal it up as tight as
possible.






Do you think it is possible that the thinking has changed and engineering is
proving the ventilation method is wrong?

Crawl Space Vent Covers Bad Idea?
 

Edwin Pawlowski wrote:
wrote in message
...
On Jun 17, 8:37 pm, Albert wrote:
I was looking on the Internet for some Window Wells to prevent dirt
from piling up near my crawl space vents. Then I see something like
this on the Internet suggesting that the thinking is now to seal the
vents to save on energy and keep out moisture?

http://www.basementsystems.com/crawl...oducts/crawlsp...

What is recommended, to seal the crawl space vents or leave them open
for air flow?

Ventilation is very important. It is much better to properly insulate
the floor joists in the crawl space than to seal off the vents. That
is what they are there for.

************************************************

Curious, did you read the web page posted? What are you basing your
statements on?

It states:
If Crawl Space Ventilation Doesn't Work, What's the Solution?
There is an informative article by Advanced Energy, a national
resource who focuses on applied building science, on venting crawl spaces
entitled, "To Vent or Not to Vent." [Download PDF]
Crawl space encapsulation is the solution! Seal the crawl space with a vapor
barrier, sealer the crawl space vents with vent covers, seal any gaps or
holes to the outside, seal the crawl space door - seal it up as tight as
possible.






Do you think it is possible that the thinking has changed and engineering is
proving the ventilation method is wrong?



Most modern houses I've seen with crawls don't even HAVE vents. When did
Visqueen and similar become widely available? Late 1950s or so, IIRC? In
the old days, there was no practical method to seal the dirt with a
vapor barrier, and if you had a lot of ground moisture (due to climate,
high water table, bad grading and poor footer drainage, etc), venting
was the only way to keep it halfway dried out. A hundred years of
tradition takes a few decades to fade away. Remember, in most parts of
the country, concrete floors in basements (outside of big cities) didn't
get common till the 20s and 30s. Of course back then, the cellar
entrance was usually outside-only.

--
aem sends...

Crawl Space Vent Covers Bad Idea?
 

On Jun 17, 10:02*pm, "Edwin Pawlowski" wrote:
wrote in message

...
On Jun 17, 8:37 pm, Albert wrote:

I was looking on the Internet for some Window Wells to prevent dirt
from piling up near my crawl space vents. Then I see something like
this on the Internet suggesting that the thinking is now to seal the
vents to save on energy and keep out moisture?

http://www.basementsystems.com/crawl...oducts/crawlsp...

What is recommended, to seal the crawl space vents or leave them open
for air flow?

Ventilation is very important. *It is much better to properly insulate
the floor joists in the crawl space than to seal off the vents. *That
is what they are there for.

************************************************

Curious, did you read the web page posted? *What are you basing your
statements on?

It states:
If Crawl Space Ventilation Doesn't Work, What's the Solution?
* * * There is an informative article by Advanced Energy, a national
resource who focuses on applied building science, on venting crawl spaces
entitled, "To Vent or Not to Vent." [Download PDF]
Crawl space encapsulation is the solution! Seal the crawl space with a vapor
barrier, sealer the crawl space vents with vent covers, seal any gaps or
holes to the outside, seal the crawl space door - seal it up as tight as
possible.

Do you think it is possible that the thinking has changed and engineering is
proving the ventilation method is wrong?

This poster Albert was only interested in keeping dirt out of his vent
space. I think he was concerned about outside dirt or maybe mulch and
such. He expressed no worries about moisture or a need for
waterproofing or encapsulation. So I told him what I think about
ventilation. To simply seal the vent is probably wrong just because
the company says it is only a part of a whole system. If it ain't
broke don't fix it.

Crawl Space Vent Covers Bad Idea?
 

on 6/17/2008 11:05 PM aemeijers said the following:
Edwin Pawlowski wrote:
wrote in message
...

On Jun 17, 8:37 pm, Albert wrote:
I was looking on the Internet for some Window Wells to prevent dirt
from piling up near my crawl space vents. Then I see something like
this on the Internet suggesting that the thinking is now to seal the
vents to save on energy and keep out moisture?

http://www.basementsystems.com/crawl...oducts/crawlsp...


What is recommended, to seal the crawl space vents or leave them open
for air flow?

Ventilation is very important. It is much better to properly insulate
the floor joists in the crawl space than to seal off the vents. That
is what they are there for.

************************************************

Curious, did you read the web page posted? What are you basing your
statements on?

It states:
If Crawl Space Ventilation Doesn't Work, What's the Solution?
There is an informative article by Advanced Energy, a national
resource who focuses on applied building science, on venting crawl
spaces entitled, "To Vent or Not to Vent." [Download PDF]
Crawl space encapsulation is the solution! Seal the crawl space with
a vapor barrier, sealer the crawl space vents with vent covers, seal
any gaps or holes to the outside, seal the crawl space door - seal it
up as tight as possible.






Do you think it is possible that the thinking has changed and
engineering is proving the ventilation method is wrong?


Most modern houses I've seen with crawls don't even HAVE vents. When
did Visqueen and similar become widely available? Late 1950s or so,
IIRC? In the old days, there was no practical method to seal the dirt
with a vapor barrier, and if you had a lot of ground moisture (due to
climate, high water table, bad grading and poor footer drainage, etc),
venting was the only way to keep it halfway dried out. A hundred years
of tradition takes a few decades to fade away. Remember, in most parts
of the country, concrete floors in basements (outside of big cities)
didn't get common till the 20s and 30s. Of course back then, the
cellar entrance was usually outside-only.

--
aem sends...

I agree with you there. If the dirt in the crawl space is covered with a
moisture barrier, then the vents can be sealed, but if the dirt
constantly gets wet from the conditions you noted, then the water vapor
is trapped inside, possibly causing rot of the wood above.

--

Bill
In Hamptonburgh, NY
To email, remove the double zeroes after @

Crawl Space Vent Covers Bad Idea?
 

Read this from the US Department of Energy

http://www.eere.energy.gov/consumer/.../mytopic=11780

************************************************** **************************************************
wrote in message
...
On Jun 17, 10:02 pm, "Edwin Pawlowski" wrote:
wrote in message

...
On Jun 17, 8:37 pm, Albert wrote:

I was looking on the Internet for some Window Wells to prevent dirt
from piling up near my crawl space vents. Then I see something like
this on the Internet suggesting that the thinking is now to seal the
vents to save on energy and keep out moisture?

http://www.basementsystems.com/crawl...oducts/crawlsp...

What is recommended, to seal the crawl space vents or leave them open
for air flow?

Ventilation is very important. It is much better to properly insulate
the floor joists in the crawl space than to seal off the vents. That
is what they are there for.

************************************************

Curious, did you read the web page posted? What are you basing your
statements on?

It states:
If Crawl Space Ventilation Doesn't Work, What's the Solution?
There is an informative article by Advanced Energy, a national
resource who focuses on applied building science, on venting crawl spaces
entitled, "To Vent or Not to Vent." [Download PDF]
Crawl space encapsulation is the solution! Seal the crawl space with a
vapor
barrier, sealer the crawl space vents with vent covers, seal any gaps or
holes to the outside, seal the crawl space door - seal it up as tight as
possible.

Do you think it is possible that the thinking has changed and engineering
is
proving the ventilation method is wrong?

This poster Albert was only interested in keeping dirt out of his vent
space. I think he was concerned about outside dirt or maybe mulch and
such. He expressed no worries about moisture or a need for
waterproofing or encapsulation. So I told him what I think about
ventilation. To simply seal the vent is probably wrong just because
the company says it is only a part of a whole system. If it ain't
broke don't fix it.

Crawl Space Vent Covers Bad Idea?
 

On Jun 22, 10:28*pm, "ALE" wrote:
Read this from the US Department of Energy

http://www.eere.energy.gov/consumer/...n_airsealing/i...

************************************************** ************************************************** wrote in message

...
On Jun 17, 10:02 pm, "Edwin Pawlowski" wrote:





wrote in message

....
On Jun 17, 8:37 pm, Albert wrote:

I was looking on the Internet for some Window Wells to prevent dirt
from piling up near my crawl space vents. Then I see something like
this on the Internet suggesting that the thinking is now to seal the
vents to save on energy and keep out moisture?

http://www.basementsystems.com/crawl...oducts/crawlsp....

What is recommended, to seal the crawl space vents or leave them open
for air flow?

Ventilation is very important. It is much better to properly insulate
the floor joists in the crawl space than to seal off the vents. That
is what they are there for.

************************************************

Curious, did you read the web page posted? What are you basing your
statements on?

It states:
If Crawl Space Ventilation Doesn't Work, What's the Solution?
There is an informative article by Advanced Energy, a national
resource who focuses on applied building science, on venting crawl spaces
entitled, "To Vent or Not to Vent." [Download PDF]
Crawl space encapsulation is the solution! Seal the crawl space with a
vapor
barrier, sealer the crawl space vents with vent covers, seal any gaps or
holes to the outside, seal the crawl space door - seal it up as tight as
possible.

Do you think it is possible that the thinking has changed and engineering
is
proving the ventilation method is wrong?

This poster Albert was only interested in keeping dirt out of his vent
space. I think he was concerned about outside dirt or maybe mulch and
such. *He expressed no worries about moisture or a need for
waterproofing or encapsulation. *So I told him what I think about
ventilation. *To simply seal the vent is probably wrong just because
the company says it is only a part of a whole system. *If it ain't
broke don't fix it.- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

OK I read that thing from the US dept of energy or whatever but it
says nothing about ventilation.