It was some kind of makeshift filter in the duct. But good eye.
Apparently you guys don’t have termites where you live since the foundation, sill plate, and rim joists are all spray foamed. A 3-4 inch termite inspection gap is required at the top of the foundation wall in my state.
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I was worried about trapped moisture with the spray foam and the ends of the joist and sil plate. Am I being overly concerned?
I have run across this a couple of times where I am. In both cases it was a (failed) procedure to try to control moisture buildup in a crawlspace. In my opinion, The white paint (probably Kilz) most likely is there to cover up mold that was growing on the TJIs, floor decking and other areas. And I will bet you anything that the foam on center support is also there to cover up something (foam insulation would serve no other purpose there). The last one I did about 2 months ago looked very similar to this except for they did not go to the expense of applying foam insulation to cover up the mold on the stem walls. They did have a plastic vapor barrier on the ground very similar this one, however the lower areas had about 2 inches of water standing above the plastic.
I was able to write hard enough, using large red font to tell them exactly what “I Observed” without mentioning the dreaded M-word.
From what I understand the seller refused to make any concessions and I performed another inspection on a home for my clients without the multi-thousand dollar headache moisture in a crawlspace causes.
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i’ve encountered that once. you need to look for the moisture drain going out the bottom on some of them. the one i was in had one alongside the conduit taking the cable and phone lines into the house. i wanted to stay down there it was so nice. it had 1" rubber mats installed throughout the whole thing and was about 46" high. i don’t think it was conditioned though, i wasn’t inspecting, i was installing a starlink. chatting with the owner about the system though. i wrote down some notes on it and have them on the desktop that is suposed to be setup soon. he told me about the drain, sometimes it gets plugged up and you have to check it. i would definitely check real close for microbial growth as well though, that’s what happens if the drain gets plugged. easy to remediate according to him though. you just have to look at them regularly and as nice as they are it’s not a big deal.
First off, we have a lot of these crawlspace configurations in my area of far northern MN. It’s a conditioned space, like a basement. There should be no vents from the CS to the exterior. The poly floor cover is a barrier for soil moisture and soil gas. Untaped seams is an issue of concern. Did it “feel” humid when you were in the CS?
Foaming the rim joist and floor joists is also common and good practice. So long as there is a treated plate, this is not an issue of concern relative to trapped moisture. There is no concerning source of moisture in that application. It looks like closed cell foam, but if open cell, then you have a major concern for moisture.
There is no such thing as a radon filter. That green filter on the return duct is causing excessive pressurization of the CS when the furnace is operating. It should be gone. It appears the furnace is not in the CS, right?
From afar, my concerns: Cut I-joist, untaped seams of CS floor cover, restriction on return duct. Recommend testing for radon.
Obviously not a radon filter (thus the smiley face after my comment), but ironically, positive pressurization of this space would reduce radon levels.
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My guess is a fungicidal coating to prevent or treat for mold/mildew
Have the seams sealed and address the cut /notched joist.
One of my rental properties I had the CS incapsulated and they spray foamed the seams of the VB and conditioning was added.
Worked very well for us!
There are two types of crawlspaces’. 1: Vented. 2: Sealed.
My wag. The crawlspace had been renovated, or insulated recently.
Some foundation walls appear to taper inwards as if soil was removed to create more head room likely exposing shallow footings that required fortification to stabilise foundation walls. Either or, the spray foam is hiding what we normally are able to see. This would be a red flag for me requiring full disclosure.
As for the ductwork. Likely from an old forced are system.
Ask the vender for disclosure!
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Yes, the engineered “I” beam/joist is an issue…
The return register to the interior of the home is also an issue.
Advanced Energy has a wealth of informaton on sealed and conditioned crawls as does Building Science (Dr. Joe). I like Advanced Energy’s information as it is easy to read and understand. I would say about 50% or better of the sealed and conditioned crawls we see during inspections have not been installed properly. This PDF will provide you with what you need to start to understand how they are supposed to be installed. https://www.advancedenergy.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/1.pdf
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