Dirt?...

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#1

Originally Posted By: jedwards
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; you can see the condensation droplets on the top of the hatch frame to the right (photo taken today, outside temp <60, hatch hadn’t been opened for some time). The room above has some moisture stains and mold on the paneling from an ongoing roof leak that needs attention, over the same end of the room as this photo.


The photo shows the underside of the poured concrete floor of the original porch. It's caked with dirt. It's not WDI. At this end of the crawl, it's as much as an inch thick. Back toward the other end of the crawl it thins out but there's at least a dusting all the way, 10' or so to the opposite end with decreasing overhead clearance.

This crawl has obviously been a moisture issue for a long time. You can see some fresh mold spots on the brick in the photo. The upper surface of the floor in the room itself has a dusting of mold throughout from water that's wicked up through the concrete over the years. The only thing I can come up with is that it gets so wet in this crawl during the summer (it gets to 90F plus and damned humid in these parts) that over the course of 60 years the dirt has been deposited by rising water vapor from the moist soil underneath. Only about 24" vertical clearance at most. The coating is thicker near this end of the crawl under the leak problem, which would make sense.

FWIW, the main crawl under the rest of the house is well-vented and dry as a bone.

Ever seen this? Better explanation? Anybody?

--
John Edwards
Assurance South, LLC home page
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#2

Originally Posted By: rpalac
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The picture is either upside down or it must be on the other side of the earth (China).


If you can provide more pictures and info it would help.

Is this area below out side grade? Maybe the rain is washing soil inside? Usually it would not be that crust on top, it would be puddle flat, but it's a thought.

The lack of ventilation it a definite concern. The water droplets are a result of moisture getting in there from somewhere, which leads me back to water permeation from rain. I know you said there was a leak up top but I have a feeling it might be a grading issue as well.
Can you supply outside pictures. And see if the grading is above the area and negative toward the building or if a rain leader ends in this area.

Bob P.

#3

Originally Posted By: jpope
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If you take a closer look, I think you’ll find that this may have originally been a “slab on grade.” The concrete was poured on the ground and the basement was dug out sometime after.


I could be wrong, but I have seen this before.

--
Jeff Pope
JPI Home Inspection Service
"At JPI, we'll help you look better"
(661) 212-0738

#4

Originally Posted By: jedwards
This post was automatically imported from our archived forum.


Thanks for the replies. Here’s a pic of the exterior. The former porch is on the left (those were the porch steps), main house on the right. The hatch in pic one is to the left of the steps in pic 2.


http://www.nachi.org/bbsystem/usrimages/0P1010076.JPG

Robert, yeah, the moisture's a big concern, especially with the mold it's causing on the top of the concrete floor inside. I'm pretty sure that it's primarily due to the complete lack of ventilation, maybe compounded by the leak, which is happening at the roof above that interior corner in pic 2. All the condensation was on the hatch frame because the outside temp was considerably lower than in the crawl. The entire house is well above grade with no negative slope toward the house.

Jeff, it wouldn't have ever been slab on grade, as such, but I think you're right in that the porch foundation was originally filled in when the concrete floor was poured, and then dug out later after the hatch opening was cut out. Looking back at pic 1, there's leftover mortar on the edges of some of the bricks bordering the hatch frame where the hatch was cut out; the hatch obviously wasn't there originally. This would explain the total lack of vents (when the adjacent main crawl is real well vented), and the dirt above. The only question is... why?? The crawl isn't big or high enough to make any kind of decent storage space, and there isn't any plumbing or wiring to be accessed in there. At least that explains where the dirt probably came from.

Thanks...

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John Edwards
Assurance South, LLC home page
Pre-Paid Legal Services