Kenton, Ben,
Amazing video guys!!!
It must have been very difficult filming in a crawl space hence the issues with sound, but apart from that you guys a did a superb job of identifying normal crawl space defects.
I won this as a door prize but would have gladly paid double the cost to watch this amazing video!
BTW Can you guys do a show to educate builders on the many reason’s not to have a crawl space?:shock:
Will,
There will certainly be circumstances where crawlspace entry is not advised. I do enter crawlspaces, but they must meet certain criteria for me to do so.
First off, there needs to be sufficient clearance for me to extracate myself in a hurry. 36" most of the time.
Second, is there is a dirt floor, I am particularly picky. The crawlspace would need to be relatively clean (unobstructed) and relatively dry. Electrical cables would need to be generally well supported and visible before entering the space. LArge quantities of spider webs or live insects (particularly spiders) would prohibit entry. A clear view of DWV lies is also a must for me. If they are there, I pay particular attention to their condition prior to entry. Openings to the exterior are also viewed if possible. Entry to the crawl from the exterior can be particularly dangerous if vermin or snakes were to gain access. Snake bites ,or any bite from a rabid cornered animal will quickly damper an inspection. Belly shots are no picnic.
Third, if there is ANY signs of water on the crawlspace floor, I DO NOT ENTER THE SPACE.
Confined space entry is a real concern. Above all, the inspector needs to ensure personal safety at all times.
I completely understand, and agree with, all of your concerns. Maybe it is a “different area” kind of thing.
Very little in the way of venomous snakes around here and IR is grea for finding critters before they find you. I WIL NOT go into a crawl with a Racoon, but mice and rats are OK (they just run away).
I have a big pair of rubber wader boots for wet crawls. Around here, there are a lot of wet crawls, but they are mainly just water (although, it is occasionaly sewerage).
Besides, I tell my clients that I wear the orange shirt so that they can find my body easily 
.
I had 2 crawlspace inspections this past 7 months that were memorable.
(1) The 1st was a house owned by the estate of a deceased plumber. The crawlspace access had 4 steps down into a large window well. The base was lined with pea gravel and the walls were block - about 5’ tall. The access was a standard walk door cut down to 4’ tall.
As soon as you opened this door there was a wall light switch. I flipped it and the place lit up like Christmas. The guy had hung 9 flouresent light fixtures from the floor joists at various places (double 4’ lights in each). The floor was pea gravel and vapor barrier. He had cut strips of indoor/outdoor carpet that were 3’ wide and ran them around the perimeter of the foundation wall about 12" in from the walls. He had done the same thing from the entryway to the furnace AND to the area below every bathroom or plumbing fixture in the house above. Then he had cut openings for 5 registers into the HVAC ducts.
If that wasn’t good enough, I had 4’ to 5’ of headroom everywhere.
(2) This **POS **was by the KCI airport. As I inspected the house I quickly realized I had seen NO furnace, water heater or electrical panel. When I get to Mr Crawlspace, I find mud and 2’ - 3’ max headspace everywhere. I start to not go then with my floodlight, I see out in the middle the top 2’ of a furnace and water heater sticking up out of the dirt. My curiosity gets the better of me. I **CAREFULLY **crawl out there looking for snakes, rats or wires of any kind. I look in the **PIT **and then freak out.
Someone has dug a PIT in the ground AND dropped the furnace and water heater down in the pit. Its got about 12" clearance on all sides to the units. There is not a chance in hell that a service guy could work on **MOST **of either appliance if they quit. While I’m laying there in the mud trying to figure out what kind of IDIOT did this, I glance around and see my electrical panel mounted flush on the bottom of the floor joists about 6’ away. In short you had to lay on your back in the mud looking up at the cover to take it off.
When I came out of the crawlspace and changed clothes, the agent asked if everything was OK. I politely told them HELL NO, and recommended having COMPETENT and LICENSED contractors relocate the furnace, water heater and electrical panel outside the crawlspace - then call me for a reinspection. He informed me that its been that way for years and must have passed code, etc, etc. I laughed - a lot …
Obviously the agent was impressed as heck with my skills and has referred me to all his clients and fellow realtors - OR - choice B, I’ve never heard from him again. You make the call and guess which.
Whenever someone (seller, Realtor, etc) uses the lame excuse that “It passed codes inspection”, “it’s been that way for years and passed code at the time”, or “but is it OK by code”, I ask them to prove it. “Show me, on the letterhead of the local code dept., a formal and official approval of this specific issue, signed off my the local code inspector. If you can, which you can’t, I will then be able to safely pass off any liability I have to them.”
But they never do and I have never had anyone argue with me.
BTW: The same arguement applies to builders for new construction inspections.