Crawl Space Cure-All

[Marc]

What did they do to the joists?

Marc

[Erby]

Several old posts coming back from the dead of years ago!

[SubDoug]

Greetings. I am new to the forum, and have a concern that perhaps one of you might have an answer. I have a house in the northeast that has a crawlspace that ranges 4ft to 6ft, floor to ceiling. It has a dirt floor with plastic barrier on top, with 6 vents on 3 walls. A few years back I obtained a load of drywall scraps (large sections) and decided to screw those up to the floor joists to help keep down the draft we were feeling in the rooms above, and cut the heat loss. I kept the insulation that was already between the joists in place. I am taking a course about Mold, and now I am wondering if I made a mistake by putting the drywall up as a ceiling in the crawlspace? Have I introduced a climate for mold growth? Anyone have any thoughts on this?

Thank you.

[ghentjr]

Northeast New Mexico? Northeast United States? This topic was started in 2004.

[Garet]

Why not just pull down a piece of drywall and find out directly instead of guessing? If it's just a crawl space you shouldn't be too concerned about what the patch looks like.

[SubDoug]

Thank you for your insight. I live a few states away now, and have tenants living there now - WA state.

[Marc]

I think your answer depends on your specific climate and Washington State has more than one. There's several forum members from Washington. Maybe they'll chime in later. Until then, what specific part of Washington is this house in?

Marc

[SubDoug]

Silverdale, WA

[hausdok]

Hi,

I don't think it will be an issue as long as the joist bays are kept dry. The drywall is permeable and moisture is going to migrate outward from the house to the exterior, attic and crawl through vapor diffusion. Unless there's a layer of plastic under those joists behind the drywall I think vapor will move harmlessley into the crawl and be dissipated by what sounds like pretty good ventilation.

Now, get a washing machine, dishwasher, sink, toilet leak and you'll be talking a whole different story.

ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!!

Mike