The kind you read about in books. . .

[randynavarro]

Had my first one of these today.

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[Brandon Whitmore]

Beautiful

[Phillip]

Thats nice

[Mike Lamb]

Wow. Is that furnace set on top of the liner? Do you know the history here, Randy? I'm guessing that liner is on top of gravel or dirt? I've only seen this once also but it was a small 1/2 crawl. Permaseal did it. Very tight work.

I'm wondering how much cheaper the zero-perm liner is than concrete.

[Terence McCann]

Beautiful

What he said.

[randynavarro]

Wow. Is that furnace set on top of the liner? Do you know the history here, Randy? I'm guessing that liner is on top of gravel or dirt? I've only seen this once also but it was a small 1/2 crawl. Permaseal did it. Very tight work.

I'm wondering how much cheaper the zero-perm liner is than concrete.

The furnace was set on top of a pre-cast fiberglass base and the liner was sealed to that base.

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The water heater was sitting on top of spray foam--I guess it was just as cheap to do that rather than buy a piece of 2" EPS.

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I can only guess at the history--lots of rats and water. In fact, there was some sort of proprieatry sump/drainage system involved with the system.

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[Marc]

I guess that it's ok to wash it down every couple years since there's a drain installed.

Shouldn't the water heater be elevated a little higher?

Marc

[Chad Fabry]

I'm pretty sure you could have a full basement with a work bench, a stool, a radio and a concrete floor for what that cost.

[Tom Raymond]

That is exactly what I was thinking.

[Terence McCann]

I'm pretty sure you could have a full basement with a work bench, a stool, a radio and a concrete floor for what that cost.

Ya, but you have to admit it's pretty f'in nice. I don't do many crawlspaces up here (thank God) but wouldn't mind if they all looked like that. I might even lose the mask and overalls.

[Jim Katen]

Looks like a Clean Space system?

- Jim Katen, Oregon

[Tim Maxwell]

I had one back in Sept. right before the flood. It was a townhouse crawlspace, but big. They said $14k.

The bad thing is it didn't last a month and had trout in it. They were 100 yds from the river.

[Tom Raymond]

So it does cost about as much as a full basement.

[randynavarro]

Looks like a Clean Space system?

- Jim Katen, Oregon

Yes.

[Hearthman]

The WH should not be foamed into anything but free for service and inspection. In the case with a gas WH, air must be able to flow in from underneath for combustion and cooling. You don't want combustibles at the foot of a gas WH-ever seen the flames flare out when the burners first light or if there is a venting problem?

With this space now as tight as Tupperware, where is the requisite makeup air?

[hausdok]

The WH should not be foamed into anything but free for service and inspection. In the case with a gas WH, air must be able to flow in from underneath for combustion and cooling. You don't want combustibles at the foot of a gas WH-ever seen the flames flare out when the burners first light or if there is a venting problem?

With this space now as tight as Tupperware, where is the requisite makeup air?

Take another look at that water heater. It's a direct vent water heater and the burner area is completely sealed away from the atmosphere of the crawlspace. It gets it's combustion air via a combi vent that goes through the cripple wall of the foundation.

ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!!

Mike

[Hearthman]

Mike, which pic are you looking at? I see the DV furnace but the WH I'm looking at appears to be a standing pilot with a draft hood although the pic is cut off right at the top of the unit.

Does the OP have any better pics of the top of the WH?

If it is a true DV, then it is not a problem with MUA but you would still need to cross-check for clearances at the base.

[hausdok]

Look at the water heater again; it's a State brand direct vent unit. See the cover with the window in it? It has a thick foam rubber gasket that seals that cover to the side of the unit and sandwiches the gas and thermocouple lines where they go into the burner pan area at the bottom.

ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!!

Mike

[mgbinspect]

I was so glad to see our local building department finally approve sealed and conditioned crawlspaces. They have been consistently over my career the most trouble-free spaces I ever see. Builders resisted the idea for years. Back ten to fifteen years ago, when I would propose them, builders would tell me I was an idiot - "A homes gotta breathe." they'd always tout. All I knew was that Ryan Homes - a pretty run of the mill builder here - was doing sealed and conditioned crawlspaces, where they could get away with it (with the access hatch to the basement or garage), for probably forty years. And their crawlspaces were consistently the best crawlspaces I ever saw. That was enough to sell me on the idea.

[Scottpat]

That also looks like a radon mitigation job the way it is all sealed.

[hausdok]

Hi,

The crawlspace cleanup and rat mitigation business around here is busy enough that a place just down the street has a fleet of about 8 trucks. Jeff Tooley has been advocating sealed crawlspaces in various JLC articles since the early 90's. He started a company on the east coast (NC, I think) where that's all they do. I think it's a great idea and have been considering the business model myself. For me, it seems like the perfect side business because there isn't really any kind of standard; I can basically set my own, hire unskilled labor and then train them to do it my way.

ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!!

Mike

[mgbinspect]

Hi,

The crawlspace cleanup and rat mitigation business around here is busy enough that a place just down the street has a fleet of about 8 trucks. Jeff Tooley has been advocating sealed crawlspaces in various JLC articles since the early 90's. He started a company on the east coast (NC, I think) where that's all they do. I think it's a great idea and have been considering the business model myself. For me, it seems like the perfect side business because there isn't really any kind of standard; I can basically set my own, hire unskilled labor and then train them to do it my way.

ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!!

Mike

I know I'm repeating myself, but especially when duct work is in the crawlspace, it sure is nice to take that thirty to forty percent heat gain and loss off the energy efficiency concerns list. Sealed and conditioned crawlspaces ROCK in my view - no downside other than possibly overlooking termite activity.

[Erby]

Nicely done sealed crawl spaces usually leave a small "termite strip" where you can see the tubes crossing the concrete, don't they?

Isn't that what picture #2 in the OP shows.

-

[hausdok]

Nicely done sealed crawl spaces usually leave a small "termite strip" where you can see the tubes crossing the concrete, don't they?

Isn't that what picture #2 in the OP shows.

Looks like it; except, around here, subs wouldn't be an issue unless that house is in West Seattle. Don't ask me why - haven't a clue; I think it's got something to do with the lack of sub-ter exit visas or something.

Around here, one has to keep an eye out for carpenter ants, dampwood termites and deathwatch beetles - none of which constructs mud tubes.

I think they've got lots of subs down Robert's way though.

ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!!

Mike

[Tom Raymond]

I'm puzzled, no one thought that interior water manangement was a good idea for Kurt's project in the Pres' hood, or any other basement for that matter. Why is everyone so excited about putting a crawl in a zip-loc bag? Especially one that costs as much as a full basement?