Ken Platt
07-20-2018, 4:26 PM
Folks -
I am working in a crawl space with a dirt floor; the main purpose of being under there is to replace the under-floor fiberglass insulation that was infested with mice (stench of urine worse than any outhouse I've ever been in!) .
Anyhow, the dirt floor isn't level. In one corner - about a 5' x 5 ' portion - the floor dirt is ramps up, to just below the level of the top of the foundation. The sill plate does appear to be pressure treated, as of course it should be, but nothing surprises me anymore in this house. Still, it seems as though the floor ought to be level, and at least a few inches down from the top of the foundation. Does anyone know a standard, or practice, for this? I searched online but couldn't find anything on this.
I can remove the dirt, of course, but that's going to be hard and unpleasant. It'd be a lot easier to rake out the elevated portion and spread it over the rest of the crawl space - but I don't know how high I can raise the dirt level with respect to the foundation in the rest of the crawl space. I, and my middle-aged back, are appreciative of any thoughts or information.
As an aside, does anyone know what whitish material might have been put on the soil under the crawl space? There is a lot of white, crumbly, granular material in this area. It looks like that white stuff they put in potting soil, I think to hold moisture, but that doesn't make any sense. Appearance could also be lime, but again, why? I'm worried it's something toxic - especially since I'm going to be messing with that dirt and, like I said, lots of weirdness in this house.
Much appreciated -
Ken
I am working in a crawl space with a dirt floor; the main purpose of being under there is to replace the under-floor fiberglass insulation that was infested with mice (stench of urine worse than any outhouse I've ever been in!) .
Anyhow, the dirt floor isn't level. In one corner - about a 5' x 5 ' portion - the floor dirt is ramps up, to just below the level of the top of the foundation. The sill plate does appear to be pressure treated, as of course it should be, but nothing surprises me anymore in this house. Still, it seems as though the floor ought to be level, and at least a few inches down from the top of the foundation. Does anyone know a standard, or practice, for this? I searched online but couldn't find anything on this.
I can remove the dirt, of course, but that's going to be hard and unpleasant. It'd be a lot easier to rake out the elevated portion and spread it over the rest of the crawl space - but I don't know how high I can raise the dirt level with respect to the foundation in the rest of the crawl space. I, and my middle-aged back, are appreciative of any thoughts or information.
As an aside, does anyone know what whitish material might have been put on the soil under the crawl space? There is a lot of white, crumbly, granular material in this area. It looks like that white stuff they put in potting soil, I think to hold moisture, but that doesn't make any sense. Appearance could also be lime, but again, why? I'm worried it's something toxic - especially since I'm going to be messing with that dirt and, like I said, lots of weirdness in this house.
Much appreciated -
Ken