So the house we just moved to has had a extensive extension added at some point, most of it has a crawl space cinder block wall to match the rest of the home, apart from the final room which they chose to put on 6x6 wooden posts, i wish to make this a gym room so will be adding some footings and support beams with some specific piers.
my question is , i think the room would benefit from having a cinder block wall added around the perimeter, not only visually but to help with the rooms climate i guess. is there anything specific i need to consider? i figure i would need to dig down and pour concrete first, but hoping more knowledgeable minds than mine could offer any pointers or things i should consider.
thank you.
First I would look at mobile home skirting to see if there is any you like the appearance of.
If you do a block wall will you remove the wood posts supporting the room, making the block wall structural? If so that will require a building permit and inspections. The inspections department and codes in your area will tell you what is required for a footer and how to construct your walls.
If just doing the block for cosmetic reasons... it will be a big job. You will need footers below the frost line to prevent the wall from heaving and cracking. The wall can be brought as close to the house as possible then you can foam the gap and cover the outside with trim. Don't forget vents and an access into the crawlspace.
Thanks,
The posts are embedded in concrete as far as i can see. it was more cosmetic i guess, as once i add the joist supports for the gym i figured you may see them and it would look ugly, and as the rest of the house has a block wall i thought it made sense, also as its open on 3 sides i thought even though it would be vented, it would lessen the cold feeling in the winter even if i insulate between the joists.
That is going to be a tough job, you need to keep the perimeter posts in place and functional while digging footers and foundation in between which will then carry the load so the areas around the post can be worked on. No way any of that can be done (footers & walls) in a single step.
You must be a warm are since that floor is un-insulated!
This house is presenting alot of head scratching haha. yeah we are in the south near Birmingham Alabama, ( im from Birmingham England originally ) its fairly warm most of the year but i do now notice the colder times of year as i age.
I don't know how long you've been in the US south but make sure you take appropriate steps for termites. If you enclose the area it is more likely that they can make their way up into the home. Cinder block walls are particularly problematic since they can build their tunnels inside the blocks and can get into the wood above unnoticed. If a termite shield isn't required by your codes I would install it anyhow.
It might also be good to have at least that portion of your home professionally treated for termites. This should be done after the work is done and you've back filled. They exterminator may dig a shallow trench along the inside and outside of your new block walls. The trench gets filled with insecticide and allowed to soak in. Then the trenches are covered. If there are areas they can't access well enough they may drill a hole in each hollow cell of the block and pump in insecticide. It's not cheap but it's a few hundred dollars that can save the home.
Thank you, ive been here since 2014, and the perimeter was termite bonded prior to our purchase, which does include the perimeter of this building, but thank you for thinking of potential issues
i had also considered maybe using red bricks ( from a chimney tear down ) to brick up the outside then mortar/render over them. i thought of those as A i have them here and B i did wonder about the top of the cinder blocks having holes which water could get in and sit, as im not sure how id actually go about flashing being added.
this is all good stuff and i am happy to learn and take advice.
Another question on this as it does not look like i will get to block in this space this year, if it was blocked in i would be looking to use insulation batts in the joist spaces ( they are all 16 inches ) . id prefer the joist gaps to be insulated for the winter, so would spray insulation foam be the best option R wise compared to foam sheet?
Spray foam is one of the best as far as R value per inch and at sealing air leaks. It's also pretty expensive. I don't think I'd go to the expense for a floor in a milder climate.
Makes sense, i was more worried about conventional fiberglass getting damp under there. there is no heat or cooling in that room, summer is fine as it is a gym and sweating is good haha. winter not so much so a little heater and some insulation i figured would help a lot. maybe i can find some foam sheets on FB marketplace.
There has been this smell in my house for over a year now and I have been putting it off because it is not in the area where we are the most and I don't know where to begin. I have a basement rambler (finished basement) and under the stairs, there is a smell. I don't think I would necessarily call it musty, but maybe some sort of sewage type smell. I don't know, just some sort of damp smell and if you open the door to the under stair storage, it is strong. It is just used for storage and I have taken everything out of there before and it is totally dry. Right above that area, on the main floor, I also can detect a smell. Since I don't see anything in that area under the stairs, it is almost like it is either coming from in the walls nearby or maybe in the joist space of the basement. While the basement is finished, the small space under the stairs is not so it is open to the joist space above. There are no water leaks or anything anywhere that I have seen, but this smell has been lingering in that area for over a year. I don't even know where to begin because I am not going to just go randomly tearing apart the walls and ceilings in the house. It doesn't seem to change whether it is the summer or winter. Do you think this could be coming from somewhere in the plumbing? And if so, how can it be detected? Do I need to get a plumber to run a camera in all the drain lines? I would appreciate any suggestions so I don't just keep ignoring the problem.
03-30-23, 06:55 AM
