StevePur
Jun 13, 2012, 06:56 PM
I only have under house vents on one corner of the house, I feel this is not enough.On the opposite corner where I need to have some there is only two bricks between the termite barrier and the grass .Can somebody tell me if I could add some vents in this area. Adding vents to this area will create better crossflow. Thanks.
SpringtimeHomes
Jun 14, 2012, 06:42 AM
Hi Steve, Iam going to challenge the notion that you need the crawlspace vents at all. It really depends on your situation but current best practices in construction and building science are getting away from ventilated crawlspaces altogether.
They can be a problem in both Winter and Summer. In theory, you close the vents in the Winter and open them in the Summer. However, if the ground is fairly dry and you live on the East Coast then you are introducing humid air to your house by leaving them open.
The best thing you could do is create a sealed, insulated crawlspace. This would mean sealing off the vents, creating a good vapor barrier at the ground level and insulating the crawlspace walls. Whether this will be cost-effective depends on your situation. (How hard will it be get the details right)
As long as your ground is not very wet, I would tend to think that simply closing the vents off would be the right way to go.
The main two questions I have are; where are you located? Does the ground in your crawl seem very wet?