Fall Is a Great Time to Look Under Your Home
Fall brings cooler temperatures, changing leaves, and plenty of home maintenance projects. While you are cleaning gutters, preparing your yard, and getting your home ready for cooler weather, do not forget about the space underneath it.
Your crawl space plays an important role in your home, and fall can be a great time to address moisture, drainage, insulation, or structural concerns.
Here are a few reasons why.
Take Care of Moisture Before Winter
Summer humidity can leave crawl spaces damp, and fall rains can introduce additional moisture around your foundation.
If you have noticed standing water, damp soil, musty smells, or elevated humidity in your crawl space, fall is a good time to find out why.
Addressing moisture concerns before winter can help you go into the colder months with a better understanding of what is happening underneath your home.
Check Your Drainage Before the Next Big Rain
Fall is also a good time to look at how water is moving around your home.
Check your gutters and downspouts and make sure water is being directed away from the foundation. Look for areas where water collects near the house or where soil has settled and changed the grade.
If water continues to find its way into your crawl space despite your efforts, there may be a larger drainage or waterproofing issue that needs to be evaluated.
Depending on the situation, solutions can include drainage systems, sump pumps, waterproofing, or other improvements designed around the source of the water.
Prepare Your Crawl Space for Winter
Winter may not bring extreme cold to every part of North Carolina, but colder temperatures can still affect your home.
A properly maintained crawl space can help protect the systems and materials underneath your home from excessive moisture and other environmental conditions.
Fall is a good time to make sure your crawl space is ready.
This can include checking:
• Your vapor barrier or crawl space liner
• Drainage systems
• Sump pumps
• Dehumidifiers
• Foundation walls
• Insulation
• Signs of standing water or moisture
• Areas showing signs of wood rot or deterioration
Catching a problem during a routine inspection can give you time to understand your options before it becomes a bigger concern.
It Is a Good Time to Check Your Dehumidifier
If your crawl space has a dehumidifier, fall is a good time to make sure it is operating properly.
Filters may need to be cleaned or replaced, and the unit should be checked to make sure it is maintaining appropriate conditions in the crawl space.
If you would rather not crawl underneath your home yourself, Dunwell’s Annual Maintenance Plan provides homeowners with a way to have their crawl space system checked and serviced.
We can access the crawl space, replace filters as needed, verify that the system is operating properly, check the sump pump and discharge system, and look at the overall condition of the crawl space.
You Do Not Have to Wait for a Problem
One of the biggest advantages of fall maintenance is simply knowing what is happening underneath your home.
You do not have to wait until you have standing water, a major crack, or another obvious problem to take a closer look.
If you have never had your crawl space inspected, or it has been several years since anyone has taken a look, fall can be a convenient time to get some answers.
And if everything looks good, that is useful information too.
A Little Fall Maintenance Can Give You Peace of Mind
Your crawl space may not be something you think about every day, but it is an important part of your home.
As you work through your fall home maintenance checklist, take a few minutes to think about what is happening underneath your house. Look for moisture, check your drainage, make sure your equipment is working, and pay attention to anything that looks different.
If something does not look right, it is better to understand the cause than to simply guess at the solution.
Need Help With Your Crawl Space?
At Dunwell Structural Repair, we offer free inspections to help homeowners understand what is happening underneath their homes. We can evaluate moisture, drainage, structural concerns, and other crawl space conditions and explain what we find.
Call Dunwell Structural Repair at 336.867.0298 or visit dunwellsr.com to schedule your free inspection.