To Vent or Not to Vent the Crawl Space
There’s no doubt that you’ve seen those screened punch-out openings on the side of house foundation walls before and wondered what they were about. These are crawl space ventilation vents, and they are crucial to the proper functioning of your house. Your comfort—and your home’s long-term maintenance—hinges on how well your crawl space is ventilated.
How does crawl space ventilation work?
A crawl space is typically found in warm, moist climates where it is advantageous to raise the structure slightly off the ground to avoid moisture.
If any one thing is the most destructive towards homes, it’s moisture. Moisture is responsible for many issues that erupt in the home such as wood rot, mold and mildew growth, and more. Left untreated, moisture can leave homeowners with structural problems and costly repairs.
The best weapons against crawl space moisture are light, heat, and airflow. Since it’s difficult to provide good light and heat in the crawl space, having good airflow is important.
Building codes have long required that crawl spaces have proper airflow to avoid moisture damage that might rot away beams, joists, and flooring. This airflow is typically provided by a series of rectangular, screened vents inserted into the concrete block foundations surrounding the crawl space.
To vent or not to vent? How crawl space ventilation works…
Each crawl space home is different. Your comfort—and your home’s long-term maintenance—hinges on the indoor air quality within the crawl space. Quite often we advise our customers that an encapsulated crawlspace is the most efficient way to tackle the wide array of issues that can occur in crawl space homes. We understand that some homeowners may wish to explore other options first—and we fully support that!
Our technicians take their time to advise you of the priorities within your crawl space and what components of encapsulation can be utilized before recommending a fully encapsulated system.
We quite often advise ensuring proper ventilation along with monitoring of your crawlspace conditions throughout the year to allow the conditions to dictate our recommendations.
We pride ourselves in being able to provide adequate monitoring to ensure that each answer to this question suits your goals and helps to increase home value, while providing you and your family with a healthy home.
Common crawl space vents
FEMA Approved Smart Vents
Smart Vents act to relieve thermostatic pressure in the event of a flood. When the water rises, the vents shift to the open position to allow the passive flow of floodwaters to avoid pressure from building up, compromising your foundation.
These vents are FEMA Approved and can greatly reduce your flood insurance. It’s a great investment for your future in your home! They are made to be installed into garages, raised homes, crawlspaces, and more.
Automatic Temperature Vents
Automatic Temperature vents open and close automatically with the temperature. They have a tiny bi-metal coil that reacts to temperature, closing when the temperature drops below 46 degrees and opening the same.
During each of our evaluations, we service your foundation vents to ensure functionality.
Crawl space ventilation with Jersey Shore Crawlspace Enhancement
Jersey Shore Crawlspace Enhancement offers a number of different crawl space vent styles for installation. We install Smart Flood Vents, Automatic Temperature Vents, and more.
During each of our evaluations at your home, we will analyze your current ventilation system and provide feedback on how well your crawlspace is ventilated. Call us today to get started and learn more!