We covered a little bit of what we do a few weeks ago, and you may remember that we’ve expanded to real estate, too! Today we are continuing our new series on viewing and buying a home where we’ll be sharing a few snippets to help. We want to share our experience and knowledge from handling home renovations as designers, and as a licensed Real Estate agent with Benchmark realty here in Nashville. If you’re moving to Nashville, or in and around Nashville/Franklin reach out to Jamin (jamin @ thehandmadehome.net), we’re happy to help you find that perfect home!
The home-buying process is a wonderful experience if you have the right knowledge and game plan. So whether you’re buying something now or in the future {or just want to look extra smart at that next friend gathering} follow along as we cover some things you’ll want to know! And of course, if you have a burning question you’d like answered, shoot it our way and we’ll do our best to help. We’d love to hear from you. Let’s dive in!
Here are a few topics we’ve dealt with:
- The Sight Test (click here)
- The Feel Test (click here)
- Is it the right time to buy?
- Adding Value
- Pre-inspection before offering {part one}
- Pre-inspection before offering {part two}
If you are just joining us on this journey, make sure to go back and read some of the other posts, as they should be super helpful on your real estate journey.
before and after – see this space here!
Today, we’re covering Tips for Viewing and Buying a home: Crawlspace and Foundation!
This week we wanted to tackle everyone’s favorite topic, crawl spaces. Okay, so maybe not everyone’s favorite topic. But it’s definitely worth knowing about. It also might be something you have no intention of climbing in to check out when you’re looking, which is understandable. But you might be able to find out some of this information without ever crawling into the crawl space.
We also want to highlight a couple of things to look for on the foundation, knowing that not every home is built on a crawl space.
Let’s start with the crawlspace, and 4 things to look for when considering a home.
1. Crawl space must-haves: Lights
This is a simple one and by current codes, it’s necessary to have at least one. When I built our current crawlspace I added enough lights to land a 747. I didn’t want to leave any of the area dark, so I used a lot of 4-inch round lights from our favorite brand, Kichler. They’re kind of amazing to have in this space!
Not every crawl space will be over the top like ours, but at the bare minimum, you need to have one at the entry, and one near any mechanicals that are located in the crawl space.
2. Crawl space must-haves: No vents, and a dehumidifier, please.
No vents: The standard for years and years, was to leave vents in the crawl space, then science happened. We’ve learned that a vented crawl space is actually a leading cause of developing mold in the area. The best practice now, is not to have any vents and install a dehumidifier. {More on that below!}
This is one that doesn’t require you to get in the crawl space to check it out, either. Take a simple walk around the house and look at the foundation, you should be able to see the vents from the outside. If you don’t see any vents then this space is most likely sealed. {There are exceptions to the rule, but it’s always a great indicator: All of our vents have been blocked out, and our crawl space has been updated, with the exception of one remaining vent – but it’s still sealed from the inside.}
A good dehumidifier: Simply not having vents isn’t enough. You need a good dehumidifier and if you don’t crawl around on your belly looking for it, you can most likely hear it from the crawl space door. If it doesn’t turn on for you to hear, turn the lights off and look for some glowing lights to indicate there is one. And if you still can’t tell, you’ll either want to crawl in or ask the current owner.
The right size: But just having a dehumidifier isn’t enough. You need a good one that is the appropriate size for your crawl space. I know several people in the industry and they all swear by one brand and one brand only, Aprilaire. Guess what I put in my crawl space? {Side note: if you geek out on air quality, you really should check out all the products they have to offer!}
I love this stuff so allow me a minute as I briefly talk about our dehumidifier: we have the Aprilaire 70. It’s the perfect size for our crawlspace and keeps the humidity in check, not to mention it’s designed and built here in the US. But here is the best part: you can sync it to your phone, so you can monitor its functions without ever having to go in the crawlspace. If you don’t love going in the crawlspace then you can easily control and read the dehumidifier with the digital display.
We love the brand because of the 5-year warranty they offer, which is due to the quality parts they use and is why all the people I know recommend them.
The bottom line is, the crawlspace needs a good dehumidifier and if you’re negotiating with the seller to put one in, then pick the best!
3. Crawl Space must-haves: Encapsulation vs Liner
If you have a dehumidifier and the vents are sealed, then the next thing you want to make sure of is that the space is encapsulated. And there is a big difference between a liner, and encapsulation.
A liner is simply a piece of thick plastic placed on the ground to, in theory, keep moisture down. But as you can imagine, just a liner on the ground isn’t super effective. This is why encapsulating is a better option. Encapsulating will use a thicker plastic as well as wrap up the walls to the band of the foundation, and up the piers in the center of the house. Everything is taped off to help create a perfect seal.
Adding this encapsulation will help your dehumidifier work the way it was designed, and ensure the crawlspace stays within an acceptable range of humidity.
4. Crawl Space must-haves: The Sump Pump
Unfortunately, this is something that might be hard to see from the crawl space door, so either you’ll need to ask, or explore for yourself. You need a sump pump at the lowest point of the crawl space so that in case of a water intrusion, you have a way to move it out and away from the house.
Sump pumps are an afterthought for a lot of people until they need one the most, and then it’s too late for it. If the house you’re looking at doesn’t have one, you might be able to negotiate it in. If not, you’ll want to look at adding it for sure.
As you look at the home you’re interested in, and more specifically the crawl space, keeping these things in mind will help you evaluate what you could potentially spend to get the house where you want it, if you are unable to negotiate.
The above things may be an afterthought to many people they are an integral part of the home’s foundation. They go a long way in helping maintain the integrity of the foundation and help it function and support the home the way it should for years to come. As they say, a good foundation is the most important part of the home, and a good crawlspace helps keep that foundation from experiencing issues.
And remember you’ll have an inspector’s report to add some more detail. But as we’ve been saying, the more you can know on your own up front, the better off you’ll be.
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While this crawlspace and foundation section in our pre-inspection checklist might not help you negotiate the price a lot, it will help you know what could potentially cost you a lot of money later and how well the current homeowner is taking care of the home.
In the meantime, if you have any questions, drop us a comment below. Or if you want to keep it private, shoot us an email! If you want to search homes in the Nashville area with a fun tool click here. I promise you won’t get any spammy emails. And if we can help you renovate a home, we’d be honored to work with you.
Have an inspired day!
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