WeeGogs
Active Member
crawl spaces were designed to stop C02 and other potentially harmful gases leaking from the ground under your home and escaping in to your home.
S.B.S ( Sick Building Syndrome )
if C02 gas gets too high in a room it can cause suffocation, the C02 itself is harmless but it concentrates itself and replenishes the air so you would suffocate in your sleep as the air gets thin.
houses that are built on farmland are more at risk from the C02 gas, from vegetation that was planted in the ground for centuries before .
how your crawl space works is it has vents in the sides under floor level that allow air circulation and C02 to escape.
i do not know how it works anywhere else but in the uk now we do not use a crawlspace.
we build a foundation deep in the ground with vents just above finished ground level, and then fill it with a small sharp stone and dust mixture (cheap) and this gets whacked down with a heavy vibrating plate.
we then put 2-3 inches of sand on top to stop the sharp stones puncturing the plastic (gas/damp proof membrane).
we build a wooden shutter 8" high around the foundation.
we lay a thick plastic sheet of gas proof membrane and damp proofing course on top of the sand and cut the plastic around any drains or cables etc that were laid and are sticking up through it, and hang it over the 4 outside walls of the foundation which are protruding from the ground, we tape around any drains or cables etc that are sticking up through the plastic and seal it.
we then put a polystyrene insulation ( 2" to 6" thick depending on the plans) on top of the gas/damp proof (course) membrane plastic sheet and cover the entire house, we lay a sheet of cross section steel about 10mm thick with 10" squares across the whole floor and raise it with small concrete feet about 3 inches, we then pour a 50 slump concrete over it to 8 inches and dip a vibrating poker in to it to remove any excess air bubbles that could cause cracking later, we then polish the concrete with a concrete polisher the next day, we now have a sealed floor.
the bricklayer comes in next and lays a course of brick on top of the concrete edge and builds his walls, the C02 gas is now totally sealed under the concrete damp/gas proof membrane.
once the house has been built and completed, an inspector will come on to the property and check the inside of the house (occupied or not) after 6 months with a gas analyzer, and if the house is above the recommended levels it will be demolished and rebuilt.
(back handers of cash could be accepted by the inspector at this point).
so it has to be done professionally the first time, you do not want any cowboy builders trying to save money during this section of the work.
a proper thick dpc or gas proof membrane can be very expensive so a cheaper plastic damp proof could be used.
now your airspan is the same, except you may have a higher C02 content that you can use for your plants, and they will thrive, how it affects the rest of your home is up to you to check.
you can hire or buy a C02 analyzer and check the inside of your home yourself after you have did your work.
how do i know this?
i have been in the building trade for 30 years on and off.
i used C02 as the gas to stop you getting frightened.
I MUST STRESS THAT C02 BEING THE MOST COMMON THERE ARE MORE POISONOUS GASES LIKE METHANE ETC.
they get a lot of S.B.S. in the usa as building control was not as strict as in the uk years ago, and some buildings would then need to have huge air conditioning systems built in to deal with the SBS, but the air conditioning system can make it even worse.
the usa authorities try to blame the gasses on the building materials, that makes me laugh.
I suggest anybody that wants to use a crawl space read about S.B.S on wikipedia or somewhere.
it could lengthen your life.
have you never wondered why one man dies at fifty but his brother lives until he is 90.
S.B.S ( Sick Building Syndrome )
if C02 gas gets too high in a room it can cause suffocation, the C02 itself is harmless but it concentrates itself and replenishes the air so you would suffocate in your sleep as the air gets thin.
houses that are built on farmland are more at risk from the C02 gas, from vegetation that was planted in the ground for centuries before .
how your crawl space works is it has vents in the sides under floor level that allow air circulation and C02 to escape.
i do not know how it works anywhere else but in the uk now we do not use a crawlspace.
we build a foundation deep in the ground with vents just above finished ground level, and then fill it with a small sharp stone and dust mixture (cheap) and this gets whacked down with a heavy vibrating plate.
we then put 2-3 inches of sand on top to stop the sharp stones puncturing the plastic (gas/damp proof membrane).
we build a wooden shutter 8" high around the foundation.
we lay a thick plastic sheet of gas proof membrane and damp proofing course on top of the sand and cut the plastic around any drains or cables etc that were laid and are sticking up through it, and hang it over the 4 outside walls of the foundation which are protruding from the ground, we tape around any drains or cables etc that are sticking up through the plastic and seal it.
we then put a polystyrene insulation ( 2" to 6" thick depending on the plans) on top of the gas/damp proof (course) membrane plastic sheet and cover the entire house, we lay a sheet of cross section steel about 10mm thick with 10" squares across the whole floor and raise it with small concrete feet about 3 inches, we then pour a 50 slump concrete over it to 8 inches and dip a vibrating poker in to it to remove any excess air bubbles that could cause cracking later, we then polish the concrete with a concrete polisher the next day, we now have a sealed floor.
the bricklayer comes in next and lays a course of brick on top of the concrete edge and builds his walls, the C02 gas is now totally sealed under the concrete damp/gas proof membrane.
once the house has been built and completed, an inspector will come on to the property and check the inside of the house (occupied or not) after 6 months with a gas analyzer, and if the house is above the recommended levels it will be demolished and rebuilt.
(back handers of cash could be accepted by the inspector at this point).
so it has to be done professionally the first time, you do not want any cowboy builders trying to save money during this section of the work.
a proper thick dpc or gas proof membrane can be very expensive so a cheaper plastic damp proof could be used.
now your airspan is the same, except you may have a higher C02 content that you can use for your plants, and they will thrive, how it affects the rest of your home is up to you to check.
you can hire or buy a C02 analyzer and check the inside of your home yourself after you have did your work.
how do i know this?
i have been in the building trade for 30 years on and off.
i used C02 as the gas to stop you getting frightened.
I MUST STRESS THAT C02 BEING THE MOST COMMON THERE ARE MORE POISONOUS GASES LIKE METHANE ETC.
they get a lot of S.B.S. in the usa as building control was not as strict as in the uk years ago, and some buildings would then need to have huge air conditioning systems built in to deal with the SBS, but the air conditioning system can make it even worse.
the usa authorities try to blame the gasses on the building materials, that makes me laugh.
I suggest anybody that wants to use a crawl space read about S.B.S on wikipedia or somewhere.
it could lengthen your life.
have you never wondered why one man dies at fifty but his brother lives until he is 90.
