Guest post: When was the last time you checked out your crawlspace?
Written by Courtney Wilson, Buyer’s Agent and Closing Coordinator
I could think of a thousand words for the crawlspace to our house–icky, dark, smelly, full of not-so-pleasant surprises, to name a few–but I can honestly say that I know what it looks like. When was the last time you stuck your head in and poked around? The day you had your home inspected?
The last time someone poked around our crawlspace, he found something shocking…a 3/4″ hot water supply line had burst and poured water into our crawlspace around the clock for 2 weeks. Let’s just say the next 30 days were filled with fun memories of industrial dehumidifiers and dryers (forget about hearing the TV!), ripped up hardwoods, 7 days in a hotel room with 2 dogs, and spending many hours working in a fog of polyurethane. Thankfully, State Farm and Cary Reconstruction treated us well, but we prefer to never have a problem in the first place (although a water leak sensor would have done us a lot of good, and cost basically the same as our deductible).
I strongly encourage you to put on your nastiest work clothes, grab a flashlight (and maybe a hat to keep the spiders off your head), and go explore! You may not know all the intricacies of the working parts under your house, but you’ll be able to spot things like shedded snake skin (ick!), mouse droppings (double ick!), fallen insulation, excess moisture, termite tubes, and mold. Be careful while you’re down there, but don’t be blind to what could turn into costly repairs later. If you spot anything unusual, don’t be afraid to contact a professional…peace of mind is worth a small trip charge.
Our hardwoods had to be torn up when we discovered a leak in the crawlspace.
After what we went through, I promised myself that I will never neglect our crawlspace again!
