Water in Crawlspace

willk53

We just purchased a 5 year old home in Reno, NV. I looked under the crawlspace one night to see about an inch of water below the vapor barrier and some on top in places (from tears and holes etc.). The previous night it had rained and melted the snow in the yard and on the roof. I checked again the next day and it was worse (had spread to almost half the crawlspace). It is a single story house and about half the roof drains towards the back yard. No gutters had ever been installed. Drainage is fine on the sides and front of the house but nearly flat within 5-10 ft of the rear foundation wall. I looked along the rear foundation wall and didn't see any obvious cracks. During the past 2 weeks a lot has dried up. There is still about 1/8 " below the vapor barrier and some puddles on top. We had gutters installed 2 days ago that drain out to the street. It is hard to do any regrading right now because the clay ground is frozen. Reno has a very dry climate (7 1/2" of rain and 24" of snow annually, no humidity) but has had unseasonably high rain and snow fall this winter. I thought about putting a fan down there but my access opening is only 30". There are 3 vent screens on each side of the house which are open (the foundation is well insulated so not worried about pipes freezing). I'm hoping the gutters solve the problem but how do I get things dried up so I don't get mold etc.? If this turns out to be a one time event should I even worry being it is such a dry climate? Thanks.

itsreallyconc

either dig a diversion ditch around the house OR regrade under the house so the intruding water drains into a sump from which you'll pump it out.

welcome to the world of crawl spaces hopefully gutters will help but unlikely in our experience,,, clorox/wtr mixture's best for mold.

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willk53

Thanks. So far I don't see any mold and the wood and insulation look clean. As a matter of fact I have seen a few scrap pieces of wood and a cigarette package left over from when the house was constructed and they look clean. I plan on regrading the backyard when I can. Right now I just want to do what I can to dry out what is there. It seems to be drying out under the vapor barrier. Should I cut into the vapor barrier where water is ponding on top or just leave it alone? Should I put a fan down there?

itsreallyconc

if your home were ours, i'd keep an eye on it & wait for warmer weather,,, unless your home's in the bottom of a pond, the water will evaporate & soak into the soil,,, ditching can be done now, tho - the exercise would do ME good in any event unusual there aren't any rusty beer cans

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if you hear it from a guy in the apron store, be VERY suspicious the mtl/method will work,,, when it time to build something together, they won't answer phones NOR help
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