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544 Posts
Hello Everyone,
I tore a rotten old house down to the block and did a rebuild. The house is in Nashville, TN. It is 32' x 34' on a non vented crawl. I left the house for awhile and when I returned some months later there was a terrible musty smell in the house and my newly finished hardwood floors cupped. In the crawlspace my rim joist was wet in all four corners. The concrete block was also wet. I completely encapsulated the crawl space, including the door, with 12 mil vapor barrier from "Crawlspace Concepts". Looks great and a week later corners, rim joists and concrete block are all dry. But the smell persists and may even be worse. I read conflicting opinions about the use of a dehumidifier and would like to avoid using one if at all possible. I've also read that I need conditioned air down there, but my HVAC is in the attic and there's not a lot of room for a trunk.
Will cutting a few inconspicuous holes in the floor with vent covers help at all?
Will the smell go away eventually?
Will a deodorant or air freshener help?
What is the difference between humidity and relative humidity?
I tore a rotten old house down to the block and did a rebuild. The house is in Nashville, TN. It is 32' x 34' on a non vented crawl. I left the house for awhile and when I returned some months later there was a terrible musty smell in the house and my newly finished hardwood floors cupped. In the crawlspace my rim joist was wet in all four corners. The concrete block was also wet. I completely encapsulated the crawl space, including the door, with 12 mil vapor barrier from "Crawlspace Concepts". Looks great and a week later corners, rim joists and concrete block are all dry. But the smell persists and may even be worse. I read conflicting opinions about the use of a dehumidifier and would like to avoid using one if at all possible. I've also read that I need conditioned air down there, but my HVAC is in the attic and there's not a lot of room for a trunk.
Will cutting a few inconspicuous holes in the floor with vent covers help at all?
Will the smell go away eventually?
Will a deodorant or air freshener help?
What is the difference between humidity and relative humidity?