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player ready...If heavy rains and humidity pose moisture problems under your house, you have several options.
– Install a fan with a humidistat attached to it under the house. Purchase a gable fan, frame it in pressure-treated lumber for stabilization and mount it under the joists. Have an electrician wire the gable fan for a humidistat that will start running and circulating air before condensation forms under your home.
– Install temperature-controlled foundation vents.
– Install a moisture vapor barrier, preferably a 6 millimeter plastic anchored down; keep it back about 6 inches from the foundation.
– In warm weather, replace the metal or wooden access door under your foundation with a screened version you build with pressure-treated lumber and heavy-duty mesh screening.
– Fix gutter downspouts so they drain, away from the house.
– Make sure no kitchen, bathroom or dryer vents ventilate under the house where they can add to the moisture problem.
Some moisture-control experts recommend a dehumidifier. You must close up the crawl space area and install a dehumidifier that will pull the moisture under the house out and drain it away from the structure.
The new Atmox crawl space ventilation system consists of three whisper-quiet double fans, two of which blow air out of the crawl space; the third blows it in. The fans are mounted in the standard 8-by-16-inch wall openings designed for louvers. Relays, plugged into outlets and connected by telephone cables to a signal distribution box, control the fans. The system works with the weather to create the optimal conditions for the home, says Thomas Huber, a mechanical engineer in Gastonia, N.C., who helped design the system.
The system can be installed by a homeowner in an existing home or when a house is under construction; to determine materials needed, call Atmox at 704-867-3772 or 1-888-818-6324.