Why Your House Has A Crawl Space

by Eva September 29, 2021

written by Eva September 29, 2021

Why Your House Has A Crawl Space

Many homes have a crawl space. If you’ve always wondered why, you’re not alone. Learn why they exist and how you can make the most of your own crawlspace.

As a Barrier

As the name implies, a crawl space is a space just large enough for someone to crawl inside of it rather than walk or stand up. The idea of a crawl space is to provide an area that serves as a barrier between the home and the outdoors. The crawl space is defined as an area in the home that is not large enough for an adult to stand up comfortably.

As such, it is often unfinished. You won’t find finished flooring or a covered and finished roof space when you have a firsthand look at this space. If the space were large enough for people to stand up and move around, it would be considered a basement rather than a crawlspace.

Ease of Access

One of the reasons why a home builder puts in a crawl space is to make sure someone can access many areas of the home. Crawl spaces allow the homeowner to have access to many of the home’s utilities. For example, this is where a builder might put the home’s heating and cooling systems.

If something goes wrong with the home’s operating systems, a person can use this space to examine the machines and see what might be wrong with them. If the heating isn’t working or the hot water heater appears to be on the fritz, the space lets the homeowner have access to the utilities without the need to devote a lot of space to this task.

Creating Ventilation

Ventilation is essential in any home. Hot air needs to escape during the summer months. The same is true of cold air when it gets colder. The crawl space makes it easy for air to escape from the home where it is not wanted. Air can circulate across the entire home. In many homes, the crawl space is located just above the foundation. That provides additional space for the air to move around from top to bottom. During the winter, warm air can move around the crawl space and thus help warm the entire home.

Cost-Effective

A home may also have a crawl space because it is cost-efficient. Putting in a full basement can be very expensive. The basement may need all sorts of additions such as flooring and a finished ceiling. The crawl space is less expensive. Crawl spaces allow many of the tasks that people use the basement for such as working with their utilities to get done with less cost. A building can add a crawl space and help sell the home for less money to the buyer. It allows tradespeople to fix things without the need to cut a hole in the floor.

Your home’s crawl space is often a very useful place to help get things done. For any help regarding crawl spaces, you can reach out to places like 58 Foundations.