crawl space smell

[dandielion]

just bought a house and have discovered crawl space under the house. We wondered where the damp cheesy feet smell was coming from and it is coming from down here. This area was not mentioned in the surveyors report. Does anyone know who I would need to contact to tell me if this area is supposed to smell as bad as that or if it needs something done to remedy it. Should I be contacting a builder or an environmental health person from the council. Is there any such job as someone who specifically goes around checking out dampness in crawl spaces hopefully without any vested interest in repairing any dampness that they might find as I don't know where to start looking for anyone who could do this. All crawl space information on the internet seems to be american based.

thanks

 

[theprinceofdarkness]

Dead rat? Have you not been down there to see for your self?
Frank

 

[Nige F]

Air bricks round the house ? Pics outside at low level would be good. Google wood/ timber suspended floor

 

[dandielion]

thanks. 2 vents on the lower kitchen wall that go into the crawlspace and 2 around the back of the house and none at either side. One vent is just to the left of the hose and the other is slightly further along. The crawl space gets lower as we're on a hill. At the front of the house there are 2 vents underneath the kitchen

 

[dandielion]

been down there Frank as the plumbing is all under there and we're redoing it all. Combi boiler in basement supplying hot water to kitchen and bathroom from the mains but there header tank in the attic is supplying the shower and the cold water supply in the bathroom. We're just trying to find out if there's a reason for the crazy plumbing or if it's just short cuts that have been made over the years. Kitchen chipboard floor needs to come up as its warped so there has been leaks down there but no dead animals or even signs of anything having made a home there. it just really stinks and I don't know if that's just what crawl spaces are supposed to be like. The crawl space varies from about 4 foot to 6 foot as you go down the slope.

 

[Nige F]

. The crawl space varies from about 4 foot to 6 foot as you go down the slope.

That's a deep space - it's either going to be timber that's been damp for years but not rotted. Or the actual earth having a smell. I have posted about this exact thing here before because it affects my house too ! So I changed the airbricks for plastic ones - the airflow is 10x more through them. Then in a bedroom I sealed the floor with oil based undercoat. The wood takes on a smell and I really don't think it will lose it- but the paint has stopped it creeping through the carpet.

 

[dandielion]

thanks Nige F. Took up the chipboard flooring in the kitchen which I think is the source of the cheesy feet smell. It had water stains on it and was a bit warped. The crawl space is covered with a black tar like stuff which I'm told is a damp proof barrier. I'll look at replacing the airbricks with plastic ones too like you did. never thought about sealing the floor before I lay carpet but I won't be doing the other rooms for quite some time. The kitchen and bathroom have been quite enough for one year