You've probably already thought of most of this, but I'll toss them out
anyway since you asked.
Putting an insulating slab on the ground is not the best place to put
insulation for a crawl space. The best place to put the insulation is
up against the underside of the floor. Have you considered using some
of Spaceman's low density triangle mix to make blocks to attach under
the floor?
Venting the crawl space is usually appropriate to allow humidity a path
to escape. Poor venting of a crawl space can create many problems.
Mold and warped floors are a couple potential problems resulting from
trapped humidity.
Keep it dry. Use typical foundation drainage techniques. A gravel bed
that drains well under the papercrete will do wonders to keep the
things dry. French drain under the gravel as appropriate. Seal the
papercrete wall with stucco or other materail of your choice.
Keep in mind that a crawl space is often important for access to many
utility systems. You'll want to keep enough clearance that someone can
get in there to fix whatever might need fixing some day. An access
door in the papercrete wall will be necessary. If you were to use the
above mentioned papercrete blocks attached to the floor, they could be
removable to gain access to make repairs. If it were me, I'd put in at
least two access doors on opposite sides. Invariably someone is going
to store some junk under there. It's nice to keep at least one door
clear. :) The doors need not be anything fancy. It can be as simple
as a panel that is held up with screws. It can be as fancy as a fully
hinged and locked door.
Plumbing leaks can and do happen. Slope and grade the surface
underneath for drainage of such possibilites. Remove rocks and debris
so that it's easy and more comfortable to lay under there to work.
Have approprate drainage outlets in the papercrete wall. It's bad
enough to have to crawl under a house to fix something. Having to
almost swim through a big puddle of who knows what liquid to make
repairs can make a frustrating situation downright horrendous, and far
more hazardous. Want to make electrical repairs while laying in a big
puddle? Wouldn't it be nice to be able to hose out the crawl space
after a toilet leaked?
Critters love crawl spaces. While I'm a lover of wildlife, they can
create much havoc and damage in a crawl space. Keep them out. Think
about both bugs and small mammals. Often buildings are built on piers
with crawl spaces to avoid termites. Don't defeat this advantage of
this type of construction by creating a path for termites or carpenter
ants to crawl from the ground up to you structure. Use appropriate
termite shields in your papercrete wall.
Of all the crawl spaces I've had to crawl into, the best ones were
those where someone actually thought ahead. Think about putting a
simple light fixture in there. Make sure it can be turned on from the
access door. An exterior GFI outlet in the crawl space can save huge
amounts of time and hassle later. These simple niceties can be
installed very easily and very inexpensively as the structure is
getting built. It can be a pain to add them later.
Hope this helps.
--- In papercreters@yahoogroups.com, "Steve Spence" <sspence@...> wrote:
>
> We have ordered a sectional home, which sits on piers. The sonotube
variety
> filled with concrete. These will be 5' in, 3' up, and I want to lay a
> papercrete slab with papercrete sidewalls (foundation walls) for
enclosing
> and insulating the crawlspace. The weight of the house will be on the
piers,
> not the papercrete. Suggestions?
>
> Steve Spence
> Director, Green-Trust
> http://www.green-trust.org
> http://www.green-trust.org/bookshop/
>
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