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Crawl Space Inspection in Chapel Hill, NC 27514

What Is Crawl Space Ventilation in Chapel Hill, NC?

If you live in Chapel Hill, NC, you may have a crawl space in your home. In the absence of a basement, crawl spaces are essential in maintaining the temperature in your house. However, do you know if you have crawl space ventilation? While you may not think about your crawl space or its ventilation, there are many reasons that you need to.

If you don’t know if your crawl space has ventilation and whether that’s helping your home, now’s the time for a crawl space inspection in Chapel Hill, NC. Call Sealed Solution, and we’ll help you learn everything you need to know about crawl space ventilation.

Below, we’ll discuss what a crawl space is, if you need ventilation, and what you should do with your ventilation—should you keep it closed or open? Keep reading below to learn about crawl space ventilation for your Durham County home.

What Is a Crawl Space?

Before you can call Sealed Solution to give you a crawl space inspection, you need to know whether you have a crawl space. A crawl space is like a basement, residing underneath your home’s first level. However, it’s different because it allows outside air in through vents. Some crawl spaces are the height of basements, while others are so small that you have to crawl through them.

But why do Chapel Hill, NC homes have crawl spaces? The vents allow outside air to come inside and circulate. This helps regulate the temperature in your home. This not only helps keep your feet warm when you’re walking around your house, but it can also lower your heating bill.

While vents help with circulating air in your home, are they helpful or necessary for your crawl space? There’s some debate about whether your Durham County crawl space needs ventilation. First, let’s discuss why you need ventilation.

Why Do You Need Ventilation?

Crawl spaces are most common in warm, moist climates. Because of these conditions, homes can suffer from moisture damage if they don’t have something to keep the moisture out. That’s where crawl space ventilation comes into play.

Moisture can cause many problems if it enters your crawl space. First, a damp area is perfect for mold and mildew growth. While you’ve heard of mold before, you may not know how damaging it is to your health. Mold can cause symptoms similar to allergies: runny, stuffy nose, coughing, and more. Prolonged mold exposure can be dangerous. Symptoms of long-term mold exposure can include memory loss, insomnia, confusion, anxiety, and depression.

With symptoms like this, it’s essential to keep mold out of your home. It can prove harmful to you, your family, and your pets if you have any. Keeping your crawl space shielded from the outside is vital in keeping the moisture out. That’s why many crawl spaces contain vents.

Moisture can do more than cause mold, though. Often, the foundation of your crawl space is wooden. However, this moisture can cause wood rot. The last thing you want is wood rot taking over the foundation of your crawl space. Your whole Durham County home sits on top of this space, so wood rot can bring your house to the ground if you let it get too far. That’s why you need a crawl space inspection done to ensure if wood rot or mold starts to form, you can stop it before it gets too bad.

Does Crawl Space Ventilation Work?

But does crawl space ventilation work? Not necessarily. Having vents in your crawl space can cause one big issue: lack of moisture control. While vents should keep moisture out, they can bring it into your Chapel Hill, NC crawl space.

The temperature outside your home may be different than how warm or cool you keep your house. When the outside air enters your crawl space, it meets with the air in your home. If these temperatures don’t match, condensation can form. Therefore, your attempt to keep moisture away causes it to form.

Should You Not Vent?

Crawl Space Ventilation in Chapel Hill, NC

Does your crawl space have a vent? If not, you may wonder if you should have one installed. There are other ways to protect your crawl space from moisture now. You can install insulation and a vapor barrier to keep your Durham County crawl space moisture-free. If you want to consider your options for your crawl space, you should get a crawl space inspection done and call Sealed Solution to determine what will work best for your home.

Should You Open or Close the Vents?

If you have vents, you may not know what to do with them. After reading about its moisture issues, you may wonder if you should close your vents or keep them open. To keep moisture out, you should keep your crawl space ventilation closed. However, there are other steps you can take to ensure you keep moisture out: consider sealing your crawl space as well.

Should You Seal Your Crawl Space?

If you want to keep your crawl space safe from mold and wood rot, you should consider sealing your crawl space. However, have a crawl space inspection done before you seal it. If you seal your crawl space with moisture, mold, or wood rot inside, you can risk damaging your crawl space and your house further. After all, the mold and water cannot exit your crawl space, so they will only continue to grow in the enclosed space. Call Sealed Solution to do a thorough inspection before you consider sealing it.

Conclusion

So is crawl space ventilation necessary, and does it work? While it helps circulate air in your home and could save you money on your heating bill, vents can cause moisture to build up in your crawl space, leading to many possible issues. If you can, seal your crawl space and close your vents to keep the space moisture-free.

If you need a professional that you can trust to seal your crawl space, call Sealed Solution at 919-302-1081. When you choose us, you’ll never have to worry about your crawl space again. Ensure you take care of your Chapel Hill, NC crawl space, so you can keep yourself and your family safe.


Some information about Chapel Hill, NC

Chapel Hill is a town in Orange, Durham and Chatham counties in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Its population was 57,233 in the 2010 census, making Chapel Hill the 15th-largest city in the state. Chapel Hill, Durham, and the state capital, Raleigh, make up the corners of the Research Triangle, with a total population of 1,998,808.

The area was the home place of early settler William Barbee of Middlesex County, Virginia, whose 1753 grant of 585 acres from John Carteret, 2nd Earl Granville was the first of two land grants in what is now the Chapel Hill-Durham area. Though William Barbee died shortly after settling there, one of his eight children, Christopher Barbee, became an important contributor to his father’s adopted community and to the fledgling University of North Carolina.

A mural at Amber Alley between Franklin and Rosemary streets

Chapel Hill has developed along a hill; the crest was the original site of a small Anglican ‘chapel of ease’, built in 1752, known as New Hope Chapel. The Carolina Inn now occupies this site. In 1819, the town was founded to serve the University of North Carolina and developed around it. The town was chartered in 1851, and its main street, Franklin Street, was named in memory of Benjamin Franklin.

In 1969, a year after the city fully integrated its schools, Chapel Hill elected Howard Lee as mayor. It was the first majority-white municipality in the South to elect an African-American mayor. Serving from 1969 to 1975, Lee helped establish Chapel Hill Transit, the town’s bus system. Some 30 years later, in 2002, the state passed legislation to provide free service to all riders on local buses. The bus operations are funded through Chapel Hill and Carrboro town taxes, federal grants, and UNC student tuition. The change has resulted in a large increase in ridership, taking many cars off the roads. Several hybrid and articulated buses have been added recently. All buses carry GPS transmitters to report their location in real-time to a tracking web site. Buses can transport bicycles and have wheelchair lifts.

Learn more about Chapel Hill.

Map of Chapel Hill, NC


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