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If you look at the homes around you in Gorman, NC, you may find a vented crawl space. Did you recently move into a Durham County home, or have you lived in it for a while? Either way, you may not know whether you have a sealed crawl space. Also, the most important part is knowing whether you need one if you don’t have it. While they were once standard in many homes, are they still required? And if you don’t have a vented crawl space, should you get one?
Sealed Solution can help you learn all you need to know about vented crawl spaces and whether your Gorman, NC home needs it. Below, we’ll discuss how to tell if you have one, how they work, the benefits, if you should close your vents, and if you should inspect them. For everything that you need to know about a vented crawl space and crawl space insulation, keep on reading.
Do You Have a Vented Crawl Space?
Do you know if you have a vented crawl space in your home? Before considering the advantages or disadvantages of a vented crawl space, you need to determine if you have one yet. A few factors affect whether you have vents in your crawl space. For one, your location plays a role. If you live in a humid area that often has wet soil, your home may have a crawl space.
Also, older homes often had vented crawl spaces. You will most likely have vents if you live in a house built during the 1950s. Back then, crawl space vents were mandatory. So unless a previous owner removed the vents, you most likely have them in your home.
What’s the Purpose of Venting?
It’s clear to see that venting was essential back in the 1950s since it was mandatory, but what is its purpose? The last thing you want in your home is a completely enclosed area. You risk water getting into the enclosed area if you have a home without crawl space insulation or vents. Also, vents or insulation help your home regulate temperature. Before insulation became widely used, vents were the top way people kept their homes at a comfortable temperature. With vents, their home could be cool in the summer and warm in the winter.
To properly regulate air, you need a controlled environment. That’s why crawl spaces utilize venting, insulation, vapor barriers, and more. Having these aspects keeps out unwanted things—like water and pests—and keeps everything else inside.
Does Ventilation Work?
However, does ventilation work? While they were popular for a long time, many people have recently turned their noses up to vents. However, they often have a good reason for it. The goal of vents is to allow air to circulate throughout the crawl space and lower moisture levels. However, it seems that they do the opposite. Some contractors believe that vents cause these problems rather than stop them.
Vents originally entered homes to prevent mold growth. However, homes with vented crawl spaces can see mold, rusting, and corrosion. Why is that? Vents take air from outside, which is often a different temperature than that in your house. This temperature variation can cause condensation, leading to mold growth and other issues. Therefore, many contractors would rather install crawl space insulation in your Gorman, NC home instead of vents.
Not every contractor believes this, though. There are two sides of the coin with the argument over whether a vented crawl space works. In many areas, local codes dictate whether your home can ditch the vent. Before considering whether you want a ventless crawl space, you should look up local codes in Durham County or ask Sealed Solution to see if your home requires vents.
Mold Problems
As we previously mentioned, a vented crawl space can cause mold problems, even though they aim to prevent them. That may not sound like an issue, but you need to remember the damages that mold can do to your health and house. Mold can cause allergy-like symptoms, such as a runny nose, coughing, and a sore throat. It can also cause many respiratory issues, especially after long-term exposure.
Mold growth can also cause wood to deteriorate, which you want to avoid in your crawl space. So mold can negatively impact your house and cause your home to deteriorate. No one wants that.
Affect Your Home’s Air Quality
Ventilation also affects your home’s air quality. Air circulates from your crawl space up through the rest of your house. Therefore, if you have mold issues or bad air quality in your crawl space, that air will make its way up to the top floor of your house, infecting every inch.
When Should You Close Off Your Vents?
If you do have a vented crawl space in Durham County, should you close off the vents? This answer, just as the previous one, will vary based on who you ask. However, if you worry about mold growth or poor air quality in your home, you should close off the vents. This will keep cool outside air from coming in, forming condensation with the warm air in your house.
If you want to remove the vents in your crawl space but can’t due to the codes in Gorman, NC, you should close them instead.
Should You Inspect Your Vents?
If you do have a vented crawl space, should you inspect the vents? Like any area of your home, you should inspect it to ensure everything works as it should. This is essential if you leave your vents open to know if any damage starts to appear in your crawl space. If you want to hire a professional to inspect your crawl space, call Sealed Solution. We work with vents and crawl space insulation.
Hopefully, you now know a bit more about whether you have a vented crawl space and some complications that can come from them. Remember to review the Durham County codes and talk to Sealed Solution about whether you should keep your vented crawl space. Call us at 919-302-1081 for more information.
Gorman is a census-designated place (CDP) in Durham County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 1,011 at the 2010 census.
Gorman is located in east-central Durham County at 36°2′22″N 78°49′11″W / 36.03944°N 78.81972°W (36.039342, -78.819783), between the city of Durham to the southwest and Falls Lake on the Neuse River to the northeast. Interstate 85 forms the northwestern border of the community, with access from exits 180, 182, and 183. The main road through the community is East Geer Street, running roughly parallel to I-85.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the Gorman CDP has a total area of 2.93 square miles (7.60 km2), of which 2.88 square miles (7.45 km2) is land and 0.054 square miles (0.14 km2), or 1.89%, is water.
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