Should I worry about puddles in crawl space?

[peter]

During rainy season my crawspace usually have several puddles of water. Since there is no visible leak, I assume this is from rain water seeping through the lawn and then into the foundation. The puddles are no more than

1.5 inches deep and are not usually visible at a glance because black plastic sheets cover the entire crawlspace they tend to float on top of the puddles.

At one corner of the crawlspace is a 1-foot long, 4-inch diameter black plastic pipe with a cap that leads outside the foundation. This pipe is at the end of what looks like a man-made water channel. I assume this is a water drain. There is no puddle around this area.

The house is built in 1985, is there a code that mandates a crawlspace drain? I'm wondering if I need to do something about the puddles or if it's ok as long as they don't get worse.

[Tom]

"Peter" wrote:>During rainy season my crawspace usually have several puddles of water.

How's the ventilation down there? I'd be concerned about water infiltrating my foundation...Check for a good grade slope away from the house, all your gutter downspouts lead well away from the foundation, etc.. Tom Work at your leisure!

[trader4]

I agree with Tom. Having 1.5 inch puddles in a crawl space can also lead to so much moisture that you wind up with mold, wood rot, etc. After checking what Tom suggested, I'd go out in the next heavy rain and watch how water is getting in. After eliminating water getting in, if it's still too damp, I'd work on getting lots of ventilation.

[Bob K 207]

Puddlling water in a crawlspoace is definitely a situation that should be investiagted & corrected.

Depending on you local (I forgot where you are) the problem could be minor (hardwood floor cupping) or major (dry rot / mold)

In any case find the case & eliminate it.

cheers Bob

cheers Bob. In SoCAl (IMO), with normal ventilation the problem

[Bill]

Just a comment on what I found when I had a similar problem. I found that the water was infiltrating through the crawl space entry. I have a brick house, and the water was getting through the brick , and trickling along between the bricks and the stem wall to the crawl space entry, then going in through that. I fixed mine by putting little dams between the brick and the stem wall at the entry point, and my crawl space has been dry ever since.

Of course this may have absolutely nothing to do with your problem.

Good luck finding the source.

Bill Gill