Boise Real Estate ~ Moisture In Crawlspaces
It’s important for home buyers in the Boise real estate market to understand soil conditions and the risks associated with them.
Much of the Boise area has an underlying layer of clay just beneath the soil’s surface.
That layer of clay prevents surface water from being absorbed, and can result in that water moving in “sheets” above the layer of clay.
Sounds kinda technical, right?
Well, here’s what it means (in plain English) to you as a homeowner.
If your home doesn’t have proper drainage, you can end up with moisture in your crawl space and perhaps mold.
Mold is the kiss of death in real estate.
Once you have mold in your home, you must disclose it (material fact) to all future buyers, and most of them will run away after they hear about it.
And, if you file a water damage claim with your insurance company, your home will likely get listed on the national CLUE database, which can result in not being able to get insurance in the future, which may result in future buyers not being able to obtain financing when you want to sell.
Not to mention that it’s very expensive to remediate mold problems these days.
Moisture in crawl spaces can be avoided through some common-sense practices, including:
Watering Your Lawn Sensibly
I often see homes where the lawns are being over-watered.
It’s often best to water once/day at 6:00 a.m., with less water. You don’t need to water two or three times a day for 30 minutes per station.
Directing Rain Water Away From Your Foundation
Here are some examples of downspouts that I see:
Least Desirable
Better
Best
The last option is the best one with the rain water being piped to a dry well (a pit full of drain rock that penetrates the layer of clay) away from the home.
It’s also desirable to have full gutters on your home to avoid rain water running directly off the roof and being absorbed into the ground adjacent to the foundation.
Here’s an example of a home without full gutters that is more likely to cause moisture in the crawl space.
BTW – you’ve seen those chain downspouts, right?
Well, I have them on my home and I’m way kewl, but they don’t work very well.
The water doesn’t follow the chains when it rains hard, and the gushing water blows the bark/rock away when it finally hits the ground.
Hope this helps ~ now get your mind out of the gutter, will ya?
September 22nd, 2009 Posted in About Our Area, Buyer Stuff, Seller Stuff
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