Many aspects of home inspection involve common sense. That does not, however, mean that the decisions an inspector makes are always obvious. That is especially true when dealing with electrical, HVAC or plumbing issues. This blog is about a common sense concern, but one that the average person does not think about. First, the reader must begin by being aware of a couple facts (1) water is not a welcome visitor in the crawl space; (2) water collecting around wood will lead to decay of the wood.

Now that we understand those two things, it is apparent that the slope of the concrete below is allowing (let us say encouraging) runoff water to run into the crawl space vent, collect against the foundation and to also collect around the wood siding -- bad things. The second photo clarifies just how much slope there is, if you look at the bubble on the level.

Inspectors look for problems with perimeter slope, or they should at least. This includes evaluating the slope of lawn and garden areas -- they ought to slope back away from the home at about 1" slope per foot over six feet or more. When the culprit is blacktop or concrete, the concern is worse because the water does not "soak in" at all, it just runs to the low side. The problem in the photo is made worse yet again by the location of the downspout and the fact the wood is right down on the concrete. Obviously, the issue of the water on wood is alleviated if the wood is cut to end a few inches up, but that does not solve the problem with the crawl space. A person could put a well on the vent, but the grading is still a concern that, at the very least, requires monitoring of the crawl space for water. The best scenario would be removing and re-doing the concrete. Of course, if you slope it the other way then water runs against the garage! Flat is not that great either. Taking the time to really study the issue, and look at alternative means of drainage when re-doing the concrete, would be a better option.

This sort of thing, read that as a compromise, is commonly found in older homes and the buyer often decides to live with it, make a few little changes, monitor it and see what happens. Fact is, often they forget all about it and nobody knows just "what happened" till another home inspector comes in years later.

Steven L. Smith

Bellingham WA Home Inspections