House skirt vents

Danster · 11-17-2005, 03:30 PM

What is the purpose of the vents on the house skirts? My Dad has a brick home and he wanted to cover the two front vents facing the North to prevent the cold air getting underneath the house (sitting on cedar posts).

Would it be ok to cover the two front vents even though he has a few more on the both sides of the house?

Can all the vents be covered premanently? Will it be ok onlu during the winter?

TIA!

Dannyo

Canadiver · 11-29-2005, 05:25 PM

The purpose of the vents is to provide cross ventalation to the crawl space,. This helps to eliminate mosture which can cause mold etc. It shouldn't hurt to much if the crawl area is dry and you uncover when the weather warms up. Most building supply stores carry insulated foam to block these vents in sub zero temp.

stoker · 12-01-2005, 09:00 AM

Dan I have an inlaw who is a framer who built his own house, pear & beam with concrete skits enclosing the bottom. Same as your dads.

He did not put any vents in the skirts AT ALL. He would not listen to me to vent the foundation. He also did not want cold air under his house.

The house rotted from under him. This is serious, not just a little mold.
The kitchen floor are was the first to go but he said for years he had a leak in the wall. Doors thoughout the house started to hang up. Humidity was always high in the house......

I even offered to put the vents in and install a fan to insure proper venting. He wouldn't hear of it.

Today after tearing down his house he built another one next to it. This time with a very vented foundation.

If anyting I would try restricting some of the air, not total blockage. I am not in a cold climate.

Danster · 12-02-2005, 03:40 PM

Thanks guys! I will pass the info to my Dad.

Dannyo