Finding A Secret Room Under My House and What Was In It
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- čas přidán 27. 08. 2021
- I couldn't believe there was more to discover to our house! Checkout what I found when I was troubleshooting a repair project.
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I was a Home Inspector for over thirty years. The white powder on the block is Efflorescence. metallic salts left behind by water migrating through the block. Reconnect the downspout and get that water away. The pattern on the fireplace foundation may indicate the top of the flue/chimney is leaking. Should have a topping made of mortar or cement called the coping or flaunching and they fail over time. If it's cracked, replace it. The only ducts I ever saw with that much water in them were flooded by some accident in the house. A tub overflowed or even a toilet and ran into a floor register. It will persist for months once in there. Good luck.
You should REMOVE ALL OF THE DAMP/WET INSULATIONS, FIND AND SEALL ANY AND ALL LEAKS, DEHUMIDIFY THE PACE WITH FORCED-DRAFT BLOWER BEORE STARTING ANY REBUILD!
Informative reply. I have a chimney inside my house that weeps water from the face of the bricks about midway from the opening and the ceiling. It's intermittent and cannot locate the breach.
Very weird to see...
I want to experiment with different dyes to find the breach. 😂😂😂
@@patrickbass3542You need to move this post to the main comment section for the OP to find. 👍
Listen to the Inspector! And the mold warnings
@@randallsmerna384I need an update on your chimney 😅
Growing up in the midwest my first thought (after fixing the odor problem) is to get that dried out and install a trap door for a root cellar/tornado shelter!!!!!!!
I'm in Texas. I'd love to have that!
Two passageways into that space would make it safer for fire reasons. Most rooms you want two egress paths. (Usually, windows can work for that in a pinch.) A trap door in the floor (with a ladder of course) definitely makes sense.
@@fitybux4664 When a tornado is barreling down on you, just being in a safe place is the first thing on your mind.
My first thoughts also, root cellar type storage & fallout shelter from storms... 🌹
So are you in a tropical area were all the duct work is used for is air-conditioning or do you have seasons were you need heat if so than what you have is condensation it builds up over time and as with all standing water stagnate over time for health reasons you need to clean it with bleach to kill any mold and mildew any time you have a crawl space that's the first thing that you need to check out before buying a house can be so many things wrong with an area over a crawl space the worst is rotting joists and supports also foundation problems as well good thing the worst is a pipe full of stagnant water and the insulation being compromised at least it an easy fix
You probably figured out by now but the drain on your HVAC unit is probably not draining correctly so it’s backing up into the air unit and since you’re vents are on the floor per se blowing up instead of in the attic blowing down or going from the floor to the ceiling It’s all collecting and that’s how you end up with the problem
The kids’ reactions to finding a basement is absolutely hilarious! 😂 I am from the midwest, where basements are necessary and most people make it livable space. When my husband and I bought our first house five years ago or so, my biggest request was a livable basement with good lighting. I know this video is two years old by this point, but I hope you put a better access in at this point.
Before you enter a confined space ventilate it throughly. It may save your life or the lives of people important to you who are going to try to rescue you. Blow air all the way to the the bottom of the space to exchange good air for possibly dangerous air. At least three and a half air exchanges before you enter with continuous ventilation when you are in the space.
Thanks for the advice. Had it been me doing this, I might not have thought of that - unless it was blatantly obvious there was bad air or something leaking in there.
I too was concerned (MOLD POSSIBLY, ANIMALS, ETC...)!
Waaa. Just how do you go about that?
Just enter with a torch instead of a flashlight. If there is not enough good oxygen, the torch will begin to dim down. This will serve as your warning.
Wear a mask!
Definitely looks like a plugged up condensation drain backing up into the duct work.
He may need a Little Giant installed. But that was my thoughts also.
I'd dig out the side of the foundation and install a door. Pour a floor with drain. Nice storage room/root cellar. I'm wondering about the rest of the foundation. You might have other potential rooms in which case make more doors throughout obviously consulting an engineer and voila basement.
You could also make a hidden door in the floor with a ladder to descend. Then and put a rug over it and use it as a safe-room for the family to hide in or weather out a tornado.
Exactly what I was thinking right away. Maybe they already have tons of other basement storage space, but it seems like wasted space to me. Maybe make a door from the other basement into this space?
That was fun, going on adventure with you. You're a great dad, patient, and a hard worker.
There's some good advice below here. However, 40+ yrs. of construction says you need "foundation vents" to get the moist air out . Use the type that can be closed in the winter. Good luck.!
I don't know where this is but encapsulation is preferred in the Southeast.
@@ibrewhaha with modern tech encapsulation is useful everywhere
Yes, Steve is correct, you must have vents ( 2 should be fine for that space on either side if possible ) to allow air flow and get moisture out.
@@ibrewhaha That would be a waste of money in that crawl space area. It's well below the grade outside and those blocks have moisture coming through. That would indicate there is no waterproofing done on the outside. He should just vent on all sides and get airflow in there.
Agreed. There's no waterproofing on those blocks from the outside. Easiest solution is to vent out and get some air moving.
That space could make for a really good root cellar/pantry space.
or armoury
A great place to hide the bodies.
That is condensate and that ductwork needs insulated properly and a U.V. light needs to be put in your air handler/furnace to kill mold and bacteria so no more smells form as easily. You need to clean out the duct with smelly water.
Wasted space. Definitely could have been used as a storage room etc.
It is a mystery as to why it was not made into a basement? Could of been that the original approved building plan did not have a basement and the inspectors and other contractors wanted to charge for change of plans and the general contractor backed out and just borded it up as it was found? Seen stuff like that happen before.
My husband, who is a 3rd generation construction worker says that you should try going through the cinder block wall that has the vent coming out of it. Drill a few holes that can be knocked into a view point. The trouble is behind it. You'll be able to look at the area before you or anyone else, goes in.
Having standing water like that in those ducts had to have been an incredibly unhealthy situation!!! If your family has suffered with allergies, respiratory problems, or immune system challenges - perhaps you now have a possible explanation. At the very least you should have a local heating contractor review your entire system, do a duct cleaning, any repairs needed, and new installation. It might also be prudent to have the house checked for mould and remediate it if needed.
I'm assuming you did not have a proper home inspection when you purchased it.
LOL I love the way those kids encourage you with the worse case scenarios!
The "bye forever" comment made me laugh
It did make me laugh after the fact! Glad it wasn't edited out.
@@annierae6355 children are so hilarious! Especially when they have sudden epiphanies! I just love them to death! And old people! They're so matter of fact, or they just laugh at you and say, just you wait! You aint seen nothin yet!
Hilarious!
They cracked me up. Kids, especially girls, are so dramatic. Cute.
1. Fix down spout to keep water away from foundation.
2. Run snake camera into ductwork.
3. Add hinged door to access that swings in. Add hinges to stair so it opens up so you can access hidden room.
4. Remove and replace all insulation. Remove debris.
5. dig up dead body 😒✔
@@jonnyfatboy7563 LOL!
@@casid9929 was a whole year up and noone finished ur list bud I was astounded hehe ❤
I was thinking hatch door inside to keep as a tornado shelter
Hinged stairs are a fun idea.
If the smell started recently, my guess is you had water accident above, like a toilet overflow and it leaked into a floor vent. The way vents connect to an air conditioning "A" frame, it would be a stretch for condensate to be inside the vent. Typically, blocked condensate drains show up as water damage in a ceiling or floor.
Plug the holes you drilled, wait a week an see if there is any more water. You can look next to the A frame and see if there is a drain tube. You can sometimes use compressed air to blow it out.
Yes, I agree that the water is all condensation. Without insulation during heating season, humid warm air will condense on the inside of the ducts.
1. Do Not Use flex duct! Get a proper HVAC contractor to reinstall rigid duct and insulate with foil faced insulation, probably 2". Seal ductwork and insulation properly with mastic. "Duck tape" is not suitable for ductwork.
2. Do the same (as in 1) for all ductwork in crawl space adjacent to basement.
3. Make sure all ductwork is cleaned out. If you have soda cans in this area you will probably have more in crawl space.
Don't cut corners! The air circulated through your ductwork affects your entire family.
Don’t put vapor barrier under the insulation. Water will collect on the inside of the plastic and all your insulation will absorb it. Eventually the floor will start to rot.
I think the Kraft paper is supposed to be a vapor barrier that should be against the ceiling and the ducts, meaning it was installed upside down. The insulation got soggy due to moisture condensation from summer air conditioning, and it dropped off over the years. Mold growing in that stagnant water probably caused the odor you spoke of.
My father does heating and air-conditioning and has most of all my life. Just a suggestion but I think maybe what you might be having a problem with is you’re a coil in your furnace. Has a drain pan to catch the condensation that comes from your air conditioning when it’s running. If the pan is rusted and has a hole in it it will let the moisture into your ductwork into the return air side of your duck work this is a possibility. We need to take your air-conditioning systems apart and check them thoroughly with lights and see if the pans under the Ecole system is leaking and if the water is draining outside yes it is possible to get that amount of water or more from a air-conditioning system that is not draining properly to the outside this is a good thing to check hopefully I can help you out and it will be resolved.
Had the same thought l work on houses jack of all trades master carpenter
Able sounds like your father should go up and have a look lol
A typical a/c makes over 10 gal of water a day.
@@todd4335 technically the AC doesn't MAKE the water. What ACTUALLY happens is that the molecules of cold air are closer together than the molecules of warm air. Air acts like a sponge, absorbing water vapor the way a sponge absorbs water. But when the air cools down, the molecules get closer together, and like when you squeeze water out of a sponge, the water vapor gets squeezed out of the air. So it comes back together and forms droplets of water. It's the same process that causes water to condense on the outside of a cold drink. And, fun fact, it's the same process that causes DEW to condense on the grass as the air cools overnight. It's also what causes it to rain at the spot where a cold front and warm front meet. And when so much water is squeezed out that it can't really GO anywhere, that's what causes fog and clouds (fog is just a cloud on the ground).
@@juliebaker6969 so what took the heat out of the air? A/C huh.
Absolutely LOVE your Daughter and her comments!!!😉💕
Getting your ductwork cleaned is a must since it’s what your breathing in .they come in and scrub your ducts after using camera to look at them then it’s kinda like a soft brush round thing they put onto a drill after they run camera again to make sure all clean .
I would change all the insulation, after figuring out where that water came from. A snake cam would be a big help.
I agree with Kevin and Able. I have one other comment, removing the steel galvanized duct work and replacing it with a fresh new flexible duct is a huge mistake. Flexible ducts need continuous support such a laying across your attic. The galvanized steel ducting is the best available. Changing that would be like putting house slippers on a race horse! Put the old one back in and after solving the water problem have your ducts cleaned and patch the drilled holes!
I know that this is one year too late, but I absolutely agree! That flexible duct is junk! A glorified dryer vent with a garbage bag around it. It sags and pinches, has terrible air flow, leaks air due to its flimsy nature, gets clogged with debris and can't be cleaned easily, and molds and degrades quickly. A rental house we used to live in had that; some rooms had weak airflow to them, some didn't even get any heat at all. Keep in mind these rooms were the closest ones to the furnace! Air flow is really important in saving your furnace from overworking itself and maximizing you heating output. It is also very important to have the same CFM for both the air leaving the furnace, and the air returning. The returning air has to be at least, or greater than the outflow, otherwise you risk overheating the furnace. From what I have read, not many professionals follow this practice. Tons just use that flexible duct in order to save time, effort and money. That or the dreaded sheet paneling! That is the worst you could ever do to yourself. Wood moves, shifts and twists over time, creating huge gaps in the paneling that air flows right out of. Not to mention that you do NOT want moist air flowing through your floors/walls. Think of what it does to the wood and/or sheet rock! And your health! From what I've read (professional HVAC installer guide) a lot of people really miss the boat on the return CFM, shortening the life of many furnaces. When we built our house we got a quote from an HVAC company. We were tired of doing all the work for ourselves and hadn't installed an entire HVAC system before, so we thought maybe just this one time we will have someone else do it. They wanted a whole lot for the junky stuff and refused to go up to the third floor. When we insisted that we wanted sheet metal they said that they would have to get someone else to do that as they didn't know how to. How crazy is that! Some other guy showed up to give us a separate quote for that extra work. Then the HVAC company couldn't even cut the holes for the floor registers and said a carpenter would have to do that! Well, after that we were like....Yeah, not happening.... So we did our research and found that round galvanized steel duct pipe is the best. For corners you wanted to have curved angles. Second best was rectangular duct work. We literally spent months planning out which pipes to use and where, calculating which diameter we needed both for the pipe and the registers, the CFM the furnace could handle and how much each room needed, how much CFM flowed through each pipe and register, and where best to place the return air in order to get the best circulation in our home. We practically wiped out the local FW Webb's entire inventory of galvanized steel duct multiple times. It worked out great! The over 5,000 square foot house has a furnace that only needs to heat for about 3 minutes every half hour or so during the winter time (granted the insulation plays a huge role in this). Keep in mind this furnace was made for a 3,500 square foot house. The air flow is amazing and the dirt either stays near the vents, or makes its way to the filter near the furnace for easy cleaning. A couple of booster fans ensure that the heat reaches the furthest parts of the house. Yes, using galvanized metal is expensive and time consuming, but it is worth it. Many might not realize it, but equalized temps, air flow, heat times and cycles, furnace lifetime, air quality, humidity levels, the air pressure in each room, etc., depend on the quality of the work and materials.
@@Nessy-of-the-Lynn
In this rental, rats have completely stripped the old fiberglass wrap insulation off these galvanized ducts. The thought of trying to re-wrap them is daunting, (cramped, rat poop, and cholla cactus spines dragged down by the rats). The rats have been dealt with but the problem persists. I'm sure it is costing more to heat and cool without insulation.
I get all itchy just thinking about having to wrestle the pipe insulation - wrapping and wrapping and hugging that crap...
I thought about spraying the ductwork with foam insulation from a small kit. I would think the accumulated dust would have to be wiped off prior to spraying for good adhesion. I'm not even sure what the required amount of foam would be... I can figure out the surface area of the multiple "cylinders" are and combine them and then figure out the thickness of the foam. I suppose getting a quote from a foam company couldn't hurt either but I bet it's in the $1000s!
"Dad, are you going to put the deck back together?" lol awesome. Daughters are great. Mine's only 5 yet, bet I hope she has these kinds of reactions to me working on the house.
I feel for you brother, been through the same thing with my 107-year-old farmhouse crawling under it to find a sewer leak. I would recommend that you get that whole room spray foamed.
The white on the spider is actually a fungus!
“It's an entomopathogenic fungus, which is a type of fungus that affects invertebrates. The Cellar Spider (Phlocus sp.) seems particularly prone to infection because it lives in the damp environments where this fungus thrives.”
saved me the trouble of typing that 👍
They are the just the skins that the spiders shed as they grow, and mold grows on that old skins they left behind.
Interesting! I thought it was maybe just the shed skin
@@amandaradford6999 sadly no, they live like that until the fungus eats enough of their joints and tissue so that they cannot move, literally entombed in their own bodies like living mummies, as the fungi feeds off their soon-to-be corpse.
Nature is really messed up.
@@Burger_pants damn that’s brutal!
Living in Arkansas; - in a frequent tornado area, ALL I can see is a place to make an easy access- for everyone to safely traverse quickly- for tornado shelter & a cellar to store food!
Once it is clean and dry- I'd concrete the floor and you could actually make a floor / door with stairs from inside the house- to get in and out easily - and then it is a useful part of the house- SO LUCKY to have such a high ceiling down there -
I have never seen a crawl space that u didn't have to Crawl through!
I'm in Florida. I was thinking of a hurricane safe room. Doesn't look like flooding is an issue. This room is a huge bonus if access was a bit easier.
Good idea.
Love how daughter got so excited about soda can,future scrapper lol
Would be a great place for you as a man cave. Would be a great place for a root cellar. Fix it up as a storm shelter. Would be a good place for wine storage. Be a great place for family to hide from home invasions. Put an access from first floor through a trap door like. Store dry goods in there.
Yes, it's most likely all condensation. All that insulation is reversed, the craft paper needs to be on the heated side. You have big mold issues and drain issues that must be addressed. My suggestion is to start with some professional advice, starting with an inspection and their help in working up a plan to fix all this soon. This is a health and safety issue for your family. Good luck.
In otherworldly, just tare it down.
Not on duct work.
constant heat and cold, on the popes 24/7 or at least when the heating on, you could fill buckets with drips, question is how good the floor, in that secret room, is water seals some how, it cool dark place no air movement, anything that puddling on the floor just going to stay there?
Or use FSK BLANKET INSULATION,
Put in an access... That would make an excellent root cellar. Do a little remodeling and make a safe room down there as well. It's a huge bonus
Put spray insulation in the ceiling and put metal ducking back in because you will make a mistake putting the flex duct in that basement because that basement does not have a concrete floor and you need a concrete floor and that would be a good place for a storm shelter you
With the holes you just drilled to drain the pipes, you now have a simple way to remedy the condensation and the sweating/wicking thru the cinder blocks.
Just get an electric baseboard heater. It takes minimal energy or temperature to keep that little area warm enough to dry out and remain dry. (You could even have the heater wired to a thermostat so that you can turn it off/on from the thermostat.)
Trying to locate where the water originated would obviously be beneficial.
Another suggestion would be to send the family away for the day/weekend. With a weed/chemical pump sprayer, mix up a bleach/water mix @1:1. Then turn on the furnace fan, spray the bleach mix into the furnace fan. The finer the pump sprayer mist is the further the mix will carry thru the ducting. To kill any bacteria & mold. (There’s likely a real chemical product you can buy, but the bleach will work.)
Bleach will corrode the metal duct work. There is a reason for those other correct products. The ducts need to be professionally cleaned or replaced and insulated.
Here in the UK we use air vent bricks - basically bricks with a grid of holes to let air in or out of the area under the floor, and honeycombe walls between rooms internally in that area, these are staggered layers of bricks with gaps between.
It’s all designed to give good airflow under the house and prevent rot.
that would work if you didn't have sub zero temperatures or lots of snow...
@@elainemarten2147 we often get cold weather here
@@dshe8637 Not like in some places. Your trains shut down when thered's a little bit of snow. Think way below freezing, high winds and snow up to your knees
@@pazza4555 Not a very deep frost zone
Put a dehumidifier down there and plumb it out. Definitely has a micro climate issue. Wouldn't hurt sealing the block off with a vapor barrier too.
When you get the problem figured out, that room would be a great root cellar
I had exactly that problem. It was a crawl space with constant moisture that caused mold to grow both in the crawlspace and in the ductwork. It gets really wet with any rain. We dumped bleach all over and had the ducts professionally cleaned. And I got out ASAP. You'll need something to close that up. You should not go without a respirator because of smells. Clean it out and bleach it all. You will also need to check pipes and make sure none are buried in gravel and have separated. Also, if the low spot is connected to the AC, you could be having pan issues. If it is, I strongly recommend you reroute the AC drain into an outside drainage pipe. My issue was that the builder didn't route the condensate duct properly. Just left it drain under the house, thinking it would go to the sump and get pumped out. Unfortunately the sump pump was installed in the highest spot of the crawl space so nothing went to the sump unless there was several inches of water. Also, there were leaks around two little windows that allowed both rain and snow melt. After I dealt with all this, I took the landlord to court because he refused to deal with any of it. He lost. Since I had documentation and pictures (thank you Judge Judy!) I could prove the problem and certified letters proved he was aware. He had to sell the unit, but only after fixing it all. Plus my expenses and court costs..
Great find! A whole basement just sitting there going to waste. First thing I would do is knock out some cinder blocks and put in an oversized door for easier access. Then that wet ductwork has to go. In removing that you'll probably find the water leak. Happened to us in the basement. Turned out it was a leaky bathroom sink above. Replaced with a 10' section of new flex. Fixed the bathroom leak and now no more wet ductwork. Good luck.
Sure seems like your house was expanded on at some point. Probably be a good idea to see if your local records office has any original blueprints. Then at least you'll know where all/some of the pipes are. While it would be a very cool clubhouse. I was thinking if you can make a door or widen the crawl door, or build drop down stairs from above. It would be a fantastic cellar for your humidity loving veggies. Something people spend thousands to build, you already have. Very blessed!
We have a colonial that was built in numerous sections - started out as a small, cinder block home in the 50's. It's on a slab (well, various slabs). Eventually various owners went up, and, out. In our den I would smell something, now and then, that smelled musty. At one point I gutted the den. At one end of the den the slab seemed to be sinking, too. Anyway, when I pulled up the floor I found a damned stairwell that went down to a storm cellar that had been outside when this place was a smaller, cinder block home. It hadn't been filled in very thoroughly, nor, the floor properly constructed to keep it from collapsing into the abyss. I fixed the floor over the stairwell. It was just quite a shock. And my wife never said she could smell that musty smell - she thought I was imaging things. Nope - there's a damned storm cellar under part of our den.
Continuing from the last comment, I once saw a house where the condensation line tied into the sewage line, this was a split system. The condensation line was on the suction side of the fan so anytime the condensation trap went dry (typically in the spring) it pulled sewer gas out of the line. You couldn't pin point the smell because it was blown in all the duct system.
Theory #2 - this is where the previous owner buried his victims.
My thoughts exactly. Sewer gas is really horrible. I would check for that. But I’ve never seen this much water in duct work. I would get to the bottom of that fast.
That house in Amityville had a basement with a well that was filled with smelly demons or something 😳
You'll definitely need to dig all the dirt on that wall with the window hole and put a rubber waterproof paste/ paint on it first. Take all the old duck work and moldy R13 thats up and replace duck work, check any condensation pans and replace. Then either blow insulation or do the expanding insulation which would give you a tight seal. Then a waterproof concrete blocks after you have brought in drying fans and let it completely dry before adding vapor barrier. Adding a window or getting architect maybe add a door entrance where that window is by digging down, putting additional support on cinder blocks and have a walk down entrance with a door it'd be great useable space for storgage or cold room for canning,. Good luck. Can't wait to see how you progress with this project.
I wouldn’t call a plumber I would call an HVAC TECH. I think they would be more helpful than a plumber since you had all that water in your ducts.
Well I guess technically I am an hvac tech just a retired one:)
@@SSLFamilyDad I am just saying to get a HVAC tech bc I don’t understand how it can be a plumbing problem if the water is in the ductwork. Do you have plumbing pipes that go through the ducts and could be leaking?
@@SSLFamilyDad maybe all that water is accumulating over the winter when the hot air is running through cold pipes in the basement.
Need a foundation company to come out and remediate that room. Looks like it needs a French drain and a pump along with a vapor barrier and all new insulation and probably mold treatment! Good part of that water I'd say is condensation being that the duct is metal and there is a foundation vent right near it.
Was the water smelling when you drained it? Could the water be coming from the furnace air conditioner? Like a clogged p trap from a condensate water drain on the furnace or air handler unit. Have to say that is a strange problem. But on a positive note I see the perfect food storage area maybe.
Maybe need some duct cleaning and sterilization.
I believe you are right
As soon as he went in I said root cellar for sure. Put in bigger door for sure.
@@jimputnam2044 That is what I was thinking too.
This is the likely problem. The condensate from the air conditioning is finding it's way into the ductwork.
This could be a very expensive problem if the heat exchanger is rusted out.
Holy moly! The fiberglass insulation I saw in that hidden room also has lettering on it's labels that hasn't been used since the 70s.
Interesting video, thanks for posting. Hope you solve the smell and congratulations on discovering you have a basement ! make it safe and add value to your property 👍
Wow, if you get it cleaned up and repaired, make a better access, you have a good sized root cellar/storm shelter. That's a cool find!
It makes me so happy to hear someone properly use the words condensate, condensation.
I would rip out all the insolation and update to spray foam, or at a minimum replace the insulation with new.
Good luck with whatever you decide to do.
Agreed. Maybe rock wool due to the tendency toward dampness and proximity to the hearth footing.
Condense is proper.., condensate is a syllable too much,but we knew what you mean.
Yes condensing not condensating. Condensation is a noun derived from the verb to condense.
Pop in a trap door and spiral staircase and make it a safe room. It’s perfect because it’s right under your stairs and you can hear what’s happening above you and know when you can get out again.🤔 lots of things to do with this space I wish I had one ☝️!
If you install a dehumidifier to space you won't have condensate also trash all insulation probably full of mold. Dehumidifier won't get rid of any mold that already exists but can save any wood in structure. Mold will have to be removed for health reasons. There are plenty of crawl space youtube remedies for your issue especially for invented crawl spaces such as yours. Also introduce conditioned air into craw and mechanically exhaust tainted air but Dehumidifier immediately
I would dig out the basement and put cement tar on the outside of the bricks. The cement is to wet. Get gutters to move the water away from the house. Fix the insulation so you don't have any frozen pipes. Finally, call a plumber to see where that water is coming from. You may need to put a cap over your chimney on your fireplace. Anyway, there's my 2 cents worth.
You have just completed my childhood dream: find a secret room in your house.
That could be anything I had a situation with ground water and I had to put a massive amount of drainage work into the property to not have it stay full of water and what you’re working with seems like a plugged condensate drain or an AC that’s freezing the coil occasionally, and foam board does an AWESOME job of creating a clean insulated space with fairly low amounts of work involved 👍🏻👍🏻
You may need to have it checked for radon gas. In some crawlspaces you generally have radon gas build up and you have to put a barrier to prevent it from getting into the house. Well it will be a good idea anyway.
That is a typical crawl space, just taller than most. There is a whole industry that has taken off all across the country fixing these messes because the old school idea of how to build a crawl space doesn’t work. Remove all of that crappy, mold loving fiberglass, remove all the junk left behind by the builder, and get to work. Level off the dirt floor and install a heavy gauge poly vapor barrier over the entire floor and all the way up the walls, where it meets the sill you will want to caulk or foam where the wood sits on top of the blocks and seal the poly to that. The then secure the poly to the sill with furring strips and nails. Insulate the walls and floor of the crawl space and add a small supply air outlet and a return on the opposite side to ventilate the space. Leave the underside of the house floor uninsulated. If you don’t get the moisture out of this space it will keep stinking and will eventually rot the floor framing.
If you have enough overhead in the space, you can finish the space for storage. Clean and paint the area, sealing any holes and place some type of door so you can get in and out to build shelves/ for canned food storage or small seasonal equipment storage. Sq footage is sq footage, do not waste it!
@@route66paul don't forget to make it accessible. Somehow, make it so you wouldn't notice there's a door there, and make sure it can be opened and locked. A wireless camera down there would help you secure your storage. (And know about any kids who might try to use it as a play area and hurt themselves.)
@@fitybux4664 Yep. And you don't want to make the neighborhood passion pit for teens. Anyone who had a camper, trailer, utility room or loft in a garage could be a go to for teens when I was young.
Mold doesn’t grow on fiberglass. It can on the paper backing. This crawlspace does not have enough ventilation.
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Most definitely would remove the insulation! Might want to set off a bug bomb to eliminate the spiders first.
Just use a shop vac to remove spiders
What is a bug bomb
Before going in you should go down the checklist:
A. Mask
B. Flashlight
C. Ventilate the space for several hours with a pressurizing fan
Having been a mold and toxic mold technician in outpatient medical facilities, the experience made me go into hvac with a degree to find out about negative air pressure and other causes of the really nasty stuff like legionaries. Here are some free professional suggestions. 1 put a stand-alone self-emptying dehumidifier in that basement and fix the downspout until the entire house reaches below 50% relative humidity, also tie in your ad hock duct drain to the sump in the de-hu pump reservoir. Clean the filter on the unit ( biweekly) until the humidity level is reached. The humidity level retards or stops mold growth.
2, round metal ductwork is the most effective in transferring air volume, and flex duct is the worst in air friction coefficient. Get it professionally sanitized, replace rust outs and seal any leaks or seams, or joints that can be done without ripping out walls. Upgrade filters (air) to merv 14 charcoal rating and also change to 2-month change intervals. Do not buy into the hype of a total duct replacement and system change, flex costs more electricity to push the same amount of air.
3, Houses in the '70s were just the beginning of mold-resistant wallpaper glue painted wallpaper just exasperating the sealed-in mold growth between the walls drastically hindering a clean bill of health upon resale of the house. Unfastened and unsealed duct joints cause small infiltration points for mold spores and as the humidity lowers the mold will produce more spores as colonies die off. To check bathrooms I suggest the seam around the toilet water supply as it is less noticeable, the back of the toilet (take off tank lid), and under electrical cover plates. no need to rip out the paneling or sheetrock if not necessary. Also vent all humid air until you know the shape of things (hot showers, cooking).
Perfect space for a root cellar, general extra storage or mini-shop. Would convert the original entry into a window and add a more functional door.
I would cut a door into that room and use it for storage after you get this problem solved.
Okay so you’ve got an incredibly unique opportunity there.
You need at least a hatchway access from inside the house to that basement space, the pea-gravel floor is a great idea, line the entire space with lead paneling for use as an emergency fallout shelter, install an emergency egress over the existing entrance and cover the outside with a facade.
Install two emergency band antennas on the roof and run the cables to the basement for maximum radio reception in an emergency.
You’ll need an air filtration system as well incase you have to stay in the basement for a few days or God forbid… weeks.
Scrubber systems are expensive but when it comes to your family, you don’t want to have any regrets. Run a basic disconnect for main power and the AC unit just incase you need to turn off/on either or both. Install a basic toilet & sink. A basic gravity water filtration tank like an Alexapure, so you aren’t immediately breaking open your stored water rations. A backup potty plan incase you lose running water. 5 gal buckets with lids and a sufficient stock kitty litter are an excellent environmentally friendly way to go, when you gotta go. Also if cut and apply a pool noodle to the rim of the bucket, your posterior will thank you lol!
Beyond that you just need to stock the shelter with cots, bedding, clothing, emergency food, water, some manner of illumination, books, boardgames, detailed area maps, emergency AM/FM radios, basic TV setup for cable/local broadcast, a ham radio for comms, emergency services band scanner, GPS, a couple of USB battery banks, portable solar panel charging system etc and of course, be sure all electronics are stored in a faraday box!!
I’ve only spent ten grand and my emergency setup is sic AF lol.
That should get you by in an emergency and give you and you’d family the greatest chances of surviving an emergency.
Are you expecting an apocalypse?
You may want to verify either the clothes watching machine or the dishwasher drains, most of the time they are improperly installed and require a “P trap”, or in some instances, you may have an un used “P trap” somewhere in the basement that has dried up because it is no longer in use. (If an unused “P Trap” before capping it and sealing it, you may want to fill the “P trap” with cooking oils that won’t evaporate, then cap and seal it!
Read some of the comments and there is some good advice. One thing you may want to look at is that dark insulation to the left of the crawlspace entry door as you’re looking at if from inside the crawlspace. There is a possibility that water has leaked in below your sliding glass doors at the rear of home. The stained insulation is sometimes evidence of water penetration. Just pull the black insulation down and look at the sub flooring. Also before you remove the ductwork it looks like it has presumed asbestos tape wrapped around it...sorry for the long message...just offering some help...take care and stay safe
Asbestos is very dangerous. You need that removed. I would suggest by professionals.
Root cellar add a door
You probably should not have entered the basement space without wearing a respirator mask. That space has some black mold on the insulation wrappers and some on the plate( where the house meets the basement) along the part of the ( entrance) wet wall. The white lines on the cinder blocks might be mineralization or some sort of white mold. Albino spider corpses should be taken as a warning....just to be safe. Get a professional ventilation/ heating serviceman as well as a foundation specialist. Fix it right the first time....saves on time and money in the long run. There were some good suggestions made as to what you can use this space for.. Good luck with your repairs.
I have no clue how to fix the " trouble" you have. But thankyou for the reminder that 'troubles' of this world can be experienced in peace!!! Like the song, " You shine"....
The drain line from the A-frame coil pan is blocked causing the water to spill over into the ductwork… We have a slab foundation so all our duct goes into the attic but our drain line has blocked up before and the pan spills over underneath the coil…
Nope the leaking faucet he had in last video leaked water into vent.
I would work on getting water proofing on the walls and maybe even dig out around the outside and add water barriers there too. Then pour a floor, replace the insulation and add a door so you can walk in. In the ducting add a length that goes straight down to make a sump, and have an access door on it for cleaning out. Put in a sump pump. Then it could be used for a play room or cold storage! Add a reinforced cement ceiling and have a shelter!
All very good ideas!
When you dig out around the outside, do you also need a French drain, to divert water?
Good idea.
If you put a sump pump in, make sure the floor is slanted toward the sump pump. Mine is slanted down to wrong end of the basement so as I'm using brooms, squeegee mops trying to get water down coercion right back where I swept it from! And it takes forever for the water wate basement has had deep flooding for the past 26 yrs. of living in the dump I bought, seller never disclosed flooding!!
Remember when he was getting ready to take off the cover he found a big long piece of drain pipe from the gutters that was disconnected. That was the wall with the moisture on it. It shouldn't be too difficult to connect the gutter and that piece to send the water away from the foundation.
amazing! so concrete whole under the house!
I agree about mold. Especially with damp insulation. Beee careful
Water in your duct work probably came from the leaking faucet you replaced in last video. The vent in the floor is right by where it was leaking.
Good call!
And, why it didn't stink until after he did it.
Yeah-My parents had a tract home built in 1970. We got to watch the whole process over however long it took.While it was being built,the construction workers would be so messy.They could drink on the job back then,and they would use the upstairs bathtub as their trash can.It would be full of paper,half finished cans of Coors,the remnants of the stuff for popcorn ceiling,the remains of various lunches.Course,when they would test to see if the plumbing worked,that stuff got all wet,too.Real nice! So they were sloppy.Then they would hire a crew to clean it all up before final inspection.I could see how the cans would be in there.Good thing it wasn't a dead animal,and when it is redone,it should be great.Thanks for the video!
We had that "SMELL" in our whole home and it was horrible. So we had our crawlspace professionally cleaned and sealed. They removed all the paper-backed fiberglass insulation, replaced the metal duct work which was filled with condensation water from running the AC in the summer (AC works by removing the moisture from the air and passing the over the cooling system to return dry to the home. ) Then installed a dehumidifier for the crawlspace. The old school way of thinking was to have venting and airflow. That works great in a more arid environment, however if you live in a humid summer zone, then you need to seal it up and put in the dehumidifier. Amazingly, our home is actually warmer in winter and cooler in summer. Good luck!
Very cool video! I’m following you for sure. I’m a very seasoned facility manager and I recommend spending a few dollars with a reputable person to test for legionella bacteria or other forms of contamination that could harm you and your kiddos. I’m not one to overreact to anything but with the age of your house and odd mechanical issues it would be money well spent to know exactly what, if anything, you’re dealing with. 🙂
That was fun and suspenseful, thanks for sharing that with us. Now you'll have a bonus room plus be able to correct those issues before they got worse. Good luck brother.
First of all, that access should never have been blocked off! There also seems to be NO ventilation under there! Vents, easy access under the house, HVAC looked into, and possibly a sump pump installed
Replace THE WINDOW WITH A DOOR. .
Then add a window, for light, air and an additional exit!
You've added a lot of square footage AND VALUE, to your house.
turn the space into a play room for your kids.
Once cleaned up, it maybe a great place to put important documents, backup food, weapons, or use as an emergency shelter
Check your AC condensation unit drain pan and the pipe leading away from the unit. This will be under the AC unit inside the house/garage/attic. These pipes can come loose from the pan or each other, or from the drain they connect to. If the unit is an old unit, the pan may be disintegrating (early plastics). Most techs do not glue the pipes together for disassembly purposes. The condensation water is probably draining out over an AC air pipe crack causing the problem. An easy fix, not so easy clean up.
Weird. You said a lot, but you didn't say: "The condensation pipe might be clogged" (Which happens VERY VERY frequently, especially if you don't put one of those tabs in your condensation pan every few months.) What happens often is that the drain pipes get totally clogged, then the pan overflows to everywhere the water shouldn't be. (Through the ceiling if it's a ceiling mounted AC. Or through pipes it shouldn't go/etc.)
Odd ball house, they covered the crawl space cover with stairs, reminds me of that ceptic they covered with the driveway that you had to make the slanted access for.
May not help now, but don't put vapour barrier on bottom of joists. Cut 2' strips of poly for each cavity. Staple poly to bottom of floor, then add insulation. The room will be a co!d space then. Poly goes on warm side of cavity!
If you want to warm entire room, don't insulate or poly the ceiling; build 2x4 walls near outer block walls, then insulate and vapour seal. Use rock wool.
After reading a lot of the comments I realized this was a year ago. What did you finally do to correct the problems. It's a great space except for those issues and needing a better access point. Have a Blessed day.
You had me in suspense! Love your positive and inquisitive attitude. I’d be very upset and thinking of all the wrong channels except staying cool which you did so well. Always learning from this channel, thanks!
What is freaking me out is the mold!!!! We nearly lost our lives from mold over 11 yrs ago. I never fully recovered and was left with permanent damage. Please take this seriously.
black mold can kill you.
me too, and is really bothering him, he should really use a full respirator.
that will dry out if he rather then putting that board back up puts something that will allow for air flow should help dry that room out
@@Nmccarville it's dangerous, the hyphae goes deep into the wood, need to be replaced, but agree the air must flow thru that room
@@CherishedChristianLife once its dry I would myself go in an spray with straight bleach I also lived in a Apartment building that used to be a farm hand house (so no modern fire regs) an their was black mold through out the building I stayed for a while as it was 750 all inclusive for a two bedroom in the city I was in that was a bargain
Look for another access hole for the other side of the house and typically there is a trap door somewhere in the house. It may be under the carpet/flooring because the structure underneath looks sketchy. I would redo ALL of the duct work. Listeria love to grow in dank water and it is deadly.
If you have a home warranty on your home I'd definitely contact them. They should cover this.
At 3:52 The dad missed the opportunity to joke with his daughter and say, "no, YOU are going in there". I have a daughter and never miss an opportunity to keep her on her toes.
My dad actually asked one of us down (us being my two brothers and me the middle child and only girl), I said yes because heck yes adventure and they were grossed out. I went twice so far to clean the sink pipes, next time my dad will be too old to go I think, so I will be going for that adventure on my own.
@@MsWatismyname I'm sure he appretiates your help, and most of all, your bravery to go into the trenches.
A secret room, I see a place for a awesome root cellar!
Thank You 🙏
Something I did when I found the rooms under my house was put down heavy gauge plastic to cover the floor and I put the bricks I found to hold it in place it kept the moisture from raising up into the rooms and I then insulated the pipes like you have there
Maybe spray foaming the ceiling in the secret room. Maybe put a sump pump in down there and dehumidifier. Getting concrete floor would be a great idea.
Agree with others -" A " coil in the HVAC condensate catch pan ; rusted out ? or a very common problem is the codensate drain line is plugged (usually at the trap). You would be suprized how much water can be produced in one day. Lots of good possibilities for the space. At least make access easier for inspection. Thanks
I'd highly recommend an HVAC tech and putting a vented door on that crawlspace so it can breathe. Could actually make for a nice little root cellar if you get it cleaned up and shut down the moisture.
Our house is in east Texas…it is pier and beam…it is 113 years old…it is a two story and is 4,025 sq. ft. with a large L shaped porch and a matching L shaped balcony. There are a number of vents around the house on the lower story on the concrete…the vents are rectangular in shape and there is a heavy wire fairly large hole design to keep animals out but let’s air/ ventilation in and out under the house. There are no closures but we cover the openings in winter and take the covers off when spring arrives…warm weather for sure. We also have 6 doors to the outside…one on each side of the house downstairs and two going out onto the balcony…one to the front which is facing south and one that goes out onto the east side onto the balcony. The original owner and builder was very aware of what would happen if there was a fire upstairs. The 5’ wide hallways upstairs goes from one side of the house from east to west then goes north to south which goes from the front to the back which is where the upstairs bathroom is and the curved 22 riser staircase is right outside the bath.
I have enjoyed your video. You have a very powerful positive attitude & willingness to try to fix this problem 1st b4 calling someone to do it for you! Keep going, never give up, love the way you speak to your family it's very sweet. Ignore negative people & there comments 🦄
My saying "It's Nice to Be Important But more Important to be NICE!"
The room looks perfect for setting up a water storage area using water bladders in boxes for bulk storage in case the power is out/well is damaged. You would just need pipes in/out so no reason to go in often other then an inspection every so often to make sure the bladders are still in good shape.
Looks like a great place for a grow room . Humidity is already high.
@@todd4335 something tells me that's not this family's focus.
@@kirsten4896 idk dude looks and sounds like a stoner.
It’s kind of cool once you get rid of the smell, I’m just looking in it I don’t see any mold or mildew which means it stays pretty dry, I would almost go through the brick and put an access door and make it usable that could be some good usable storage you can put water heaters or whatever in there. Once you get the smell out plus that insulation is falling off you’ll be able to fix that. It’s kind of cool in a way
I'm shocked you didn't know it was there. When I see the foundation like that with where the fist floor is I would automatically be interested in finding the access ro the basement. 😀
Had a problem alot like yours, water in the AC ductwork,. Found out that it was getting in to the ductwork via the bathroom vent. Moved the vent and water treatment for the floor, fixed the problem.
All pier and beam floor homes have crawl spaces. That is obviously part of an addition to the main house. You will probably find more crawl space under the rest of the house since that is where the duct work is coming from. Remember that there is a reason they call them "crawl spaces." Just hope the rest of the house foundation was dug out just as deep and the stem walls are just as high as what you found. Otherwise you will need a respirator and heavy duty long sleeve shirts and elbow and knee pads would be very useful as well, and a fan that someone can place at the crawl space entrance to get fresh air in there would be a boon to your comfort.
Fiberglass insulation is not suppose to be used on duct work. The paper, if it gets wet, will provide food for black mold.
Get a respirator and good goggles and leather gloves before you start replacing the insulation. Use some duck tape to tape the sleeves to the gloves to stop fiberglass insulation from getting inside your sleeves and something to seal your neck to the collar of your shirt as well. The fiberglass will get into your skin and cause you to itch like crazy and there is nothing you can do to stop it except live with it until the fibers wear away.
Duct insulation is a mineral wool backed with foil and its joints are sealed with a foil backed mastic duct tape.
A vapor barrier should be put on the ground and sealed with a mastic adhesive against the cinder blocks a little above ground level. Moisture will percolate through cinder blocks and concrete.
You could have septic gas backing up (leaking into basement) from a clogged vent pipe. Our septic was failing and sewer blocked the vent that septic gas normally escapes.
I like this guy I have to follow him. We are just the stereotypical homeowner who are probably in over our heads but dammit we’re not gonna give up..
My grandparents basement would flood during a heavy rain. One day when my grandma finished going to the bathroom she stood up and just happened to look down at the floor vent and saw her reflection. Turns out static pressure was causing water to build up and leak into the vents. After placing basically a moat with two water pumps in their basement that solved the problem. I’ll have to check out your other videos to see what the problem was