Pier foundation
I have a 2 story house in upstate ny with a pier foundation. The foundation is currently open and the floor has fiberglass insulation with rigid foam underneath that. Underneath the house is open soil and it’s a little lower than the grade on the outside. Sometimes a heavy rain or in the spring with snow melt water will get under there with no place to drain. I’m wondering if there is a way to avoid this. Maybe a French drain around the house. The house sits about 2 feet off the ground so it would be hard to bring the ground level up and still have any room to get under the house. Or should I skirt the house and encapsulate the crawlspace and bring grade up on to skirting?
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Replies
jack13624,
Unless there is some compelling reason to make the pier foundation into a crawlspace, I would stick with what you have.
I would dig a shallow trench drain (a 4" perforated pipe surrounded by rock) under the lowest point, and have it drain either to daylight if you can find somewhere nearby that is low enough, or to rock pit. If most of the accumulation comes from surface water, you may also be able to stop it just by creating a very small berm right at the house perimeter.
I think that bring grade up on to skirting is good idea.