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Hello, I was looking into buying one house. However home inspector found standing water in crawlspace. He told me that it is ok if it is just water from recent rain that will drain in few days. He told me to wait 3 days after rain stop and see if there is still water. If it is still there than it is problem. What can I do to find out if water in crawl space is really problem there or not. He told me he hasn't seen any mold or anything else and house is 5 years old. How can I find out if water there is a real problem or something to not be worry about?
Standing water in the crawlspace is a problem in and of itself. That needs to be corrected. I would recommend that you negotiate to have the seller do or pay for the following: Have a professional identify the water source problem and correct it; have a mold inspection done; and, have a professional(i.e., structural engineer) inspect the foundation to determine if there is any damage. I would not sign off on an inspection contingency unless these were done(with satisfactory documentation provided) and any damage satisfactorily repaired. You should also maintain the option to opt out of the contract based on these inspections. Even if the water drained in three days you would still have problems or potential problems.
Standing water in the crawlspace is a problem in and of itself. That needs to be corrected. I would recommend that you negotiate to have the seller do or pay for the following: Have a professional identify the water source problem and correct it; have a mold inspection done; and, have a professional(i.e., structural engineer) inspect the foundation to determine if there is any damage. I would not sign off on an inspection contingency unless these were done(with satisfactory documentation provided) and any damage satisfactorily repaired. You should also maintain the option to opt out of the contract based on these inspections. Even if the water drained in three days you would still have problems or potential problems.
OP here's your answer. I never had an inspector say that standing water was a good thing - 'cause it isn't, plus you're saying the house is only 5 years old. I'm rather curious about this inspector because standing water in the crawlspace is not good. Good advice GBone
While clearly not "a plus" I can think of situations where this is (barely) acceptable.
The key is WHY the water is standing there and HOW this compares to very local norms. If the crawl space is VERY well ventilated and the ground generally drains well and this is something caused by some unusual situation then there may be no long term issues. I know that in some areas (like near major lakes or other bodies of water) the water table can be so high that this is something that people live with. In areas with very high humidity for extended period the houses typically will not have a true crawl space but instead will be built on elevated piers / stilts for maximum air-flow / least chances of stagnant air allowing mold growth...
If there is no evidence of this ever being a problem it may just be that the weather patterns have worked against you.
If the source of the water is not some unusually heavy rains and/or other home that are adjacent to the property are not similarly effected you really need to get another opinion from some one that can more thoroughly investigate the root cause of this problem and perhaps give you an idea of how expensive this might be to correct.
I know that in some areas (like near major lakes or other bodies of water) the water table can be so high that this is something that people live with.
This is true in some areas ( perhaps we are thinking of the same areas) and should be disclosed in those states that compel disclosure. I would not be too keen to accept this situation, even though it is considered
"normal", in some areas.
I happen to be the inspector, so I will add some details and let you go on with your opinions.
1. It had rained for a few days. The day of the insepction, it had rained hard, all day long. Turns out it was about an inch of rain for the day.
2. The house sits mid slope on a pretty good hill, with many houses up slope.
3. The ground in the back yard was saturated and had standing water in many areas.
4. The downspouts in the back could use a little help.
5. The slope of this property drains to the front of the house, and is graded pretty well. Water is not flowing toward the foundation, but the back yard was very wet.
6. When I entered the crawlspace, there was some water that had collected in the areas along the foundation walls (roughly an inch or so deep, and maybe a couple inches wide). There was a larger area under the front of the house where is was an inch or so deep, but maybe a foot or so wide.
7. There wasn't any water on top of the plastic vapor barrier.
8. There were no signs of fungus growth on the joists or framing that would lead me to believe there was a cronic moisture problem.
9. The way gravel was installed in the areas along the foundation wall, lead me to believe there is a foundation drainage system in place, though I could no actually see the pipe.
10. In my experience, it is not uncommon for water to enter a crawlspace during periods of heavy rain and saturated ground, then to drain out thruthe foundation drainage systems.
11. My opinioin was also based on the fact that if there was a significant water problem in this crawlspace, there would likely be fungus and mold growth visible on the framing. There wasn't any.
Standing water in the crawlspace is a problem in and of itself. That needs to be corrected. I would recommend that you negotiate to have the seller do or pay for the following: Have a professional identify the water source problem and correct it; have a mold inspection done; and, have a professional(i.e., structural engineer) inspect the foundation to determine if there is any damage. I would not sign off on an inspection contingency unless these were done(with satisfactory documentation provided) and any damage satisfactorily repaired. You should also maintain the option to opt out of the contract based on these inspections. Even if the water drained in three days you would still have problems or potential problems.
These are very good words of wisdom! Soils in a crawlspace might be damp after a heavy rain and should dry quickly with proper ventilation of the crawlspace area. However, you should never experience standing water in a crawlspace. It can indicate many things to include poor grading and drainage (both outside and/or in the crawlspace) or potential pipe leaks. Any water that does enter a crawlspace must be considered an issue and the reason discovered/corrected. It could be a simple correction, but you never know until the source is found.
I create drainage models based on digital elevation data, overland flow patterns, soil types, bathymetry, etc..
You'd be surprised how many developers will just pave right through swampy drainageways. If your house is built upon hydric soil, then standing water will just be how it goes for you.
Based on what barking spider wrote in here, I would have someone come out and evaluate the drainage on the property. Out here we get occasional puddles under houses and it's not a huge deal out here. You can have a foundation crack and get seepage...it just depends.
What bothers me about this scenario is how wet the backyard was. My thoughts are that the excess water from the backyard is causing extra water under the house. You shouldn't have puddles in your back yard...at least not out here, and we get rain in Oregon. You want good drainage around the property. If the house has a french drain then you might want to consider draining some of that back yard water into a french drain, or create a swale (think dry creek bed) that will pull the water towards the existing drains.
It sounds like a water problem to me, but a back yard drainage problem, not a water under the house water problem. I have to wonder if there would be any water under the house if the back yard was drained properly.
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