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I have a very tight crawlspace that needs to be lowered to at least 24". It's very hard clay so a tool to break it up would be a great idea. Anyway, I've been researching and it seems to be common practice to excavate an external opening and dig out from there. However, I was wondering if I could pull up the floors (which need to be replaced due to mold issues anyway) and access the area from above. One problem I see is getting around the floor joists to dig. Would I be able to move them out of the way (remove/replace them) as we go or is that a bad idea? Are there other concerns I need to consider? Its not a very large area and it has deep footings so I don't think 2 feet down will destabalize them.
Going between the joists isn't a good idea. I've dug out hard clay before. It takes a mattock and pick and is very slow going even if you can get a decent swing on the tool. If I was to try it again in a tight space, I might consider digging a sump, placing a trash pump in it, and then using a pressure washer (with some sort of shield) to slice it into blocks about the size of a concrete block, then prising those out with a bar. You are going to hate the job, no matter how you do it. The clay will stick to most any tool you try to use or turn into muck.
Honestly, if the floor and sublfloor need to come out anyway, it seems pretty reasonable to me to access it that way. You will be able to swing the mattock and use a shovel easily standing between the joists, in my opinion. It would depend on the number of bridging blocks there were, but those could be removed and replaced way easier than all the floor joists.
I have a very tight crawlspace that needs to be lowered to at least 24".
Why?
There are no specific codes that require 2' of clearance. This is the only refrence I could think of-
From the IRC:
R408.6 Finished grade. The finished grade of under-floor surface may be located at the bottom of the footings; however, where there is evidence that the groundwater table can rise to within 6 inches (152 mm) of the finished floor at the building perimeter or where there is evidence that the surface water does not readily drain from the building site, the grade in the under-floor space shall be as high as the outside finished grade, unless an approved drainage system is provided.
I've got close to four feet of clearance. It makes it easy running various cables and doing spot checks for bug/termites/misguided floozies.
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