I don’t know how many other homeowners out there have frequented their crawlspaces as much as I have, but nothing is worse than the first few trips into “the unknown.” This is especially true when you are living in an older construction home, in my case a 1963 rambler.
Kyle did not receive compensation or discounted service from Crawl Pros for his honest review but his wife did and so he decided to lend his opinion as well.
If you’ve never been, just imagine something like this…
You start off lifting off the janky, old crawlspace cover very much like the excavation crew on the hilltop prying off the lid to the hidden tomb in Raiders of the Lost Ark. Free of obstruction, you “gear up” with your dust mask, gloves, head lamp, knee pads, and taped up pant legs (you don’t want anything scurrying up your leg)! Now into the abyss.
Your mind instantly switches to high alert mode. You hear every single sound around you. *GASP* Was that a creak or a SQUEAK?… Well, no turning back now.
Speaking of “back”…
And speaking of spiders…
WAIT! Did something just move over there!? You know they say that rodents are more scared of you than YOU are of them… I WIN contests like this, folks. For the time being that is the least of my concerns because NOW I have to compress my “quarantine 15” body under a very low-hanging air duct to get to the far end of the house…
Okay, I think I’ve painted an accurate enough picture of what my first trips down-under were like, but I am thankful I did push forward as I discovered that even though there was no current rodent infestation (as confirmed by Crawl Pros), there was definitely evidence of one from the past. Regardless of if you are personally dealing with an active infestation or cleaning up the fallout from a previous one (both of which Crawl Pros can help), there is one important detail to consider that can help prevent FUTURE infestations: securing the hatch.
No, not that hatch. THIS hatch.
Shortly after moving in, I noticed there were some wide gaps around our hatch covers where rodents could find easy access into our crawlspace. And not only that, but the top surface was completely flat and exposed to rain that would rot our siding and backwash into the crawlspace entry point.
Keep in mind that a mouse can squeeze through a crack 1/4” or larger and rats can fit through holes the size of a quarter. Is your crawlspace secure? Mine definitely was not, so when Crawl Pros came out to take care of some attic and crawlspace work, we also had them take care of building us new crawlspace covers for both entry points.
As you can see, not only is this much nicer looking on our back patio where we spend a LOT of time with friends and family, but they are much more functional at letting rain drain AWAY from our house rather than under it.
What’s even better is that access inserts (aka “dog hatches”) are also included with the hatch cover installation. Whereas the hatch cover sits on top of the “basin” that leads under the house, the access insert is the vertical barrier that seals up the “doorway” between that basin and the underside of the house.
The access insert prevents anything from getting under your house that may have somehow gotten past the first hatch cover. This involves installing a wood frame around the foundation wall and laying some cement at the bottom to make sure that all 4 sides cannot be bypassed or burrowed under. Once those are in place, the wood access insert door is simply secured with easy-to-remove wingnuts. I LOVE having this extra barrier for peace of mind, knowing that entry to our crawlspace is doubly protected.
I highly recommend looking into your crawlspace entry points and seeing if they’re as secure as they should be. If they aren’t, reach out to Crawl Pros and they’ll hook you up with some solid hatches that will prevent vermin from creeping in (if they aren’t there already)!
By the way, something else I discovered while army-crawling my way under the house was that my heating ducts were neither insulated nor sealed at the joints. That made sense based on how cold in winter the more distant rooms in the house are from the furnace… In between heating cycles, the warm air in the uninsulated ducts quickly cools off and when the heat turned back on, it takes several minutes to push enough heated air through them to start heating the room again. This is a HUGE energy waster! If that is something that is also true of your crawlspace and attic, I would highly recommend calling Crawl Pros to have them give you an estimate to insulate your ducts and thoroughly check for any other hidden critter entry points around the perimeter of your crawlspace.
Primarily known for being the husband of allmomdoes’ content coordinator Rebecca Joy, Kyle is also known for being a keen problem-solver, riling up the kids before bed, diving head-first into home improvements without preparations, and looking at life through a sarcastic & comedic lens.
3 Reasons You Should Choose Crawl Pros to Clean Your Attic + The Result When We Did (With Pics)
