moisture control under the house

rfletcher · Sat May 09, 2009 6:31 pm

Since you were all so helpful with my previous issue I wanted to post this one as well.
Looking to see if there is anything I can do to help prevent or even remove moisture from under the trailer? I have feux skirting (looks like brick) but I have about 10 vents around the house (2560sq ft)

when it rains we smell the nasty "musty" smells until all dries up again. I have seen water standing under the house, but without adding dirt around the home to slope the ground downward causing the water to go away from the home I'm unsure if there is a way I can remove the moisture through some other method. In my mind I'm thinking of a big bunch of kitty litter and it just soaks it up, but I'm sure there's a cartoon out there somewhere which has tried that once or twice.. ha,he,he.

Any ideas? Is there something I can install undernieth to help control this?

This is NOT on a concrete slab by the way.

Thanks for your help
Ron

Greg · Sat May 09, 2009 7:12 pm

I have the same problem with out daughter's home. I'm thinking about installing a fan to force some air movement. Greg

Yanita · Sun May 10, 2009 8:35 am

Hi,

There are a few ways, some more labor intensive then others.

One would be to install a french drain, another would be to install catch basins. The catch basins would involve digging various drain ditches from under the home to wherever you want to redirect the water. Lay a piece or several perforated pipes. All these pipes lead to a catch basin, then a main drain from there.

You might also want to consider laying down a moisture barrier under your home once you get rid of the standing water. A moisture barrier is nothing more than 6 mil ply laid on the ground under your home. It goes end to end, side to side and each sheet over laps at least 6 inches. Ours is installed in such a manner that it also goes up the inside of the brick underpinning by about a foot as well as all the piers.

This plastic barrier keeps evaporating ground moisture under the plastic opposed to being wicked up under the home.

In some states and with some insurance/fiance companies this is mandated.

Yanita

rfletcher · Mon May 11, 2009 11:22 am

Thanks for the replies. I'm liking the fan method to do first as that would be the quickest and cheapest route for me. Ultimately I will get to the point where I do lay down some barrier - thanks for that info as well.

What kind of fans would you suggest and do you need to keep them running all the time or only when you have received heavy amounts of rain?

Greg · Mon May 11, 2009 5:19 pm

I'm thinking a 12-16" fan should move enough air. I have to do some research and see if I can find a humidistat that I could tie in to control it. One more job that I don't have time to do!! Greg

Yanita · Tue May 12, 2009 3:39 pm

I understand your line of thinking BUT... I am still wondering if that is not a "easy" temporary fix. Having the air move is a plus but evaporating moisture is always going to be a problem if the real problem is not corrected, hence drainage ditches and moisture barrier.

JMO,
Yanita

Greg · Tue May 12, 2009 5:08 pm

In my case, being in a park can make relandscaping tough. If it were on my own land things would be different. Greg

Yanita · Tue May 12, 2009 5:35 pm

Completely agree with that Greg, park rules can interfere with logic and proper repairs.

To the original poster, if you are on your own land or have a park manager that will approve it , I still believe drainage is the way to go.

Yanita

freebird62 · Fri May 29, 2009 5:55 am

After reading this topic, I wonder if you have any thoughts about the same concept, but with a home that is NOT on a concrete slab. I own my land my house is on. And I have moisture under the house. The ground underneath me is dirt. Just thought I would throw this out there for any feedback!
Thanks in advance!

Yanita · Fri May 29, 2009 7:52 am

Hi,

House or mobile home the principles remain the same. If the home is on a concrete slab there would be no standing water.

The problem is evaporating moisture wicks up under the home promoting rot and mildew.

Proper drainage is the only way to rid yourself and your home of the moisture. Also making sure your home has adequate venting. Setting in place a vapor barrier is preventive maintenance.

Yanita

Mark440 · Sun Jun 07, 2009 8:14 am

I had a similar problem...and it is 50% fixed.

The knuckleheads, who set this place up, actually dug a hole for the mobile home and deck. The land is slanted ... so at the short end the "hole" is down about 18"....but on the deep end, it is about 30".

Naturally, the "hole" filled up with water every time it rained. During the spring, the accumulated water would be 4" to 12" deep in the deep end. (Home Depot - submersible water pump - $90!)

I had to dig a deep pathway (thank god for Kubota tractors!) to allow for drainage. I dug an 8' wide path from the edge of the deck (lowest point of hole) all the way out until the slope of the land finally met up with the pathway. Used retaining wall stones to shore up the sides and then covered the floor of the path with river rock.

While this solved the standing water problem, it didn't address how the water was getting under the house.

My next step will be to re-landsacpe the higher points where the water enters - and hopefully re-direct the water so that it flows away - or at least down a path that isn't under the house.

Also, gutters. I had to replace the gutters all the way around as again - the knuckleheads who hung the previous gutters didn't quite understand how gutters work.

A) They need to be close enough to the facia and under the drip edge to actually collect the rain water

B) Slope downward across the facia to a low point - at a downspout!

Instead, my gutters used to look like a roller coaster. They didn't really catch any of the water coming off the roof - but they did fill up with leaves..and due to the multiple low spots...formed perfect planters for the falling pecans. And while it does eat at my very soul to chop down or kill a tree....this was going just a bit too far!

It was a stinky, nasty mess to remove the old gutters. The new ones have downspouts that actually route the rain water under the deck for about 30 feet so that it dumps out right at the place where I used the tractor to dig an opening for drainage.

All said, I still have to do some landscaping to shore up the areas where water does get under the house.

My problem is that......the knuckle heads who did the skirting also installed it so that the bottom edge is anywhere from 3" to 15" below ground level (looking from the outside). The dirt is pushing against the skirting causing it to bend inwards.

I haven't fully mapped out how the pull this off yet - so any ideas are appreciated. My first thought is to build "berms" around the two high sides of the house....and then plant shrubs or something to kind of hide them.

PS- And...if anyone here in N. Texas could benefit from using my tractor - (FEL, 6' belly mower, 9" auger, box blade) i could benefit with a little help fixin this mess!