How To Look At A House
McGarry and Madsen's home inspection blog for buyers of
site-built, mobile/manufactured and modular homes
What is code for minimum height of crawl space from ground to bottom of floor joists?
Tuesday, January 5, 2021
The minimum distance from ground to bottom of wood floor joists is 18-inches, and that’s reduced to 12-inches for the bottom of wood beams, per International Residential Code (IRC-317.1.1). This is specified for the purpose of avoiding wood decay that tends to occur when a wood floor structure is too close to damp ground, and not really about having sufficient room to move around under the home. But elevating the floor joists above the ground won’t do any good to protect them against rot if the crawl space is inadequately ventilated. For minimum ventilation standards, go to How much ventilation is required for the under-floor crawl space of a home? Wood that is preservative-treated or a naturally durable species is allowed to be lower to the ground.
Also see our blog post What is the code requirement for the height and width of an access opening to the crawl space under a house?
• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
Here’s links to a collection of some of our other blog posts about CRAWL SPACES:
• Is white mold on wood in a crawl space dangerous?
• Should I buy a house with a crawl space?
• Is the crawl space under a house required to be ventilated if the floor is concrete?
• What does a home inspector look for in the crawl space under a home?
• Why does venting a clothes dryer into a garage, attic, or crawl space cause problems?
• When were receptacle outlets in the crawlspace under a home first required to be GFCI?
• What is the minimum height above ground for wood floor joists and girders/beams?
• Why is it a mistake to store lumber in the crawl space under a house?
• What does a home inspector look for when examining a mobile home crawl space?
• Is it acceptable for an air conditioning condensate drain line to terminate under the house?
• When were receptacle outlets in the crawlspace under a home first required to be GFCI?
• Does a home inspector go into the crawl space under the house?
Visit our CRAWL SPACES page for other related blog posts on this subject, or go to the INDEX for a complete listing of all our articles.
Click Below
for Links
to Collections
of Blog Posts
by Subject
Top 5 results given instantly.
Click on magnifying glass
for all search results.
Search
This
Site
Buying a home in North/Central Florida? Check our price for a team inspection by two FL-licensed contractors and inspectors. Over 8,500 inspections completed in 20+ years. In a hurry? We will get it done for you.
