c flaherty
06-14-2011, 05:44 AM
Hi all,
I'm thinking of putting an offer in on a 2 story house built in 1900. It has no foundation, what it does have is concrete post and beams to support the structure (bear with me I have no idea if I'm using the right terminology).
The crawl space varies in height from about a foot deep to 3.5 feet. It's entirely exposed, but seems dry. Insulation has been added to the frame to retain heat and insulate pipes. I know nothing about this kind of thing, but my gut says to be concerned about these things:
heat escaping/cold floors
excess moisture
termites
frozen pipes (it's located near the Berkshires in western MA)
premature rotting
The house appears to be structurally sound, and it's survived over 100 New England winters already....but what I want to know is this something I should just walk away from? I am not interested in going through the hassle/expense of putting in a real foundation down the road.
Thanks for any and all advice/experience/etc!
-Corinn
I'm thinking of putting an offer in on a 2 story house built in 1900. It has no foundation, what it does have is concrete post and beams to support the structure (bear with me I have no idea if I'm using the right terminology).
The crawl space varies in height from about a foot deep to 3.5 feet. It's entirely exposed, but seems dry. Insulation has been added to the frame to retain heat and insulate pipes. I know nothing about this kind of thing, but my gut says to be concerned about these things:
heat escaping/cold floors
excess moisture
termites
frozen pipes (it's located near the Berkshires in western MA)
premature rotting
The house appears to be structurally sound, and it's survived over 100 New England winters already....but what I want to know is this something I should just walk away from? I am not interested in going through the hassle/expense of putting in a real foundation down the road.
Thanks for any and all advice/experience/etc!
-Corinn