Dirt Basement and Bugs/Mice (floors, dehumidifier, tank, drain)
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We are looking at a home built in the early 1950s in the state of New Jersey. The basement has areas behind concrete blocks where the floor is dirt. They are not large areas. I think where the oil tank is located had a dirt floor. One section has a sloping dirt floor up to the foundation. It is more of a crawl space area, and not usable due to level and size. The real estate agent said that this was the original basement. The rest of the basement is huge, and has a concrete floor.
We are concerned about cockroaches, mice and any other vermin. The house is located in an area known to have high radon gas issues. Do dirt floors allow these critters to enter a home?
The house is a rental, we have absolutely no intention of buying it. The house offers superb storage for our belongings.
I did notice efflorescence on the floor of the odd, slopping basement section. It appeared to be leakage from a pipe.
We are concerned about cockroaches, mice and any other vermin. The house is located in an area known to have high radon gas issues. Do dirt floors allow these critters to enter a home?
Houses without dirt floors have critters come in.
We get field mice every now and again. Just leaving a garage door open can allow that to happen...
If you are concerned, don't rent it. Be aware though that mice and crickets and spiders get through itty bitty cracks and radon passes through concrete block. Cockroach issues are less likely that far north. Wood and American ones are easy to deal with anyway. The German cockroaches come in in the boxes and grocery bags and such that you bring home from an infested place.
Thank you all for replying!
The rental is perfect otherwise. So, we want to rent it. It's just that issue of the weird dirt floor area in only part of the basement.
My grandparents had a dirt cellar in the Northeast and I lived in a home in Mass. with a dirt basement. We had not increased issues with insects or vermin. The only we found that in the rainy season the basement was damper then a concrete floored basement but then again it seemed to dissipate much faster. I would just be careful not to store anything directly on the dirt floor.
I'm familiar with areas where it's common practice to put down a thick sheet of plastic on top of the dirt in a spot such as where it rises to meet the foundation. You have to sort of nail it in with those weed tarp things that look like giant staples. While you or whoever is up in the corners, it's a good time to check the corner piers and take a look at the foundation. (We had a pier already collapsed in one great house. Easy repair.)
I don't know what one does when there is a boiler in the room.
How do you feel about radon?
We have also noticed in these places the humidity is higher. We also noticed those old basements often had a drain in the middle of the floor. So, a good location for a dehumidifier with a hose hookup (or we'd be emptying it twice a day) and direct the hose to the drain.
The area is known to be high in radon. There was a radon alarm in one place, and ventilation. We plan on renting for no more than a year. I am concerned about roaches getting into our belongings.
My neighbor next door has a dirt floor basement. She had an opossum dig its way from outside under the floor and into her house. They were renting too and ended up filling the hole with bricks and cinder blocks.
Not sure if possums are in your area but they're known to do this too. They're looking for a place to hide and nest.
If I were you, get hold of some wooden pallets, you know, the kind you see in stores warehouse that have boxes stacked and wrapped for transportation. Put those on the basement floor and your belongings will be elevated. This will give you about 6" off the ground to store your belongings. And if you are afraid of using boxes, put things in plastic bins, at the least, plastic bags tied tightly.
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