Crawl space question? Please help! (curtain, stone, cost, building)

[Anigirli]

Hi,

I see that in this crawl space (in the picture) they put a decorative curve on it.

Is it difficult to do?
Is it expensive?
What's the name construction people give it?
Can it be done with stone?

Moderator cut: realtor company's copyrighted image
Your help would be apreciated.

[jhlcomp]

Can't see the image. Please repost, if permissible.

[Cosmic]

Originally Posted by Anigirli

Hi,

I see that in this crawl space (in the picture) they put a decorative curve on it.

Is it difficult to do?
Is it expensive?
What's the name construction people give it?
Can it be done with stone?

Moderator cut: realtor company's copyrighted image removed
Your help would be apreciated.

What you are calling a crawl space appears to be the space under a porch that has been walled in with brick. Do you mean the entire house in question has no basement under it the entire length or are you questioning how to just enclosed the porch in the space under it?

If you are referring to the brick wall in the photo that might be called a curtain wall. It is like building any other brick wall. You need a footing of the proper design for the climate. Yes it can be done with stone or and other materials usually used to build outside walls. Curtain walls in general do not bear weight of the structure, just their own weight. In the case of porches, they may have a pier system and the walls are again just decorative or the wall may support the porch, depending on the design.

Yes, it will cost a bit of money. You have to be far more complete in either showing an exact pix of the building you want to do or something like a better description. Some consideration must be given to the pier system presently supporting the porch / building and if that must be moved / replaced. Also usually must consider, is the ground underneath raw dirt or some other type of covering, like cement slab, blacktop, gravel, etc. If you just enclose an area that is raw dirt or moisture can get to the surface, can create moisture problems in an enclosed space.

If you want to make it fancy like that brick wall then it can get to be fairly expensive. Far cheaper is a wood lattice work which is what many porches, house crawl spaces have. They also make a type of plastic curtain wall that is commonly used for things like mobile homes. Again the big considerations usually are to block access to small animals like racoons, cats, dogs etc but not trap and seal in any moisture, plus make it look better. Again in many cases it is typical to use the space under a porch for storage, so another consideration can be the security a curtain wall can provide and how durable do you wish it to be.

You are very unclear exactly what is to be done, pixs are worth a zillion words.

[Anigirli]

Hi I sent you guys a private pm with the picture so you can tell me the name of that! Thank you.

[jhlcomp]

Okay, now I get it. Actually that was filled in unless the house is new and then its decorative. No, it's not difficult and a bricklayer or stone mason should be able to recreate this - and you can, too. Depends where you are trying to do this. As long as you are not dealing with a load baring wall or other more complex construction issue, you can do this yourself. See your local home improvement store.

Years ago, when such spaces were open, and as I understand it, the crawl space was used as a food cooler. I just wish I knew the architectural name for this. Maybe take a look on the web under architecture. Good luck - sorry I couldn't be more help.