jasonlaronde
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Here's the skinny....
The previous owners have given us a hell of a project to fix....
We have a 2 1/2 storey 1455 sq.ft. home built in 1911 that is your typical tall, narrow and long charichter home with a stone foundation... Sometime in the 1930's a 90 sq.ft. porch/addition was built off the back (as most of the houses in our neighborhood did at the time) that is now a mud room on the main floor off the kitchen and a walk-in linen closet/powder room off the bathroom on the second floor...
The previous owners decided to wall off with a pocket door a half-bath in the mud room... not a bad idea as all of the houses in our neighborhood only have one bath which puts our value up quite a bit over the rest.... but here is the kicker...
In the process of plumbing the half-bath, they punched a 2ft x 2ft. hole into the space under the porch to run supply lines and sewer for the toilet and sink. They left the hole open to allow heat from the basement to spill into the outside "crawlspace" to keep the pipes from freezing and did a half assed attempt at insulating the walls of the "crawlspace" to keep "some" of the heat from escaping the house... needless to say it's still pretty cold in the winter...
No big deal you say... just insulate "whole assed"... but here is the problem.... THEY HAD CATS!
The cat's urinated all over the dirt floor of the "crawlspace" creating a god awful smell whenever it rains for more than a few days or if the temps rise above 25c for more than a few days... I have removed about two yards (18" deep from the hole) but the smell still persists...
Not to mention the obvious comprimise to the foundation of that corner of the hosue... I'd like to just close in that hole... but the next winter the pipes will surly burst... any ideas on how I may be able to close in my hole and keep my bathroom?
Thanks!
Jay
Winnipeg, Canada
The previous owners have given us a hell of a project to fix....
We have a 2 1/2 storey 1455 sq.ft. home built in 1911 that is your typical tall, narrow and long charichter home with a stone foundation... Sometime in the 1930's a 90 sq.ft. porch/addition was built off the back (as most of the houses in our neighborhood did at the time) that is now a mud room on the main floor off the kitchen and a walk-in linen closet/powder room off the bathroom on the second floor...
The previous owners decided to wall off with a pocket door a half-bath in the mud room... not a bad idea as all of the houses in our neighborhood only have one bath which puts our value up quite a bit over the rest.... but here is the kicker...
In the process of plumbing the half-bath, they punched a 2ft x 2ft. hole into the space under the porch to run supply lines and sewer for the toilet and sink. They left the hole open to allow heat from the basement to spill into the outside "crawlspace" to keep the pipes from freezing and did a half assed attempt at insulating the walls of the "crawlspace" to keep "some" of the heat from escaping the house... needless to say it's still pretty cold in the winter...
No big deal you say... just insulate "whole assed"... but here is the problem.... THEY HAD CATS!
The cat's urinated all over the dirt floor of the "crawlspace" creating a god awful smell whenever it rains for more than a few days or if the temps rise above 25c for more than a few days... I have removed about two yards (18" deep from the hole) but the smell still persists...
Not to mention the obvious comprimise to the foundation of that corner of the hosue... I'd like to just close in that hole... but the next winter the pipes will surly burst... any ideas on how I may be able to close in my hole and keep my bathroom?
Thanks!
Jay
Winnipeg, Canada