sealed foundations

[gordonmoore]

I inspected a 3000+ SF house yesterday. I could not locate the crawl space access. When I inquired from the homeowner they informed me that the rasied foundation was a sealed foundation. Since the property is located very close to the Atlantic ocean in Virginia beach I am sure that it is a design to help minimize flooding and hydrostatic pressure created in a flooded typical crawl space.

I would love some design details on this system of foundations and some web sites or companies to learn more.

Any help is greatly appreciated.

[Dale Duffy]

http://www.rlcengineering.com/csspecs.htm

[Kenton H. Shepard, CMI]

According to the link "sealed" doesn't mean "no access hatch", it means "no crawlspace vents". The purpose of the sealed design is to prevent warm moisture-laden air from entering the crawspace and condensing upon coming into contact with cold materials in the crawspace, thus creating a moisture problem.

Either the builder failed to install an access hatch or it's well hidden.