| I'm unsure what you mean by my yard being covered in concrete...but i have so many posts i forget what's posted where so let me bring you up to date since your most recent post indicates you dont have the most up to date info (french drain /sensor discussion etc):
all my concrete in back of my house was dug up and i have a new 3 tiered drain system around the entire house and only porch pads repoured (ie 95% of my patio is gone). A membrane has also been installed. I'd think water getting in the crawl is now an impossibility but i cant tell since the old water is still in there and i cant tell if any new has come in or not until it dries out.
a few months ago i got a RH multi sensor gauge and have monitored each sensor with diligence. The one in the crawlspace has been suspended, via a homemade device, so it's above the floor (in case of the hopefully impossibility of new water down there). Also the joists have measured 68 degrees while the water itself measures 63..air temps are between those two. Upstairs floor temps are low 70s
the crawlspace joists are coated in mold so if you believe that wood must be colder than air to get mold on them, then the temp of the joists is absolutely, at some point in time, getting colder
however, at this point i think your own logic is disproving your statement that you need colder wood than air to get mold. I think we would all agree in warmer months, the joists are warmer than the air and the floor/water of the crawl. I also have the actual data to prove it. But since i didnt have my sensors in winter, i dont really know what happens in winter. However, even you stated in winter the uninsulated joists likely are warmer than the air and floor. I agree with this especially since the hot water from the boiler circulates around down there.
so if my joists are theoretically warmer than the air year-round, where did some of the worst mold my inspector ever saw come from? I think the only answer is that even if the wood temp is higher than the air, that 95% RH is not good for a crawlspace and mold will grow on the crawlspace joists regardless of wood temperature. If thats not true, then how did the joists get so bad?
i just cant fathom a circumstance where the wood is colder than the air and floor/water down there for the past decade.  |