A lot of homes, especially in Middle Tennessee, have a space under their house, but is it a crawl space or a basement? It can be hard to distinguish between the two, especially if you have an unfinished basement or half crawl space and half basement.
Columbia Crawlspace is here to give you the lowdown on each and let you know how to tell which one your home has.
What is a Crawl Space?
A crawl space is a short, unfinished space underneath your house. Its main use is to keep your home off the ground to control moisture levels. Also, it is a great way to keep utility lines hidden, such as electrical wires, ductwork, or water pipes. They are not heated, so they require proper ventilation to allow air and moisture to flow through.
Crawl spaces can be anywhere between $5,000 – $10,000 cheaper than a basement, so depending on your budget and needs, you can determine if it’s the right choice for you.
What is a Basement?
Basements are livable spaces underneath the home with higher walls and concrete foundations. Like crawl spaces, basements hide utility lines from the home. But, they are bigger spaces, so they can do more. They were originally built to be temperature-controlled storage spaces. Today they add square footage and living space to the rest of the home to make your house bigger if you can’t or don’t want to expand outwards. It does require heating and, therefore, does not have ventilation.
Because a basement requires concrete walls and flooring, it causes the price to be more expensive than a crawl space, especially if you are looking to make the space finished and livable.
Crawl Spaces Vs. Basements
While the biggest distinction between crawl spaces and basements is that basements are livable and crawl spaces are not, there are other factors that make these two spaces different. Crawl spaces are no more than 6 feet tall with an average height of 3 feet. Basements typically start at 8 feet tall and go up from there.
Unfinished basements give off the look of crawl spaces, but they are still different in their purposes. Basements often house water heaters, laundry rooms, furnaces, or storage while crawl spaces have the sole purpose of keeping your home off the ground and moisture-free.
Columbia Crawlspace
In Middle Tennessee, most homes have a crawl space, not a basement. Need help with your crawl space? Contact Columbia Crawlspace by calling (931) 253-1509 or email [email protected].
