# Cement board for crawlspace skirting?



## stadry (Jun 20, 2009)

to what advantage ? i wouldn't as its not designed to be used for that purpose NOR is it waterproof :no: while some may say its good out of the box thinking, stick w/pressure treat'd stuff,,, may be misinformed but we're now being told NO VENTING of crawlspaces down here - that may just be the southern bldg code version, tho :laughing: at least there weren't many spelling errors this time :thumbup:


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## Ron6519 (Mar 28, 2007)

As preiously mentioned, not really the correct product.
Ron


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## IfItAintBrokeFixItAnyway (Jun 17, 2007)

Well, right now there is a BS cement block retaining wall that a previous owner probably built out of desperation to keep the runoff from the yard (which is at this point almost a foot above the crawlspace) from flowing under the back of the house... It's like 6 inches away from the house so the water runs off the eves and outside the little retaining wall thing. It just all looks really ugly...

What pressure treated stuff would I use? I thought people usually built a cinderblock wall if they wanted to do something similar, no? Some houses in my neighborhood have had this done recently, others just have PT wooden lattice. Lattice won't work, obviously b/c of the yard being higher than the ground.

Soo...I guess you're saying my idea is bad, what is a good idea to solve this problem?

Thanks for your help.


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## IfItAintBrokeFixItAnyway (Jun 17, 2007)

Oh, about it not being waterproof, I know...I thought I'd seal it with that spray sealer stuff they put on basement foundation walls and put stucco or something over it so it doesn't look like total crap.


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## Ron6519 (Mar 28, 2007)

IfItAintBrokeFixItAnyway said:


> Well, right now there is a BS cement block retaining wall that a previous owner probably built out of desperation to keep the runoff from the yard (which is at this point almost a foot above the crawlspace) from flowing under the back of the house... It's like 6 inches away from the house so the water runs off the eves and outside the little retaining wall thing. It just all looks really ugly...
> 
> What pressure treated stuff would I use? I thought people usually built a cinderblock wall if they wanted to do something similar, no? Some houses in my neighborhood have had this done recently, others just have PT wooden lattice. Lattice won't work, obviously b/c of the yard being higher than the ground.
> 
> ...


You would correct the run off issue, not try and hold back the on coming water.
Ron


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## DangerMouse (Jul 17, 2008)

itsreallyconc said:


> stick w/pressure treat'd stuff


Ordinary pressure treated wood is NOT made for ground contact! They make a special PT lumber for that. If inspected, this will likely not pass.

DM


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## IfItAintBrokeFixItAnyway (Jun 17, 2007)

Ron6519 said:


> You would correct the run off issue, not try and hold back the on coming water.
> Ron


How?

My lot has a gradual slope to it and there are a dozen or so houses in the neighborhood up-slope from me. They runoff towards the street mostly, which has no curb/gutter so the runoff just races down the edge of the asphalt till it gets to the corner my house is on, which has a drain grate in it.

If I lower the rear of my lot, I'm afraid I will likely be below the street level...I guess a survey would find out...this is all sounding like a lot more work than I'm trying to do...I'm looking for something cheaper/quicker so I can get out of this house without having to do a short-sale. Someone did a crap rehab job on it, I'm not trying to hide it, but it's really ugly the way it is.

Thanks.


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## Scuba_Dave (Jan 16, 2009)

Someone did this at my last house
Not sure what they coated it with
They also used reg plywood to hold back the dirt...that rotted out 
I never took the cement board down as it would have been a lot of work


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## Ron6519 (Mar 28, 2007)

I don't know what you're trying to accomplish. Stopping the water or a cosmetic fix so something looks good to sell the house.
Ron


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## IfItAintBrokeFixItAnyway (Jun 17, 2007)

Scuba_Dave said:


> Someone did this at my last house
> Not sure what they coated it with
> They also used reg plywood to hold back the dirt...that rotted out
> I never took the cement board down as it would have been a lot of work


Ugh. Wow... Well, I'm not trying to that. I just want to go from horrible-and-ugly to ok-and-decent-looking...


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## IfItAintBrokeFixItAnyway (Jun 17, 2007)

Ron6519 said:


> I don't know what you're trying to accomplish. Stopping the water or a cosmetic fix so something looks good to sell the house.
> Ron


I'm trying to enclose my crawlspace and retain the soil on the back part of the house where the crawlspace is below grade.

And I want to make it look better to future prospective buyers while doing it.


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## jerzeedivr (Apr 15, 2009)

*skirt board*

I see some new homes using a cement type/looking board I think it comes 4x8 pieces they cut to about 24" and skirt the bottom of the house. Not the shower cement board. There are ways to brace dirt with back braces, but water will need a path to flow! The board I see is nice looking and is used for that purpose.


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