Contractor came by and was shocked at how much moisture was there, seems to be groundwater under the house rather than a leaky pipe. I don't know why I am surprised, I knew that about this house, but I guess when I repeatedly mentioned concerns about water under the house and they thought I was worrying too much, I eventually gave up. Kicking myself for not pushing even more on the idea of installing a French drain around the foundation and adding a layer of moisture barrier between the ground and the insulation when it would have been easy, ugh. Also, I am now re-concerned that new part of the foundation has no vents installed at all. My contractor suggested ripping up part of the closet floor to dig a gravel pit and install a sump pump, and my father suggested also cutting in vents and installing a fan underneath. I can't believe this is happening 6 months after "finishing" our beautiful reno!!! Frustrated and confused, any suggestions? Oh, and this is in addition to finding out that the contractor probably incorrectly installed our bathroom fan because water dripped back out of it all winter after two showers, the AC unit that he promised was worth saving has now conked out, and I have to decide if it is worth redoing the roof when they remove the old unit, even though it has about 7 years left in it...and also figure out if we should run an external duct because the AC guy ducted our bedroom improperly and it blows directly on our faces at night and the air doesn't return properly (when it works at all). It sounds like I am someone who paid no attention to anything they were doing here 6 months ago, but I actually really was and unfortunately found myself having to pick my battles during the whole thing. I don't know who I am more frustrated with, them for not being more diligent or myself for losing track of certain things and not figuring out how to put my foot down or speak up more or something. It is a hard balance to keep a positive working relationship and also keep vigilant about soooo many different aspects of a project, oy. I feel for all of the contractors, architects and designers who coordinate all of these elements routinely, you really have a lot of factors and personalities to manage on these jobs!!!!

Well this probably is the flooring, or what was the flooring anyhow. Likely could have been painted originally or had a bleached finish. By the turn of the century it would have been covered with linoleum. Cheapest option would get a wood flooring professional in to refinish it- old heart pine is very expensive and sought after in most regions. If you want a ‘modern’ floor you will probably need to install a new subfloor over this or remove all of this then install the new subfloor. Then any finished floor you want.

I prefer the term "cellar" -- and you'll want some crawling headroom, if at all possible. so it is easy to do what is necessary to install and maintain wiring and plumbing and heat/ac and to cover the soil in the area with material that will prevent moisture from the soil in the cellar adversely affecting the house. Not a pro but in my (albeit limited experience) air flow is essential and especially designed concrete block sized windows/screens/vents built into the concrete block exterior cellar wall can often provide this without any need to blow air into the cellar. (Extreme temperatures may be the exception) There are, however, fans designed for providing air flow in the cellar and having an outlet in the cellar that can be controlled -- turned on/off -- from an upstairs switch, not just for a fan but also lighting as needed (such as one installed by the electric panel), would be a good idea. A fan that can be changed as needed over time rather than a built in system costly to change would be my personal preference ... but then, I'm not a pro.

Many crawl space moisture problems result from inadequate storm water management at the surface. I suggest you grade the property and construct swales and any other storm water management features shown and reassess the need for any additional control measures. E.T.A. Also, make sure your home includes gutters and downspouts or some alternative means of capturing storm water from the roof and directing it away from the foundation.