# Crawl space precautions



## smellslike$tome (Jan 22, 2006)

When I enter a crawl space I put on coveralls, gloves and that's it. Most of the time they are not too bad but we've all been in the ones that just made us nervous about what we might be exposing ourselves to. Mold everywhere and that stinky dampness that just makes me wonder what might be growing in that environment and whether I really should be wearing a respirator or something.

How do some of you "suit up" to enter this situation? Is anybody wearing any protective gear? Would a respirator even help? Anybody ever been able to verify that they got sick from exposure to a particular crawl space?


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## KillerToiletSpider (May 27, 2007)

smellslike$tome said:


> When I enter a crawl space I put on coveralls, gloves and that's it. Most of the time they are not too bad but we've all been in the ones that just made us nervous about what we might be exposing ourselves to. Mold everywhere and that stinky dampness that just makes me wonder what might be growing in that environment and whether I really should be wearing a respirator or something.
> 
> How do some of you "suit up" to enter this situation? Is anybody wearing any protective gear? Would a respirator even help? Anybody ever been able to verify that they got sick from exposure to a particular crawl space?


Back when I was doing service work, a pair of bibs and a baseball hat was the extent of my safety gear, unless there was a leak on a drain line in the crawl, then I'd get some cardboard to lay down on the floor/mud.


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## smellslike$tome (Jan 22, 2006)

Oh yeah, aside from the legitimate health concerns, I have considered wearing some scary looking protective clothing w/respirator just to help the ho understand a little better why I am charging them an access charge to enter their crawl space. That may be overkill I don't know but I'm fairly certain that no one would want me to get sick from something in their cs :biggrin:.


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## Putty Truck (Oct 6, 2007)

Knee pads, knit cap, nitrile gloves, waterproof crawl suit with matching booties, and the best flashlight I can find. 

I leave the keys and phone outside---I have the new "Jawbone" Bluetooth dealie that works up to 50' sometimes.


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## neolitic (Apr 20, 2006)

There was one really wet 2 block
belly crawler where my partner and I 
discussed the necessity for condoms. :laughing:


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## Grumpyplumber (May 6, 2007)

*Nasa space suit, large assortment of high tech digital gas sensors, OSHA inspection prior to entry, and one canary.*

*Well, ok, maybe not.*
*I just leave the keys & cell behind like Putty.*


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## rex (Jul 2, 2007)

nothing i dive right in.... if its crap then ill put on gloves besides that im not gonna be a little girl about it.....


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## threaderman (Nov 15, 2007)

I agree Rex! I get a kick out of all the gear.I love a plumber with glovies.I had a kid working with me last week under a crawl and he says "Dude,you should have seen the creepy thing that just crawled behind you"! I said ,you got the right idea about letting me know but your timing sucks!!Got a gas re-pipe tommorrow in a crawl,it will be cover-alls and.........that's it.


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## KillerToiletSpider (May 27, 2007)

smellslike$tome said:


> Oh yeah, aside from the legitimate health concerns, I have considered wearing some scary looking protective clothing w/respirator just to help the ho understand a little better why I am charging them an access charge to enter their crawl space. That may be overkill I don't know but I'm fairly certain that no one would want me to get sick from something in their cs :biggrin:.


At some point you have to think if that is over the top. You service guys rely on repeat business and word of mouth, if you start charging fees for every little thing you start to alienate your customer base.

Just an opinion.


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## Ron The Plumber (Oct 10, 2006)

Dust mask is a must if in a insulated crawl space, of course if you wear glasses a dust mask will make your glasses fog up.


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## threaderman (Nov 15, 2007)

You're right killer,but I always put something extra for crawls and attics when practical.It increases the degree of difficulty and is justified.Some crawls I just walk away from,too nasty.


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## KillerToiletSpider (May 27, 2007)

threaderman said:


> You're right killer,but I always put something extra for crawls and attics when practical.It increases the degree of difficulty and is justified.Some crawls I just walk away from,too nasty.


I'm not saying don't charge for it, I'm saying don't itemize it, or call it out as a separate fee. I wear 29 inch waist pants, when I did service work I got stuck with all the crawl space jobs, and the customer always paid a premium, they just didn't know it.


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## Ron The Plumber (Oct 10, 2006)

Triple the cost if we crawl a flooded space.


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## Putty Truck (Oct 6, 2007)

KillerToiletSpi said:


> I'm not saying don't charge for it, I'm saying don't itemize it, or call it out as a separate fee. I wear 29 inch waist pants, when I did service work I got stuck with all the crawl space jobs, and the customer always paid a premium, they just didn't know it.


Yeah, but....the reason we charge a seperate fee, that's signed for and everything, before we crawl should be obvious.

What if the plumber _suits up_ (not an option in my company), crawls through the muck, diagnoses the problem, crawls all the way back out, gives the ho the price for repair and the ho says "Thank you very much, here is your service charge...have a nice life." pffft.

See? We absolutely charge to crawl starting at 150.00. If the ho doesn't like it, he/she/it can do it him/her/itself. Customer relations be damned; crawls can be some of the most dangerous things in construction.


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## KillerToiletSpider (May 27, 2007)

Putty Truck said:


> Yeah, but....the reason we charge a seperate fee, that's signed for and everything, before we crawl should be obvious.
> 
> What if the plumber _suits up_ (not an option in my company), crawls through the muck, diagnoses the problem, crawls all the way back out, gives the ho the price for repair and the ho says "Thank you very much, here is your service charge...have a nice life." pffft.
> 
> See? We absolutely charge to crawl starting at 150.00. If the ho doesn't like it, he/she/it can do it him/her/itself. Customer relations be damned; crawls can be some of the most dangerous things in construction.


Then make your service charge enough to make it worth your time to look at the problem even if you don't do the work.


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## CPlumb (Jan 17, 2008)

Oh BE Serious !!! I got 30 years in and NEVER ONCE have I crawled ,seen the problem and had the HO said ," No thanks " . 

I agree ,,,, CHARGE $ ,,, but don't ADVERTISE the charge . All that "Upfront" list EVERYTHING just wears us ALL down .


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## smellslike$tome (Jan 22, 2006)

KillerToiletSpi said:


> Then make your service charge enough to make it worth your time to look at the problem even if you don't do the work.


Our service charge to come out is $59. Reasonable people will pay this while price shoppers won't. However, if we start incorporating the access charge for a cs into the service fee that would put us, for most crawl spaces, at $208. Even I do not have any reasonable hope that we would ever book another call if we had to tell people that it would cost them $208 dollars just to get out there and tell them what was wrong. Besides, I no longer answer the phone, my wife does. She is not a plumber. This works best because when I have to answer the phone my productivity tanks. She is very good at customer service but she has zero technical plumbing knowledge. This is good because it precludes a lot of conversation about what might be wrong. She just books the call, and when I check in after finishing a call she gives me all the pertinent information for the next call.

But back to the topic. As I said I don't take any special precautions for a cs but I'm thinking it certainly couldn't hurt. Who knows what we are really exposing ourselves to. Hepatitis exposure from feces is one thing but there
are supposedly certain mold spores in the world that can kill you and do it before you really have a chance to get help. Is this a little melodramatic? Perhaps, but is it also preventable and if so why wouldn't you? As far as customer perception is concerned, how could it do anything but help your cause? If I'm suiting up in anti contamination suit w/respirator (to insure as far as I am able the protection of my health) how likely is it that the ho will fail to appreciate the lengths to which we have to go to to serve them?

I'm not saying that I am going to start doing this, I'm really just sort of thinking out loud a little bit. I fully understand that many who read this will say "what a weenie" and that's ok. You run your business and I'll run mine. But if anybody finds any merit in this possible approach I'd like to know that too.

I've yet to come across the house or the crawl space that I would not enter, but I've come awfully close on several occasions. And I've been in many where I just did not want to breath because of everything that was stirred up and hanging in the air.

Just thinking.


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## KillerToiletSpider (May 27, 2007)

I never worked flat rate, and perhaps this is one of the reasons why the shop I worked for when I did service work refuses to go to flat rate. I'm still friends with the owner, and he sticks to doing service T&M at $110.00 an hour with a one hour minimum.


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## Putty Truck (Oct 6, 2007)

smellslike$tome said:


> Our service charge to come out is $59. Reasonable people will pay this while price shoppers won't. However, if we start incorporating the access charge for a cs into the service fee that would put us, for most crawl spaces, at $208. .


Most shops waive the service fee if work gets approved making the crawl 150.00, plus the cost of the work. 

I've never had a complaint.



KillerToiletSpi said:


> I never worked flat rate, and perhaps this is one of the reasons why the shop I worked for when I did service work refuses to go to flat rate. I'm still friends with the owner, and he sticks to doing service T&M at $110.00 an hour with a one hour minimum.


I wouldn't hire anyone for 110/hour. When the prices are that high, I guarantee you, flat rate wins out. 

Of course, my customers are more Delta than Grohe, if ya get my drift.


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## Double-A (Jul 3, 2006)

Does OSHA consider this a confined space? What about a permit-required confined space?

From OSHA's website;



> Many workplaces contain spaces that are considered "confined" because their configurations hinder the activities of employees who must enter, work in, and exit them. A confined space has limited or restricted means for entry or exit, and it is not designed for continuous employee occupancy. Confined spaces include, but are not limited to underground vaults, tanks, storage bins, manholes, pits, silos, process vessels, and pipelines. OSHA uses the term "permit-required confined space" (permit space) to describe a confined space that has one or more of the following characteristics: contains or has the potential to contain a hazardous atmosphere; contains a material that has the potential to engulf an entrant; has walls that converge inward or floors that slope downward and taper into a smaller area which could trap or asphyxiate an entrant; or contains any other recognized safety or health hazard, such as unguarded machinery, exposed live wires, or heat stress.


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## Teetorbilt (Feb 12, 2004)

I'd start with a serious fogger. I don't go there but here's a list from some friends of what you can expect in this state.

Rattlesnakes to 6ft. Fairly common
Coral snakes. Fairly rare and not very dangerous to adults.
Brown recluse spiders. 2 friends bitten, not pretty.
Black widows. Common.
Big centipedes. Had a dog bitten by one, face swelled up as big as a football.
Scorpions. Real common but not too venomous.
Fire ants. Common. From really aggravating to fatal.
Palmetto bugs (giant roaches). Real common and can create real panic if you think that it might be one of the above crawling up your pants leg. I saw this first hand, it happened right after the guy had found a nest of baby copperheads. Look out John Travolta! :laughing:


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## skyhook (Mar 17, 2007)

When it's a 18" cs, I go in with a military issue pack shovel, particle mask, ear plugs, safety glasses and overalls with the legs taped tight. Shovel comes in handy to dig under beams and girders in case I can't fit, and can be used against critters.


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