Overview
Crawlspace foundations are commonly used to elevate the lowest floors of residential buildings located in Special Flood Hazard Areas (SFHAs) above the Base Flood Elevation (BFE). This course provides guidance on crawlspace construction and supports a recent policy decision to allow construction of crawlspaces with interior grades up to 2 feet below the lowest adjacent exterior grade (LAG), referred to as below-grade crawlspaces, provided that other requirements are met. Prior to that decision, below-grade crawlspaces were considered basements under the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) Floodplain Management Regulation definitions at 44 CFR 59.1 and were not permitted below the BFE. This requirement had been established because below-grade crawlspace foundation walls are exposed to increased forces during flood conditions, such as hydrostatic and saturated soil forces.
In many parts of the country, a common practice is to construct crawlspaces with the interior floor 1 or 2 feet below- grade by either (1) back-filling against the exterior of the foundation wall or (2) excavating the crawlspace area to construct footings that result in a below-grade crawlspace floor. Because FEMA wishes to recognize common construction practices that do not increase flood damage, FEMA recently completed a review of the policy for residential crawlspace construction. In this review, the construction practices for below-grade crawlspaces were examined to determine whether a crawlspace that was 1 or 2 feet below grade would increase the flood damage potential to the foundation walls or result in additional damages to the building.
The student must take a multiple-choice quiz consisting of ten questions at the end of this course to earn PDH credits.
Specific Knowledge or Skill Obtained
This course teaches the following specific knowledge and skills:
- Drainage considerations
- NFIP requirements for all crawlspace construction
- Flood forces on buildings
- Flood-resistant materials
- Pre-engineered below-grade crawlspace foundation
- Utilities, access, and ventilation openings
Course
Click on the following link to the PDF document to review the course material before taking the quiz for credit.
Crawlspace Construction for Buildings Located in Special Flood Hazard Areas
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