So, your new construction includes a crawlspace and you’ve remembered to either ventilate it or condition it mechanically (please see a previous EV blog post on this). So now you just need a way to get in there!
The International Residential Code requires access for all under floor spaces. All access openings in the floor need to be 18 by 24 inches CLEAR – not just the size of the door! It’s a good idea to add a couple of inches extra in both directions to play it safe. In the example pictured above we located the access point in the center of a closet so that it is out of the way, but nothing will have to be moved in order to reach it. Don’t forget to put a light down there!
If you need to access your crawlspace through a wall, the opening needs to be 16 by 24 inches clear. Please see IRC section R408.4 for more information regarding special circumstances with through-wall access.
