Cottages at West Greenwich has 2 kinds of foundations. Basement and crawl space.
A half-finished basement can be used as storage space, generally speaking, you will find a heating system and well pumps in the basement. Some basement has insulations for better energy efficiency. You must have a sump pump to get the water out of the basement in case of heavy rain or during the springtime when the snow on your land suddenly melt.
The crawl space doesn't have walls, it is the space between the cottage's floor and a concave in the ground. Crawl space has a few important functions.
First of all, it allows water to sink down. The ground around the bailey pond was the original beach, so the soil is made of sand and gravel. Sand and gravel are very permeable for the water. The building standing on cement pillars with crawl space is common in West Greenwich. Instead of using a pump to pump the water out from the basement, the water is sinking down to the ground in the crawl space. In normal situations, the rain will sink down quickly. In case the accumulated snow suddenly melt during Spring or rare monsoon came during the summer, the water could accumulate in the crawl space before they overflow the crawl space then flow downhill south cross the street. After the event, while your neighbors with the basement are busy pumping water out, the water in the crawl space will sink down in 1 or 2 days without you doing anything. The floor is much higher than the street level on the south so it never touches water under any circumstances. The only electric wire running in the crawl space is a heater tape wrapped around the plumbing pipe, its plug can be unplugged from a socket on the bathroom ceiling. If that wire has electric short, one of the switches on the main electric board will jump and cut off the electric.
Secondly, the hot water and cold water pipes are running underneath the floor. The cold water flows from the pressure tank under the kitchen cabinet to the bath room located at the east side. The hot water flows from the hot water tank in the bathroom to the vanity in the bathroom and the kitchen faucet at the west side. The sink from the kitchen goes south-ward then eastward into the septic tank. Getting into the crawl space is the only way of accessing these plumbing pipes.
During winter, please block the wind at the openings of the crawl space to preserve heat. The cold water pipe has a pipe heater attached to it to prevent freeze. It is important to plug the pipe heater into the socket in the bathroom before winter frost set in. The socket is located on the roof above the hot water tank in the bathroom. The sink pipe from the kitchen to the septic tank has a slightly upward sloop at the south-ward running section. Even though this piece of pipe is wrapped with insulation, it could be frozen during winter. If you have to leave the house for a few days during the winter, make sure you have the water trickling from the kitchen and bathroom faucets. Having running water in the pipes will bring heat from the warm well (which has a constant temperature as the earth) into the plumbing system, preventing freeze. A frozen pipe is not fun, CPVC pipes can tolerate some expansion, the copper pipes, though very strong, can be burst by the expanding ice.
A half-finished basement can be used as storage space, generally speaking, you will find a heating system and well pumps in the basement. Some basement has insulations for better energy efficiency. You must have a sump pump to get the water out of the basement in case of heavy rain or during the springtime when the snow on your land suddenly melt.
The crawl space doesn't have walls, it is the space between the cottage's floor and a concave in the ground. Crawl space has a few important functions.
First of all, it allows water to sink down. The ground around the bailey pond was the original beach, so the soil is made of sand and gravel. Sand and gravel are very permeable for the water. The building standing on cement pillars with crawl space is common in West Greenwich. Instead of using a pump to pump the water out from the basement, the water is sinking down to the ground in the crawl space. In normal situations, the rain will sink down quickly. In case the accumulated snow suddenly melt during Spring or rare monsoon came during the summer, the water could accumulate in the crawl space before they overflow the crawl space then flow downhill south cross the street. After the event, while your neighbors with the basement are busy pumping water out, the water in the crawl space will sink down in 1 or 2 days without you doing anything. The floor is much higher than the street level on the south so it never touches water under any circumstances. The only electric wire running in the crawl space is a heater tape wrapped around the plumbing pipe, its plug can be unplugged from a socket on the bathroom ceiling. If that wire has electric short, one of the switches on the main electric board will jump and cut off the electric.
Secondly, the hot water and cold water pipes are running underneath the floor. The cold water flows from the pressure tank under the kitchen cabinet to the bath room located at the east side. The hot water flows from the hot water tank in the bathroom to the vanity in the bathroom and the kitchen faucet at the west side. The sink from the kitchen goes south-ward then eastward into the septic tank. Getting into the crawl space is the only way of accessing these plumbing pipes.
During winter, please block the wind at the openings of the crawl space to preserve heat. The cold water pipe has a pipe heater attached to it to prevent freeze. It is important to plug the pipe heater into the socket in the bathroom before winter frost set in. The socket is located on the roof above the hot water tank in the bathroom. The sink pipe from the kitchen to the septic tank has a slightly upward sloop at the south-ward running section. Even though this piece of pipe is wrapped with insulation, it could be frozen during winter. If you have to leave the house for a few days during the winter, make sure you have the water trickling from the kitchen and bathroom faucets. Having running water in the pipes will bring heat from the warm well (which has a constant temperature as the earth) into the plumbing system, preventing freeze. A frozen pipe is not fun, CPVC pipes can tolerate some expansion, the copper pipes, though very strong, can be burst by the expanding ice.
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