There are several broken meshes on the foundation vents for my house. Is there anything I can do such as putting new meshes on them? Where can I go to buy the material? I went to Home Depot and showed the picture of the broken mesh to a store associate , but he couldn’t give me any further advice as to what to do to fix it.

Hey there – so glad you found me! :) In answer to your question, our crawl space is not insulated – it’s something we seriously considered when renovating our home, but in the end we decided that it was more than we wanted to spend. We’ve lived here since January, so we’ve gotten a bit of Dallas winter weather and the floors haven’t been too cold (although I definitely never go barefoot in the winter!!). Although we didn’t wind up going for it, I can definitely see how toastier tootsies would make it worthwhile!! :)

~ Liz

Hey there! Thanks for stopping by. :) You know, I like your thinking about the vents – that’s a great compromise and can lower your heating bills AND leave you mold-free! On the sock issue, however, we do not see eye to eye – while other holidays should certainly have their day in the sun (in fact, I’m wearing my Easter bunny socks right now), I think it’s always appropriate to salute ol’ Saint Nick with a festive pair of Christmas socks. :)

~ Liz

Hello from OK. First thing first, that’s a nice looking vent. Ours look like some kindergartner got into dad’s workshop and put them together. As for covered or not, the ecologist in me prefers to have them covered, especially in the winter time for energy efficiency. However, I hadn’t considered the fallout of year-round covering. I sure don’t want mold and mildew growing under my house so I think I have come to a conclusion. Covered in the winter and free in the summer, the best of both worlds right? And for the Christmas socks…I like Christmas as much as the next person, but there are so many other holidays to be celebrated throughout the year so I think you should spread the love and keep the Christmas socks on laundry reserve past New Year’s. Just my take!

Christmas socks all year round in my house!

You’re totally right, the whole point of the foundation vents is to keep air circulating under the house so that moisture doesn’t accumulate and cause wood rot or mold. The mesh on the foundation vents has tiny holes to let air in but keep animals out – great idea, right? It reminds me of a story that another reader had about raccoons getting in through the crawl space… Anyway, even though the mesh is designed to let air into your crawl space it can still get clogged with leaves and other funky stuff, so you should check the vents every once in awhile to make sure they are clear of any debris. Hope that helps!!

~ Liz