All of that threaded pipe that is your water line appears to be galvanized. Although from the picture it actually looks like black iron gas pipe.

If you don't own the house just remove the t on the cold side and get a new threaded T for the hot side.

When you talk about galvanized pipe, which pipe are you referring too? The one narrow pipe on each of the hot and cold water lines? If yes, are you saying I should replace it with Pex or copper?

Also I live in an apartment, so what you see is all that I see too. I don’t have access to behind the walls. Can’t really replace the bottom shut off valve without the super turning off the water either. Which pipes are you specifically saying that I should replace with copper?

I’m somewhat just confused by which pipes you think I should replace with PEX and which pipes I should replace with copper.

Part of a 100% full encapsulation is you have to install a dehumidifier and pipe the drain line out of the crawlspace. (9 times out of 10 it is aways put in the most inconvenient part of the crawlspace to maximize the draw. Rarely do you ever get lucky enough that it is next to the crawl space access for ease of maintenance). It also depends on how well sealed your floor is to the living space. There are always holes the pathways for air to move unless you have gone over the top with sealing above the subfloor.

If you are worried about humidity building up in a vented crawlspace, you can opt for adding Crawlspace Fan with a Humidistat to the louver locations. Just don't have all of the fans pointing into the crawl space. Either all exhaust the space or you split it 50-50 for intake and exhaust so you maximize air flow across the insulation/joists.

These fans are sized to fit in a standard sized small vent openings you already have, and most are directional.

https://www.amazon.com/crawlspace-fan-humidistat/s?k=crawlspace+fan+with+humidistat

I agree that calling 2-3 crawlspace companies tell them what your concerns are and that you would like a price to just add insulation, and a second price to do a full encapsulation (or whatever your couple of choices are), letting them crawl through the space then ask their opinion and recommendation. If you get 3 separate companies giving you the same basic information you can make an informed decision based on your climate zone and actual subgrade conditions.

$6

I used to install gas inserts and I can honestly say don’t do it they are trash would not recommend it

Encapsulated, sealed crawl spaces are absolutely better in every way compared to all alternatives.

It is a significant amount of work to encapsulate one that wasn't originally designed for that sort of treatment - but it's always absolutely worth the effort.

It is also the sort of thing that can be DIY'd. Contractors tend to run prices up for this sort of work, and rightfully so I'd say - it's uncomfortable, dirty, limited access work in most cases.

The bottom shutter valve is a little old so I don’t completely trust it. I assume that’s why they put a second shutter valve on top too. (Notice the hot water also has two shutter valves and nothing in between). So I figured it’s best to just remove it and install the water line above the second shutter valve. That way there’s only that one pipe between the two shutter valves. What do you think?

Yes you would just need to remove the t and put the rest of that side back together without it. Use Teflon tape and probably have some pipe dope in case you struggle to get a leak tight seal.

Personally this would be a great opportunity to just run some pex since that galvanized line starts to corrode inside over time.

Not sure what the rest of your system looks like but if you can take all of that out and get back to copper you'd be doing yourself a favor long term.

Why take out the tee on the cold water side? Just remove the dishwasher from the tee and connect the line to the fridge there in its place. Now all you need to do is add a tee on the hot water side and reconnect the dishwasher there.

I'm in a townhouse, so two areas (and the biggest being the backyard). I bought a roll of copper mesh (on Amazon), folded it over and stuffed it under my siding.

I used my little snake camera to see where there are possible gaps. Found a few where the fuckers could climb in, but they were coming up thru the window - as a small area was kissing spray foam.

In the larger holes like your picture (and on corners), i put the mesh and sealed it off with spray foam. The tighter spots I left the mesh, as it was held in palace tightly by the siding.

Looks decent, seems like it can run on a track also for those long straight lines. Yeah I would have to get a genny if I needed power tools, only thing I have on battery is a small drill/screwdriver combo. But I mostly use hand tools anyway or a bandsaw, I make boats and since I can’t afford my own boatyard I tend to live and work in someone else’s workshop, they tend to have to big stuff nicely set up so I just turn up with my personal edges tools etc. they are paying me for my knowledge more than anything tbh.

Must be another UK vs US thing, here in UK we generally connect only the cold mains to dishwashers.

The bottom shut off valve isn’t the greatest so I want to just move the dishwasher tee out altogether and put it on the hot water side. Once I take the tee out, how do I put the pipe back into the bottom shutter valve? Do I just put Teflon tape on the pipe and then push it into the shutter valve?

Yeah It was done wrong by the previous owner. so I’ll move it. Once I take the tee out, how do I put the pipe back into the bottom shutter valve? Do I just put Teflon tape on the pipe and then push it into the shutter valve?

It was done wrong by the previous owner. so I’ll move it. Once I take the tee out, how do I put the pipe back into the bottom shutter valve? Do I just put Teflon tape on the pipe and then push it into the shutter valve?

Thx! I’m also gonna take the bottom Tee for the dishwasher and move it to the hot water side. Once I take the tee out, how do I put the pipe back into the bottom shutter valve? Do I just put Teflon tape on the pipe and then push it into the shutter valve?

Thx! I’m also gonna take the bottom Tee for the dishwasher and move it to the hot water side. Once I take the tee out, how do I put the pipe back into the bottom shutter valve? Do I just put Teflon tape on the pipe and then push it into the shutter valve?

Either a belt sander, or a truckload of new drywall...

Dishwashers use only hot water, never cold. The dishwasher has it's own heating elements it can use to heat water to the correct temperature, but the dishwasher's heating system is less efficient than your water heater.

Yeah, thats normal for a 120/240v system. Each 120v wire is the ground path for the other 120v wire. They combine and create 240v.

It was standard up to the 80s and 90s (USA) for the 240v circuits to never have a neutral. When electronics started being added to heaters, dryers, ovens, etc, then a neutral became a wanted feature for a clean 120v power source.

That's what I thought... thanks for confirming..

You could fill pvc piping or metal downspout with cement or sand and drill and install large eye hooks so you can attach wire to bottom of curtain. Also if you have 2nd hand stores in your area look for bell bar weights. If you don't like the colors spray paint

Seal it, insulate the walls and then put a small hvac register and return to condition it.

Thank you, I’ll read each. That’s helpful because I don’t know where this stuff is already studied and prescribed so this is super helpful. No sense recreating the wheel

Thanks for the detailed answer. I’ll re read a few times and maybe get some similar quotes if for no other reason than to hear what they would recommend. I’ve heard about and seen insulation that got humid falling out of joists and molding so, I’m cautious about that. But if I can control the humidity first then I’m not afraid of it. I just want to do the “best” option. I don’t want to circ house air through it but I’m not against a dehumidifier to keep it conditioned.