Brick ranches on crawlspaces
The classic Gaston house is a single-story brick ranch on a vented crawlspace, built between roughly 1960 and 1985. Under the house is where these homes tell the truth: standing water or damp soil, torn or absent vapor barrier, fungal growth on subfloor framing, rusting or disconnected ductwork, and insulation hanging down where moisture defeated it. Above, we typically find original or second-generation roofing, older panels that insurers question, and mixed plumbing from decades of spot repairs.

