[sailchef]

I have a "Un" conditioned crawl space, dirt floor. Its @3ft clearance underneath the house. Its a little damp but I rarely go under there. Just replaced all the water pipes. got a little dirty but thats it.

My friend just built a home with a "conditioned " crawl space. She has a stairway from inside the house going down. I took one look and said "Wow!". Its really nice, 3-4 ft clearance, you could probably use some of it for storage. Access to everything and you don't have to go outside.

In the long run the little bit extra that you will spend during construction will be worth it.

IMHO