Is the dark, hard soil in crawl space called clay? Is it always damp?

Question:We've put a contract on a house. But we just found the soil in crawl space is dark and hard, not like the sand in our friends' crawl spaces. Does it mean the topography of this house is lower? Does this kind of soil tend to be damp all the time? I could feel some moisture down the crawl space. Would you buy a house with this kind of soil in the crawl space? Thanks for your expertise!

Answers:
clay is a soil type. It has extremely fine particles and tends to bind itself together. when wet, it can be slippery and slimy feeling.

because of the extremely fine particle size, clay tends to have more surface area and tends to hold moisture longer than does sand. As a result, a clay crawlspace will feel more damp than a sand one does.

there are areas of the country where houses are built and clay is the only medium on which they can build, so it's not out of the ordinary. Consult you home inspector or a licensed contractor in your area on this. You might ask them also about installing a moisture barrier over the soil.

Happy home-owning!