Bringing outside air directly into the space without conditioning it may cause thermal comfort issues or worse, introduce moisture and an increased potential for unwanted bacterial growth. 

That was fine.If you're worried that the plaster doesn't go all the way down to the floor, that was normal in these walls, just as it's normal to leave a gap under drywall, and for the same moisture-based reasons.You're going to be fine once you install the new baseboard, but as you can see, trim carpentry is a lot more demanding on walls like these versus modern drywall.

Some details I would like to use would be using concrete piers and slab foundation to prevent moisture issues from water run-off of mountain.

Other people would advise you to take some gentle hallucinogens or a similar form of paraphernalia to heighten the experience of what Joshua tree has to offer; however, that is none of our business.

I would just order as needed.Here in socal, I have tall fescue grass, and I like to grow it long during the hot summer to keep the soil moisture and shade, and to help prevent weed overgrowth.

Pavers, if done right, will have enough crushed rock under them and sand between them to prevent weeds from coming though.With pavers you need to be a little more gentle when cleaning them using a power washer, but they are pretty durable.

"Because of the potential for moisture build-up and higher humidity in crawl spaces, you're most likely to find roaches, spiders, and termites in your home's crawl space.

Look for some gently used appliances and put them in the unit.  

I understand being gentle at first, and have worked with tenants that had a problem.

.- Water seepage and moisture is extremely common.