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Home Repair - - If it ain't broken, don't fix it. Otherwise look here.
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Posted by MW on March 17, 2007, 9:32 pm
What a can of worms this is becoming. We are going to finish our 45-
yr-old basement, and so far, 6 contractors have 6 different ways of
dealing with our moisture problem.
All around the bottom-most foot or so of the cinder block walls of the
basement, the old paint (I assume its Drylok) is falling off and there
is efflouresence too. There is no damp or musty smell, but I know
it's humid down there. Even now, in the winter, it's 60% humidity.
We have never, in 3 1/2 years, had actual water come into the
basement, just this seeping moisture. We have heavy clay soils.
I am afraid what will happen when we put walls up. Everywhere I go,
there is contradicting information, from professionals everywhere:
put up poly, don't put up poly, use wood studs, use steel studs, use
insulation, don't insulate, etc etc etc.....It's enough to drive me
batty.
I am determined to do this, but don't want to spend $30K just to have
to tear it all out in a few years due to mold/moisture. And digging
up around the outside of the foundation is too costly for us, probably
$60K.
The moisture-proofing contractor insists we'll be sorry if we don't
break through the basement floor all around the perimeter of the
basement and install french drains for the water to go from inside the
cinder block walls. This for $6500 on top of the cost of finishing
the basement. I may be misguided, but I don't feel comfortable
hacking into the foundation.
This may be a really crazy idea, but has anyone invented a way of
drilling a hole in the lower cinder blocks, let all the water drain
out, and then filling in all the blocks' spaces with some kind of
filler/expanding stuff to keep the water pressure from filling them up
in the first place?
So what should we do, Drylok + wood studs + drywall + dehumidifier?
Drylok+wood+poly+drywall?
I have also read mixed reviews on the mold-resistant drywall, should
we use that?
Help me, I am losing my mind because everywhere I go I get different
answers.
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Posted by marson on March 18, 2007, 8:19 am
> What a can of worms this is becoming. We are going to finish our 45-
> yr-old basement, and so far, 6 contractors have 6 different ways of
> dealing with our moisture problem.
>
> All around the bottom-most foot or so of the cinder block walls of the
> basement, the old paint (I assume its Drylok) is falling off and there
> is efflouresence too. There is no damp or musty smell, but I know
> it's humid down there. Even now, in the winter, it's 60% humidity.
> We have never, in 3 1/2 years, had actual water come into the
> basement, just this seeping moisture. We have heavy clay soils.
>
> I am afraid what will happen when we put walls up. Everywhere I go,
> there is contradicting information, from professionals everywhere:
> put up poly, don't put up poly, use wood studs, use steel studs, use
> insulation, don't insulate, etc etc etc.....It's enough to drive me
> batty.
> I am determined to do this, but don't want to spend $30K just to have
> to tear it all out in a few years due to mold/moisture. And digging
> up around the outside of the foundation is too costly for us, probably
> $60K.
> The moisture-proofing contractor insists we'll be sorry if we don't
> break through the basement floor all around the perimeter of the
> basement and install french drains for the water to go from inside the
> cinder block walls. This for $6500 on top of the cost of finishing
> the basement. I may be misguided, but I don't feel comfortable
> hacking into the foundation.
>
> This may be a really crazy idea, but has anyone invented a way of
> drilling a hole in the lower cinder blocks, let all the water drain
> out, and then filling in all the blocks' spaces with some kind of
> filler/expanding stuff to keep the water pressure from filling them up
> in the first place?
>
> So what should we do, Drylok + wood studs + drywall + dehumidifier?
> Drylok+wood+poly+drywall?
> I have also read mixed reviews on the mold-resistant drywall, should
> we use that?
> Help me, I am losing my mind because everywhere I go I get different
> answers.
Well if you want another 20 or so opionions pulled out of a hat,
you've come to the right place. I can definitively say that if you
finish your basement, you are taking a risk no matter what anyone
says. Some basements just shouldn't be finished. I'm not saying yours
is or not, but be aware you are taking a risk.
I really doubt that the lower course of blocks is actually full of
water. If that were the case, you would have water running on the
floor, which say you don't have. Forget about knocking holes in the
block. Your not going to stop this dampness problem with any kind of
coatings.
If you really don't have trouble with running water, it's hard to see
the value of running a perimeter drain on the inside. This would not
harm your foundation, but it's hard to see the value of spending 6500
on this. If you were going to install a perimeter drain, you'd need
to have it on the outside, which you've ruled out.
Other people will say it, so I might as well be the first: check your
landscaping. Keep gutters and downspouts working. Wet clay soils are
tough to deal with.
As for what you use for framing etc, I am of the opinion that you
shouldn't put anything against the block that provides an environment
for mold, even with a poly vapor barrier against the block. No wood,
no fiberglass insulation. I finished my basement by fastening 2"
rigid foam to the block with a 1x3 furring strip on top of the foam
anchored with a 4" tapcon. Then regular drywall on top of that. Let
'er get damp behind the foam is my opinion, but this is my own house,
and if it doesn't work, I'll just tear it out and redo. Time will
tell whether I did the right thing or not.
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Posted by Joseph Meehan on March 18, 2007, 11:13 am
MW wrote:
> What a can of worms this is becoming. We are going to finish our 45-
> yr-old basement, and so far, 6 contractors have 6 different ways of
> dealing with our moisture problem.
There are two kinds of moisture problems, external and internal.
Internal is just the moisture in the are condensing on the cooler walls.
(Tape some foil or plastic to the wall. If it ends up wet on top, it is
internal, if it is only wet towards the wall it is external. It may be
both.
External problems should be addressed for outside. That is where the
problem is. You get water away from the wall first, and make sure there is
some sort of drain around the outside.
Each case is different so the correct solution for me is not likely to
be the correct solution for you. There are a couple of general comments
that should help you rule out some contractors.
If the water is coming in from the outside and they want to "waterproof"
your walls from the inside, just laugh at them and send them on their way.
If they are offering something quick and cheap, forget them.
--
Joseph Meehan
Dia 's Muire duit
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Posted by Ivan Vegvary on March 18, 2007, 11:42 am
> says...
>>
>>What a can of worms this is becoming. We are going to finish our 45-
>>yr-old basement, and so far, 6 contractors have 6 different ways of
>>dealing with our moisture problem.
>>
>>All around the bottom-most foot or so of the cinder block walls of the
>>basement, the old paint (I assume its Drylok) is falling off and there
>>is efflouresence too. There is no damp or musty smell, but I know
>>it's humid down there. Even now, in the winter, it's 60% humidity.
>>We have never, in 3 1/2 years, had actual water come into the
>>basement, just this seeping moisture. We have heavy clay soils.
>>
>>I am afraid what will happen when we put walls up. Everywhere I go,
>>there is contradicting information, from professionals everywhere:
>>put up poly, don't put up poly, use wood studs, use steel studs, use
>>insulation, don't insulate, etc etc etc.....It's enough to drive me
>>batty.
>>I am determined to do this, but don't want to spend $30K just to have
>>to tear it all out in a few years due to mold/moisture. And digging
>>up around the outside of the foundation is too costly for us, probably
>>$60K.
>>The moisture-proofing contractor insists we'll be sorry if we don't
>>break through the basement floor all around the perimeter of the
>>basement and install french drains for the water to go from inside the
>>cinder block walls. This for $6500 on top of the cost of finishing
>>the basement. I may be misguided, but I don't feel comfortable
>>hacking into the foundation.
As to "hacking into
> the foundation", actually it's the slab that's "hacked into"
> (jackhammered) to
> get the drain system in.
Not in most basements that I have seen and designed. In my last house the
basement walls sat on 12" thick footings that extended 5 feet horizontally
(all around) into the basement. The four inch slab was poured on top of the
footings. Jack hammering through those footings and re-bar would totally
undermine the stabilty of the basement walls.
Ivan Vegvary
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Posted by on May 2, 2007, 1:58 am
> What a can of worms this is becoming. We are going to finish our 45-
> yr-old basement, and so far, 6 contractors have 6 different ways of
> dealing with our moisture problem.
>
> All around the bottom-most foot or so of the cinder block walls of the
> basement, the old paint (I assume its Drylok) is falling off and there
> is efflouresence too. There is no damp or musty smell, but I know
> it's humid down there. Even now, in the winter, it's 60% humidity.
> We have never, in 3 1/2 years, had actual water come into the
> basement, just this seeping moisture. We have heavy clay soils.
>
> I am afraid what will happen when we put walls up. Everywhere I go,
> there is contradicting information, from professionals everywhere:
> put up poly, don't put up poly, use wood studs, use steel studs, use
> insulation, don't insulate, etc etc etc.....It's enough to drive me
> batty.
> I am determined to do this, but don't want to spend $30K just to have
> to tear it all out in a few years due tomold/moisture. And digging
> up around the outside of the foundation is too costly for us, probably
> $60K.
> The moisture-proofing contractor insists we'll be sorry if we don't
> break through the basement floor all around the perimeter of the
> basement and install french drains for the water to go from inside the
> cinder block walls. This for $6500 on top of the cost of finishing
> the basement. I may be misguided, but I don't feel comfortable
> hacking into the foundation.
>
> This may be a really crazy idea, but has anyone invented a way of
> drilling a hole in the lower cinder blocks, let all the water drain
> out, and then filling in all the blocks' spaces with some kind of
> filler/expanding stuff to keep the water pressure from filling them up
> in the first place?
>
> So what should we do, Drylok + wood studs + drywall + dehumidifier?
> Drylok+wood+poly+drywall?
> I have also read mixed reviews on themold-resistant drywall, should
> we use that?
> Help me, I am losing my mind because everywhere I go I get different
> answers.
Mycodyne can be applied to the concrete walls. the walls are sweating
and moist due to the high humidity. get some dehumidifiers down
there. Treat the concrete walls and any areas you build new walls.
this will prevent mold and give you a 25 year warranty. Only costs .
40 cents a square foot and you can do it yourself to save more money.
And yes use the mold resistant products out there. Nu-wol insulation
and the mold resistant drywall.
Mold Shield LLC
www.moldshield.org
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