When you are finishing a basement, waterproofing basement walls is a useful thing to do. Most basements have high moisture levels, and much of the moisture enters via the basement walls. The most common reasons for water build-up problems in basements are caused usually by cracks, leaking windows and pipe condensation. Too much or prolonged water retention in the basement can cause a variety of problems.
Basement Wall Options
There are numerous ways of waterproofing basement walls and these include:
- French Drains
- Hollow Baseboard Molding
- Sump Pumps
- Waterproofing
- Damp Proofing
French Drains – An exterior system running the perimeter or partial perimeter of your house for heavy rain run off drainage, or an interior system if water is coming into your basement through the floors or cove between the floor and the wall. Whilst the basement floor is still wet, dig a trench around its inside perimeter. First you need to position a plastic drain pipe, ready perforated, and then make sure that it is surrounded by gravel or similar Some wet basement waterproofing and repair contractors re-cement the floor over the French drain system leaving a 1 inch to 2 inch gap in the floor along the walls to allow the web wall seepage to drain below the floor into the French drain system. A French drain usually connects to a sump pump.
what might be the possible use of the Hollow Baseboard Molding.is it good enough to adhered or joint for epoxy use? This empty molding will gather wet wall seepage as well as fluid which rises at the cove region. More often than not, linked to a sump pump.
A sump pump is placed in a tub that sits under the floor of your lower lever. Sump pumps can collect underground water through perforations in the sump well in the immediate vicinity of the sump pump. Sump pumps can also act as a good floor drain or be used to drain a variety of underground drainage pipes.
Wall Sealers – Varieties include spray applied basement wall sealers, brush or roller applied basement waterproofing sealers, or panel type basement waterproofing sealers for wet basement walls.
In reality a good drainage system cannot guarantee dry basement walls. Being the cheapest and easiest methods to stop moisture from getting into your basement through the walls, lets focus on damp proofing and waterproofing.
Damp proofing means what?
You may be asking yourself what is involved in damp proofing your basement and the best example I can give of damp proofing would be to think of a castle with a moat and think about how to keep the water away from this castle; first you build the permiable pallette layer where you want the castle floor, then you would place a solid layer over that, then you would leave a vent space and lay your foundation; as for your walls, you would build your walls, then do your solid layer and then your permiable layer, and now you have damp proofed your castle.
Damp proofing products are typically a tar based material in a solvent base. Although these are a cheap fix, they are not very effective because they are designed only to slow down the moisture build up not prevent it. The main problem is that it becomes brittle once it cures and as the foundation settles and hairline cracks appear, the tar based coating will not stretch to bridge the cracks and this allows moisture to penetrate into the basement.
What is Waterproofing?
The water proofing products are such that they stop water penetrate into wet places as well. Because hydrstatic pressure in the soil after heavy rain or spring starts thawing. The rubber used in Advanced Water Proofing Technologies products provides superior waterproofing protection and allows the product to remain flexible even after drying. This flexibility allows the waterproofing membrane to stretch as the foundation settles and bridge small hairline settlement cracks that can occur in the concrete or block.
How to Apply
Obviously it would be most sensible to use waterproofing as it offers better long term results and you might well find that it comes with a guarantee that lasts for up to thirty years.
In the past, builders ignored the need to waterproof basement walls. At this point you have the opportunity to put this situation right with convenient products that have easy to follow instructions Even if you are not a professional you will find that our products are easily applied and not harmful. These are available in 5 gallon pails or 55 gallon drums, as an example, and are ready for use without heat or any specialized equipment – if you can use a brush or a roller, you can use these. Commercial airless sprayers can be rented by the day to waterproof basement walls. In 2 or 3 hours, a couple people using rollers can waterproof an average-size basement (about 1,000 square feet) without difficulty. So get started and begin to enjoy your basement space without the dampness.