My basement is gross, want to clean it up. House built in 1940, for the most part it’s always dry, minus the occasional 5’ of snow that melts in two days that leads to this:
So that’s the worst of any water penetration. It appears to seep out at the base of the walls, as well as up from the ground in a few spots where there are cracks. No sump pump, just a drain where all the water will drain into. Again, not much water…but enough where I can’t hang drywall and call it a day.
Main issue is the walls, which have a few layers on them. In many spots I can pick this off by hand, others require a scraper, and the rest seems to be holding up quite well. I’ve spent quite a bit of time picking at these walls with anticipation of sealing them in Drylok. However, I’m a bit concerned that I can’t get these walls stripped down to base concrete very easily. Are there tools or procedures that would work best here? Should I just pick as much as I can and then start Drylok? I’ve noticed that in areas that feel sturdy I can still pick at them enough to find efflorescence starting. This shit sucks, but I want to clean it up as best as possible. Thoughts??
If that is the worst of your water that you are not in bad shape. Drylok will probably never adhere and work on those walls without an incredible amount of time and energy, and even then it seems your water issue is stemming from the footer and not the walls.
I would hesitantly advise stopping picking at it and go ahead and glue and anchor up some 1.5" or 2" foam board as a vapor barrier. then build a wall in front of it.
For a floor like that what I have done to allow for water movement and protection is to build a floor out of 1x2" pressure treated strips anchored to the concrete. That gives you a nice 3/4" gap for water and air to move (you can go larger if you have the ceiling space to sacrifice). On top of this goes your plywood, you can use 3/4 or slightly smaller to save some cost. I also spray the underside of each piece with a mold and mildew resistant outdoor glossy paint just as added protection from any water damage. These boards get screwed to the 1x’s and then you can use silicone to seal off the seams so that water can not push up into your floor. The walls get built on top of this floor so that you have access to the underside with either a hose or a fan to clean or dry the underside.
I’m assuming you saw my basement remodel thread. I wouldn’t (and didn’t) trust waterproofing as a DIY. Bring in professionals and let them guarantee you a nice dry space to start building from. I got several quotes and ended up going with Frank’s Basement Systems. They weren’t the cheapest but had what I felt was the best plan and I can’t say enough good stuff about them. They guarantee the work for the life of the house and they’ve called me 3 times spread out over the 2 years since it was completed just to make sure I was still happy with it.
And no, Drylock is not going to stop that much water.
The house that I am currently in was done by Franks. After the 6’ of snow and the subsequent melt off my basement was 100% dry and the sump pump had a constant stream like flow into it. They did a great job on sealing the place up and have given me 100% confidence in finishing the space.
All depends on what you want to do; mainly if you want to finish it or just get it dry so it doesn’t seep.
My house in Cheektowaga was built about the same time, and had the same basement all issues. I did a heavy scrape/wire brush (with a mask just incase of lead paint); then used a concrete based sealer. I don’t remember the brand (I think it was a Quickrete product), but Luke_L and myself brushed on 3 5-gallon buckets of the stuff to cover the walls. It was a pain, and I sold the house immediately after; but while I was still in it, I didn’t have any more wall seepage.
If you want to finish it; go professional, no questions.
Thanks for the replies, guys. I don’t intend on staying in this house long enough to warrant the money to refinish the basement. I know the domino effect…walls, then ceiling, then adding a bathroom, then finishig the laundry…
This all stemmed from a realtor visit recently and the comment from the realtor that it would be incredibly beneficial for the walls and floors to be ‘cleaned up’. Now, I could prob just scrape what I can and slap some paint up and call it a day, hope that it holds between now and whenever the house sells.
Back to the domino effect… I have thought of framing the walls and drywall. I’m rather quick with that process, but I don’t want it to look too good to where everything else looks poopy. Hence the paint approach.
I’m also okay with allowing for seepage at the base of the walls. I realize the proper fix starts from outside the foundation, so letting a little water in every 5 years isn’t much of a concern. I’ll give these Frank guys a call, see what kind of numbers they throw at me. @97FormulaWS-6 , did you see the video I linked? Did your scrape process look similar??
