You should always make sure to waterproof your basement walls when you are finishing it. Moisture entering through the walls of the basement is the main reason that area of your house is more damp than the rest of the house. 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
You do not have to stick to one particular method when it comes to waterproofing the walls of your basement:
- 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. A pierced plastic drain tile pipe is placed and encircled by stones and pebbles. 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 drain that connects to a sump pump is usually the French type.
System for installing a hollow baseboard channel use a waterprof-of epoxy for the bonding to the floor and joint. Water rising at a cove area in a basement will also damage hollow molding since it will retain moisture from a wet wall. More often than not, linked to a sump pump.
One item you can include when waterproofing your basement walls is a sump pump that can be installed below the basement floor. The sump pumps through perforations in the sump well located close to it, can collect underground water. Sump pumps have many uses such as floor drainage and to drain underground drain pipes.
There are many types and varieties of basement wall sealers on the market to choose from depending on whether you want to brush or roll the sealant product onto your wall, or you may choose to install a panel wall system to seal your walls.
In reality a good drainage system cannot guarantee dry basement walls. We need to evaluate the most economical method to stop moisture from getting in the basement walls and this may be damp proofing and waterproofing.
What is Damp Proofing?
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.
Proofing products that are moist are usually made of tar 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 biggest problem is that, because this material becomes brittle, hairline cracks will appear as the foundation settles. Since the tar based coating does not stretch to cover these cracks, water will seep into the basement.
What is Waterproofing?
Waterproofing products are designed to ‘prevent’ water penetration even under wet conditions such as hydrostatic pressure in the soil after heavy rain or spring thaws. The rubber used in Advanced Water Proofing Technologies products provides superior waterproofing protection and allows the product to remain flexible even after drying. The concrete or block has a waterproof coating that stretches to make the foundation completely waterproof.
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 earlier days builders often did not consider waterproofing the basement walls as important. So now you can fix that with a product anyone can use. Most of the products are safe and easy to apply by the do-it-yourselfer. Available even in 5 gallon pails or 55 gallon drums, they are ready for use and do not require heating or other application equipment – just the use of a brush or roller. 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 start it and enjoy the convenience of damp-less space.