The Lowdown on Waterproofing Basement Walls
September 22, 2009
You should always make sure to waterproof 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 frequent causes of water build-up in basements are due to cracks, leaking windows and pipe condensation. A great deal of problems can be created from too much water or long term water retention in the basement.
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.
A trench is dug round the inside perimeter of the wet basement floor. 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. Sump pumps are used in French drainage systems.
Hollow Baseboard Molding and Cove Systems
System for installing a hollow baseboard channel use a waterprof-of epoxy for the bonding to the floor and joint. The hollow molding collects wet wall seepage and water rising at the cove area. Usually connected to a sump pump.
Sump Pumps
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. A good way of draining excess water from a basement floor or from any underground drainage pipes that you might have is to utilise a sump pump.
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.
The fact is that even with a good drainage system there is no surety of the basement walls remaining dry. Being the cheapest and easiest methods to stop moisture from getting into your basement through the walls, lets focus on damp proofing and waterproofing.
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.
The majority of waterproofing products are comprised of a tar based substance in a solvent base. They are cheap to apply but their effectiveness is limited because they are only to designed to ‘retard’ moisture penetration, not prevent it. Unfortunately as curing takes place it is possible for it to become brittle. This is a result of the settling of the foundations and can result in the spontaneous appearance of cracks in the walls. The walls will then unfortunately lose their waterproofing as the coating will not be able to cover the cracks.
Find out the meaning of 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. Advanced Waterproofing Technologies provides supieor waterproofing protection as the products contain rubber and it allows flexibility when it dries. How you will stretch the foundation to settle the flexibility of waterproofing
How to Apply:
Clearly waterproofing is a better option and since there is not a huge price difference between that and damp proofing, it seems a more sensible long term choice, especially when it often has a 25 to 30-year guarantee.
In the past, builders ignored the need to waterproof basement walls. So now you can fix that with a product anyone can use. The products available in the market are easy to apply and mostly they are do it yourself types. 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. You can also utilize a commercially available airless sprayer that can be rented on a daily basis. An average size basement of approximately 1,000 square feet can easily be waterproofed by a couple of people using a roller in 2-3 hours. So get started and begin to enjoy your basement space without the dampness.
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