Waterproofing basement walls should be a proper thing to do when finishing a basement. Most basements have high moisture levels, and much of the moisture enters via the basement walls. Cracks, leaking windows and pipe condensation are probably the most coarse reasons basements have water build-up problems. Too much or prolonged water holding in the basement can cause a variety of problems.
Basement Wall Options
DRYWALL SETTLEMENT
There are numerous ways of waterproofing basement walls and these include:
- French Drains
- Hollow Baseboard Molding
- Sump Pumps
- Waterproofing
- Damp Proofing
French Drains - Interior drainage systems installed below the wet basement floor to acquire incommunicable water and wet wall seepage. A trench is dug round the inside perimeter of the wet basement floor. A perforated plastic drain tile pipe is installed and surrounded by gravel. Some wet basement waterproofing and heal contractors re-cement the floor over the French drain theory leaving a 1" to 2" 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 regularly connects to a sump pump.
Hollow Baseboard Molding and Cove Systems - A hollow baseboard channel is adhered to the joint where the floor meets the wall using a waterproof epoxy. The hollow molding collects wet wall seepage and water rising at the cove area. regularly associated to a sump pump.
Sump Pumps - Installed in a plastic or fiberglass tank below the wet basement floor. Sump pumps can acquire incommunicable water straight 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 incommunicable 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.
The truth is even with a good drainage system, it can't assure a dry basement wall. Lets look at damp proofing and waterproofing as these are the cheapest and easiest methods of stopping moisture getting into your basement straight through the walls.
What is Damp Proofing?
Damp proofing products are typically a tar based material in a solvent base. They are cheap to apply but their effectiveness is exiguous because they are only to designed to 'retard' moisture penetration, not prevent it. The main problem is that it becomes fragile 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 lanch 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. Developed Waterproofing Technologies products include rubber which provides excellent waterproofing protection and allows the stock to remain flexible even when it dries. 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
Clearly waterproofing is a good choice and since there is not a huge price incompatibility between that and damp proofing, it seems a more sensible long term choice, especially when it often has a 25 to 30-year guarantee.
Builders, many times in the past, paid exiguous attention to waterproofing basement walls. So now is your chance to rectify that with simple-to-use products. Most of the products are safe and easy to apply by the 'do-it-yourselfer'. They come ready to use in for example, 5 gallon pails or 55 gallon drums and do not require heating or extra application equipment - whatever who can use a brush or roller can apply them. You can even use a market airless sprayer which can be rented by the day. An median size basement of practically 1,000 quadrilateral feet can well be waterproofed by a merge of habitancy using a roller in 2-3 hours. So get to it and start enjoying all that space without the damp.
The Lowdown on Waterproofing Basement Walls DRYWALL SETTLEMENT
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