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. Cracks, leaking windows and pipe condensation are probably the most common reasons basements have water build-up problems. You will run into all kinds of issues if you allow too much water retention or allow it to stay for too long.
Basement Wall Options
You have many choices when it comes to waterproofing basement walls:
- 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. An excavation was made inside the drenched basement floor. A perforated plastic drain tile pipe is installed and surrounded by gravel. 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 – A hollow baseboard channel is adhered to the joint where the floor meets the wall using a waterproof epoxy. Water rising at a cove area in a basement will also damage hollow molding since it will retain moisture from a wet wall. In most cases linked to the sump pump.
Sump Pumps – Installed in a plastic or fiberglass tank below the wet basement floor. The sump pumps through perforations in the sump well located close to it, can collect underground water. 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.
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.
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.
Proofing products that are moist are usually made of tar in a solvent base. Application is inexpensive but efficiency is limited since they are manufactured to retard and not to prevent moisture penetration. 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.
Does waterproofing may help a lot in protecting basement walls?
Products used for waterproofing underground areas, such as a basement, are only designed to prevent water from penetrating the walls especially after heavy rains or spring thaws; but, if you have underground water from a source such as a spring you may need to install a sump pump to prevent water from entering your basement from under the floor. 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.
Application instructions
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 earlier days builders often did not consider waterproofing the basement walls as important. 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. You can even use a commercial airless sprayer which can be rented by the day. 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 to it and start enjoying all that space without the damp.