The Scoop about Waterproofing your Basement Walls

Waterproofing basement walls should be a standard thing to do when finishing a basement. 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. A great deal of problems can be created from too much water or long term water retention in the basement.

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.

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. Usually connected to a 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.

What are the varieties that should be applied in all basement waterproofing?

The truth is even with a good drainage system, it can’t assure a dry basement wall. 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.

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.  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.

Find out the meaning of 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.  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. Most of the products are safe and easy to apply by the do-it-yourselfer.  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.  Two people using rollers to waterproof a basement of about 1,000 square feet can accomplish the task easily in about two to three hours.  So get to it and start enjoying all that space without the damp.