True Reviewer

When you are finishing a basement, waterproofing basement walls is a useful thing to do. 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 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 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. This empty molding will gather wet wall seepage as well as fluid which rises at the cove region. In most cases linked to the sump pump.

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. Sump pumps can also act as a good floor drain or be used to drain a variety of underground drainage 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.

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 through the walls.

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.  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.

Does waterproofing may help a lot in protecting basement walls?

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 products contain rubber which provides superior waterproofing protection and allows the product 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.

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.

Builders, many times in the past, paid little attention to waterproofing 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.  They come ready to use in for example, 5 gallon pails or 55 gallon drums and do not require heating or special application equipment – anyone who can use a brush or roller can apply them.  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 started and begin to enjoy your basement space without the dampness.