The Scoop about Waterproofing your Basement Walls
February 5th, 2010
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. 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. 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 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.
what might be the possible use of the Hollow Baseboard Molding.is it good enough to adhered or joint for epoxy use? This empty molding will gather wet wall seepage as well as fluid which rises at the cove region. Usually connected to a sump pump.
One item you can include when waterproofing your basement walls is a sump pump that can be installed below the basement floor. Sump pumps can collect underground water through perforations in the sump well in the immediate vicinity of the sump pump. Sump pumps have many uses such as floor drainage and to drain underground drain 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 fact is that even with a good drainage system there is no surety of the basement walls remaining dry. 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.
What is Damp Proofing?
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. 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 products contain rubber which provides superior waterproofing protection and allows the product to remain flexible even when it dries. How you will stretch the foundation to settle the flexibility of waterproofing
Application instructions
Obviously it would be most sensible to use waterproofing as it offers better long term results and you might well find that it comes with a guarantee that lasts for up to thirty years.
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. 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 start it and enjoy the convenience of damp-less space.
Categories: General Interest |
