Moisture Proofing Your Basement

If you are planning a basement remodeling project then the first thing you have to take care of is to see if your basement seems damp. No one wants to stay in a damp basement. Whatever you plan for your basement whether it's a game room, a home theater or a bath or an extra bed room you have to first solve the moisture problem before you can think of anything else. In fact even if your basement seems dry it would be better to conduct a small test to be sure. A basement finishing can't be complete till you have taken care of this problem.

In order to test if your basement has a moisture problem or not take a piece of plastic or a piece of tin foil and tape it to the floor. Seal it on all sides and leave it like that for some days. You might find some moisture on the exposed side but that is ok. It is only the condensation. Insulation and ventilation will take care of that. But if you find moisture in the covered area then there is some moisture infiltration and you need to take care of that.

More often than not, basement-moisture problem is due to improper drainage system. The problem could be lack of gutters like allowing rain water to run directly off the roof. Or it may be due to bad grading i.e. the soil should always slope away from the house but it might be otherwise. There might be a wrongly placed drain pipe that leaves the water near the foundation. Water should always be directed at least 5 feet away from the foundation. Taking care of these areas can solve the dampness problem in your basement.

You can also directly apply concrete water proof sealer to the floor and the walls. There are many different brands that you can find in your home store. Most of them come as a powder that you need to mix with water and apply with a long bristles brush. This keeps the sealer moist for days and allows it to reach into the pores and form a crystalline structure that is able to block moisture.

You'll also need to repair any cracks that are present in the walls. Chisel out hairline cracks at least 3/4" deep and wide. Now fill this gap with some concrete patching material. Treat the cracks in the floor the same way. Chisel them out and fill the gap with some concrete and bonding material. If the matter is not very serious then your basement finishing won't cost much.

Exterior Wood Beams