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If you’re looking for information on Waterproofing Basement Walls, this has it all.

December 2, 2008

Waterproofing basement walls should be a standard thing to do when finishing a basement. Basement walls are the entry point of most moisture creating a high level of moisture in them. The most frequent causes of water build-up in basements are due to cracks, leaking windows and pipe condensation. Too much or prolonged water retention in the basement can cause a variety of problems.

Basement Wall Options

There are numerous ways of waterproofing basement walls and these include:

- 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. The floor over the French drain system is sometimes re-cemented by repair and wet basement waterproofing contractors. A gap is left of between one and two inches in the floor, along the walls, which lets the web wall seepage drain below floor-level into the drain system. A drain that connects to a sump pump is usually  the French type.

Hollow Baseboard Molding and Cove Systems

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. More often than not, linked to a sump pump.

Sump Pumps

Installed in a plastic or fiberglass tank below the wet 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.

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?

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.  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?

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.  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.

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 is your chance to rectify that with simple-to-use products. Even if you are not a professional you will find that our products are easily applied and not harmful.   Available even in 5 gallon pails or 55 gallon drums, they are ready for use and do not require heating or other application equipment, just the use of a brush or roller.  You can even use a commercial airless sprayer which can be rented by the day.  An average size basement of approximately 1,000 square feet can easily be waterproofed by a couple of people using a roller in 2-3 hours. So get to it and start enjoying all that space without the damp.

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