Survivalist Chronicles

You should always make sure to waterproof your basement walls when you are finishing it. 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. 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

You have many choices when it comes to waterproofing basement walls, however to get your best results you first need to figure out exactly how and where your water is coming from, be it through the walls from freeze thaw cycles or heavy rains and run off, or is it coming from an underground spring, or do you simply have a damp or humid basement before you choose your remedy.

An excavation was made inside the drenched basement floor. First you need to position a plastic drain pipe, ready perforated, and then make sure that it is surrounded by gravel or similar When trying to recement the floor over a French drain system, some repair and waterproofing contractors leave a gap that can be one to two inches in the floor to allow the web wall seppage to dair below the floor. 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.

Sump Pumps

Installed in a plastic or fiberglass tank below the wet basement floor. In order to collect underground water one case install a device known as a sump pump. This should solve your underground water problems! 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.

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.

What is Damp Proofing?

{You may be asking yourself what is involved in damp proofing your basement walls 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.   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.

What is 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.  The rubber used in Advanced Water Proofing Technologies products provides superior waterproofing protection and allows the product to remain flexible even after drying.  The concrete or block has a waterproof coating that stretches to make the foundation completely waterproof.

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.

In the earlier days builders often did not consider waterproofing the basement walls as important. So now you can fix that with a product anyone can use. Even if you are not a professional you will find that our products are easily applied and not harmful.   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.  In 2 or 3 hours, a couple people using rollers can waterproof an average-size basement (about 1,000 square feet) without difficulty. So get started and begin to enjoy your basement space without the dampness.