You should always make sure to waterproof your basement walls when you are finishing it. Basement walls are the entry point of most moisture creating a high level of moisture in them. 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
There are numerous ways of waterproofing basement walls and these include:
- French Drains
– Hollow Baseboard Molding
– Sump Pumps
– Waterproofing
– Damp Proofing
French Drains
You do not have to stick to one particular method when it comes to waterproofing the walls of your basement. Among the available methods are French Drains, which involve the insertion of drainage systems underneath the basment floor to collect water leakage.
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. Whilst the basement floor is still wet, dig a trench around its inside perimeter. First you need to position a plastic drain pipe, ready perforated, and then make sure that it is surrounded by gravel or similar 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. Sump pumps are used in French drainage systems.
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. Water rising at a cove area in a basement will also damage hollow molding since it will retain moisture from a wet wall. Usually connected to a sump pump.
Sump Pumps
Installed in a plastic or fiberglass tank below the wet basement floor. The sump pumps through perforations in the sump well located close to it, can collect underground water. Sump pumps have many uses such as floor drainage and to drain underground drain pipes.
Wall Sealers
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. Being the cheapest and easiest methods to stop moisture from getting into your basement through the walls, lets focus on damp proofing and waterproofing.
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 palette 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.
Damp proofing products are typically a tar based material 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.
Does waterproofing help in protecting basement walls?
Products used for waterproofing underground areas, such as a basement, are only designed to prevent water from penetrating the walls especially after heavy rains or spring thaws; but, if you have underground water from a source such as a spring you may need to install a sump pump to prevent water from entering your basement from under the floor. 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.
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. At this point you have the opportunity to put this situation right with convenient products that have easy to follow instructions Even if you are not a professional you will find that our products are easily applied and not harmful.
These are available in 5 gallon pails or 55 gallon drums, as an example, and are ready for use without heat or any specialized equipment, if you can use a brush or a roller, you can use these. Commercial airless sprayers can be rented by the day to waterproof basement walls. 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.
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