In article , JoeSpareBedroom says...

"Woodchuck34" wrote in message
roups.com...
We just bought a new house, almost the day after I finished my current
basement. Go figure. I'm a regular on rec.woodworking, but thought
this question would be better applied here.

We had a local engineer do our house inspection and he has an excellent
reputation. He outlined the best way for us to finish the basement.
First, a little background. Its poured concrete, built in '92, and
doesn't appear to have any leaks, doesn't even have a sump pump, but I
want to make sure I don't have any moldy or musty smells after I
finished.

This engineer recommend that we glue a 6 mill vapor barrier 8" below
the sill plate on the walls, keep the stud frame 2" off the walls, and
bring that barrier down and around the floor plate on the new stud
walls. Also recommend using some sort of waterproofing sealer/paint.

First, has anyone ever heard of glueing the barrier directly onto the
wall?

Yes, that was done to my house by a previous occupant. And the basement
partially finished with studs set back from wall, etc. as you describe. Also, a
primitive cove trench along one wall was built leading to a sump pump.

There are still water problems occasionally which I will address by major
re-grading and some drainage placed in a coupla years.

Live in the house for awhile, see what experience your neighbors have. Trying
to stop water coming in by coating the *inside* of the basement walls is really
not the best way to address it.

If you have clay soil and your neighbors report water problems, I'd even
consider doing a BDry or similar system now while you have the wall still open.

Banty (I'm in upstate NY, by the way)


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