On Mar 17, 8:32 pm, "MW" wrote:
What a can of worms this is becoming. We are going to finish our 45-
yr-old basement, and so far, 6 contractors have 6 different ways of
dealing with our moisture problem.

All around the bottom-most foot or so of the cinder block walls of the
basement, the old paint (I assume its Drylok) is falling off and there
is efflouresence too. There is no damp or musty smell, but I know
it's humid down there. Even now, in the winter, it's 60% humidity.
We have never, in 3 1/2 years, had actual water come into the
basement, just this seeping moisture. We have heavy clay soils.

I am afraid what will happen when we put walls up. Everywhere I go,
there is contradicting information, from professionals everywhe
put up poly, don't put up poly, use wood studs, use steel studs, use
insulation, don't insulate, etc etc etc.....It's enough to drive me
batty.
I am determined to do this, but don't want to spend $30K just to have
to tear it all out in a few years due to mold/moisture. And digging
up around the outside of the foundation is too costly for us, probably
$60K.
The moisture-proofing contractor insists we'll be sorry if we don't
break through the basement floor all around the perimeter of the
basement and install french drains for the water to go from inside the
cinder block walls. This for $6500 on top of the cost of finishing
the basement. I may be misguided, but I don't feel comfortable
hacking into the foundation.

This may be a really crazy idea, but has anyone invented a way of
drilling a hole in the lower cinder blocks, let all the water drain
out, and then filling in all the blocks' spaces with some kind of
filler/expanding stuff to keep the water pressure from filling them up
in the first place?

So what should we do, Drylok + wood studs + drywall + dehumidifier?
Drylok+wood+poly+drywall?
I have also read mixed reviews on the mold-resistant drywall, should
we use that?
Help me, I am losing my mind because everywhere I go I get different
answers.

Well if you want another 20 or so opionions pulled out of a hat,
you've come to the right place. I can definitively say that if you
finish your basement, you are taking a risk no matter what anyone
says. Some basements just shouldn't be finished. I'm not saying yours
is or not, but be aware you are taking a risk.

I really doubt that the lower course of blocks is actually full of
water. If that were the case, you would have water running on the
floor, which say you don't have. Forget about knocking holes in the
block. Your not going to stop this dampness problem with any kind of
coatings.

If you really don't have trouble with running water, it's hard to see
the value of running a perimeter drain on the inside. This would not
harm your foundation, but it's hard to see the value of spending 6500
on this. If you were going to install a perimeter drain, you'd need
to have it on the outside, which you've ruled out.

Other people will say it, so I might as well be the first: check your
landscaping. Keep gutters and downspouts working. Wet clay soils are
tough to deal with.

As for what you use for framing etc, I am of the opinion that you
shouldn't put anything against the block that provides an environment
for mold, even with a poly vapor barrier against the block. No wood,
no fiberglass insulation. I finished my basement by fastening 2"
rigid foam to the block with a 1x3 furring strip on top of the foam
anchored with a 4" tapcon. Then regular drywall on top of that. Let
'er get damp behind the foam is my opinion, but this is my own house,
and if it doesn't work, I'll just tear it out and redo. Time will
tell whether I did the right thing or not.