On Mar 17, 9:32 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 tomold/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 themold-resistant drywall, should
we use that?
Help me, I am losing my mind because everywhere I go I get different
answers.

Mycodyne can be applied to the concrete walls. the walls are sweating
and moist due to the high humidity. get some dehumidifiers down
there. Treat the concrete walls and any areas you build new walls.
this will prevent mold and give you a 25 year warranty. Only costs .
40 cents a square foot and you can do it yourself to save more money.
And yes use the mold resistant products out there. Nu-wol insulation
and the mold resistant drywall.

Mold Shield LLC
www.moldshield.org