tom wrote:

"Bryan Scholtes" wrote in message
...
I want to finish the basement in my 1955 rambler. For the first 50
years, this house had no gutters. When we moved in there was
definitely a moist basement. We put gutters up in 2005.

While clearing away material from the basement walls in preparation
for finishing, I discovered some crumbling near the foundation base.

The concrete blocks have efflorescence. Some of the mortar joints are
crumbling.

The new insulation will be sprayed polyurethane foam, so it will be a
perfect moisture barrier.

What do you think? Is this wall too far gone? Watch my You Tube video
and let me know....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iIHm25scHEU

That video looks like it could have been shot in the basement of my
previous home. For 20 years I maintained and cleaned gutters, kept
downspouts directing rain at least 8' away from foundation, tuck pointed
and scraped peeling paint & efflorescence off the walls and never won
the battle. Can't give an accurate opinion on your basement but some old
foundations and basement walls just can't be waterproofed......at least
not without a major investment.

You CAN'T waterproof a basement wall from the inside, despite what all
the ads say (or a couple regulars on here who swear by the Venice canal
system in their basements.) If the outside of the block is wet on a
regular basis, it WILL act like a cave down there. Proper cure is so
expensive that it is seldom applied- need to dig out the backfill on the
outside and replace (or install) proper waterproofing membrane,
including maybe a layer of that channel stuff, and install or replace
the missing or failed footer-level foundation drain. Then replace
backfill with something that won't hold water against the foundation and
create hydrostatic pressure problems. Not rocket surgery, merely how it
should have been done in the first place. Of course, this means
everything withing 3-6 feet of foundation footprint has to get out of
the way for the duration of the work. Not Cheap Or Easy. But other than
a wet floor from high water table or spring, it will make for a dry
basement, assuming you also do the proper fixes to gutters and finish
grade of yard.

--
aem sends...