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Default finishing my basement

I have started finishing my basement (full, not a walkout) by painting
all four walls with 2 coats of DryLok.

One issue is that there are 2 cracks on the basement floor, running
criss-cross from middle to middle all the way across each way. It
bisects my rectangular basement 2 times and into four equal parts.
Those cracks are straight and have not changed an iota in the six-plus
years of the house's life. Should I seal them with some kind of
concrete repair product or just leave the cracks as they are and build
over them? Should the cracks even be there? The builder said to me
that they were caused by shrinkage/curing and that they are okay. I
wasn't entirely convinced.

The house is six years old and I have been running a dehumidifier down
there pretty much nonstop in the summers and autumns these last 2
years. With the Drylok applied, the amount of time it takes for the
dehumidifier's tank to fill has increased dramatically...from twice a
day to twice a week.

The moldy/mildewy smell is gone now - it was pretty bad until I cleaned
the basement, started running the humidifier, threw away or sold a
bunch of the stuff down there, and moved a bunch more to my shed that I
built last year.

Now that I've DryLoked my basement I'm trying to figure out how to
start to build out the walls.

To me it makes the most sense to put in a gap so that, should moisture
seep through the concrete (in the form of vapor), the moisture has
somewhere to go. Then I'd put fiberglass between the studs, paper out,
and find some way to hold it back so that it didn't touch the painted
concrete.

Is there a product out there that will hold the fiber insulation within
the studs so that it does not pop out and touch the concrete?

A lot here I know, but I've pretty much decided how I'm going to do
this...I just hope that someone can chime in here and let me know if I
have my head up my butt. Everything I've read indicates that there is
no "right" way to finish a basement...once you decide to finish it,
there's nothing to stop water from coming in if it wants to. What I'm
trying to do is make reduce the risk of water vapor seapage condensing
onto any surfaces.

Thanks,
Tony

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I R Baboon
 
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cant help you about the cracks in the floor as im a carpenter not a mason,
but, before you start framing your walls along the block walls, get a roll
of plastic and staple it to the top of the wall and let it hang all the way
to the bottom. that will keep the insulation away from direct contract to
the wall. id also keep a gap of at least 1/2" between walls

wrote in message
oups.com...
I have started finishing my basement (full, not a walkout) by painting
all four walls with 2 coats of DryLok.

One issue is that there are 2 cracks on the basement floor, running
criss-cross from middle to middle all the way across each way. It
bisects my rectangular basement 2 times and into four equal parts.
Those cracks are straight and have not changed an iota in the six-plus
years of the house's life. Should I seal them with some kind of
concrete repair product or just leave the cracks as they are and build
over them? Should the cracks even be there? The builder said to me
that they were caused by shrinkage/curing and that they are okay. I
wasn't entirely convinced.

The house is six years old and I have been running a dehumidifier down
there pretty much nonstop in the summers and autumns these last 2
years. With the Drylok applied, the amount of time it takes for the
dehumidifier's tank to fill has increased dramatically...from twice a
day to twice a week.

The moldy/mildewy smell is gone now - it was pretty bad until I cleaned
the basement, started running the humidifier, threw away or sold a
bunch of the stuff down there, and moved a bunch more to my shed that I
built last year.

Now that I've DryLoked my basement I'm trying to figure out how to
start to build out the walls.

To me it makes the most sense to put in a gap so that, should moisture
seep through the concrete (in the form of vapor), the moisture has
somewhere to go. Then I'd put fiberglass between the studs, paper out,
and find some way to hold it back so that it didn't touch the painted
concrete.

Is there a product out there that will hold the fiber insulation within
the studs so that it does not pop out and touch the concrete?

A lot here I know, but I've pretty much decided how I'm going to do
this...I just hope that someone can chime in here and let me know if I
have my head up my butt. Everything I've read indicates that there is
no "right" way to finish a basement...once you decide to finish it,
there's nothing to stop water from coming in if it wants to. What I'm
trying to do is make reduce the risk of water vapor seapage condensing
onto any surfaces.

Thanks,
Tony



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yustr
 
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Depending on where you're living the cracks might be a path for Radon to
enter - I'd seal them.

As for the walls, I used ridgid foam insulation and 2x3's nailed
directly into the concrete wall in place of studs and fiberglass. Easy,
solid and forms the vapor barrier.


--
yustr
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yustr's Profile: http://www.homeplot.com/member.php?userid=37
View this thread: http://www.homeplot.com/showthread.php?t=58316

  #4   Report Post  
The Reverend Natural Light
 
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I'm following the advice in a "how to" book while refinishing my
basement. Here's what I'm doing:

1. Fix a grading problem outside to stop water seepage.
2. Drylock applied to block walls.
3. 2x4 framed walls built as close to block walls as possible while
still being straight and plumb.
4. R12 fiberglass batts between studs, no paper.
5. Plastic vapor barrier stapled to studs on the interior side.
6. Drywall.

Step 4 is next, after the electrical inspection. Once you've fixed the
water/vapor coming in from outside (sounds like you have) the next
source of dampness is the inside humidity condensing on the cold
concrete. Thus, the insulation and the plastic on the 'warm side' of
the wall is the key.

At least I hope.

I can tell you what *not* to do, or what seemed to be acceptable in
1969: Knock holes in the block with a sledgehammer to mount electical
boxes. Nail furring strips to bare block. Apply dark wood paneling to
the furring strips. Lay down asbestos tile and call it a finished
basement.

That was one spectacular mess to clean out.

  #5   Report Post  
 
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One issue is that there are 2 cracks on the basement floor, running
criss-cross from middle to middle all the way across each way. It
bisects my rectangular basement 2 times and into four equal parts.
Those cracks are straight and have not changed an iota in the six-plus
years of the house's life. Should I seal them with some kind of
concrete repair product or just leave the cracks as they are and build
over them? Should the cracks even be there? The builder said to me
that they were caused by shrinkage/curing and that they are okay. I
wasn't entirely convinced.


I am not an expert in this area. But I guess if the crack doesn't
increase and your doors upstair don't stick. I will not worry about
this.

The house is six years old and I have been running a dehumidifier down
there pretty much nonstop in the summers and autumns these last 2
years. With the Drylok applied, the amount of time it takes for the
dehumidifier's tank to fill has increased dramatically...from twice a
day to twice a week.
The moldy/mildewy smell is gone now - it was pretty bad until I cleaned
the basement, started running the humidifier, threw away or sold a
bunch of the stuff down there, and moved a bunch more to my shed that I
built last year.


This is my experience too with the use of DryLock. But mold and mildew
will still find their way to the bottom of the wall near the floor.
Because you cannot paint over the floor (for various reasons), moisture
will still going up from the floor (such as when rain water is not
being channeled away from the house foundation). Therefore, this is
still very important to channel rain water away from the house
foundation.

The mildew problem in my basement goes away after I have done these:
- Extended the downsprout away from the house foundation.
- Cleaned the mildew from the bottom of the wall really good.
- Run a de-humidifier.

To me it makes the most sense to put in a gap so that, should moisture
seep through the concrete (in the form of vapor), the moisture has
somewhere to go. Then I'd put fiberglass between the studs, paper out,
and find some way to hold it back so that it didn't touch the painted
concrete.

Is there a product out there that will hold the fiber insulation within
the studs so that it does not pop out and touch the concrete?


Put a sheet of plastic between the stud and the basement wall to
separate the fiberglass insulation from the wall. Although you have
DryLock on the wall, moisture will still get through from these
sources:
- There will be a small gap between the wall and the stub because the
wall is not likely to be perfectly straight.
- Moisture from human "may" find its way through the drop ceiling to
the back of the stud wall and reach the fiberglass insulation.

I am not sure how bad these sources of moisture can be. But I would
much rather to use plastic sheet cover both sides of the stub wall to
avoid any moisture from reaching the insulation material.

A lot here I know, but I've pretty much decided how I'm going to do
this...I just hope that someone can chime in here and let me know if I
have my head up my butt. Everything I've read indicates that there is
no "right" way to finish a basement...once you decide to finish it,
there's nothing to stop water from coming in if it wants to. What I'm
trying to do is make reduce the risk of water vapor seapage condensing
onto any surfaces.


You may want to make sure the finished basement will have enough
verical height after you have added drop ceiling and raised the floor.
A low ceiling finished basement is not very appealing for the amount of
work that you need to invest into finishing it -- you may get used to
the low ceiling though.

Leveling the floor with leveling compound is the most difficult part of
finishing a basement -- ignoring the issues of heating and cooling and
electrical works. If you get enough vertical height in the basement,
you may be better off using a raised floor as a way to level the floor
instead of using leveling compound.

Good luck.

Jay Chan



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The Reverend Natural Light
 
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But mold and mildew
will still find their way to the bottom of the wall near the floor.
Because you cannot paint over the floor (for various reasons), moisture
will still going up from the floor


The humidity in the air will condense on the cold walls no matter how
well things are sealed.

  #7   Report Post  
Amun
 
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- Moisture from human "may" find its way through the drop ceiling to
the back of the stud wall and reach the fiberglass insulation.

LOL

Not trying to criticize, just have laugh at what a spell checker must have
fixed for you.

That brings us to a whole different moisture problem g


AMUN


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