Man, it's been wet lately. The basement on a house I own isn't exacty
wet but it's definately damp and has that basement smell. It's mostly
concrete block that looks like it replaces the original laid up stone.

From the ground level down, the old paint (which appears to be old
Drylok) is pretty loose. I'm having my teenager blow it off with a
garden hose and a little light scraping. Above grade it's in pretty
good shape.

My first thought was to scrape it down and re-drylok it. It's really
not a bad option. But I was wondering what other people where doing
and how things worked (or didn't work) for them.

On Jul 28, 9:13�pm, Pat wrote:
Man, it's been wet lately. �The basement on a house I own isn't exacty
wet but it's definately damp and has that basement smell. �It's mostly
concrete block that looks like it replaces the original laid up stone.

From the ground level down, the old paint (which appears to be old
Drylok) is pretty loose. �I'm having my teenager blow it off with a
garden hose and a little light scraping. �Above grade it's in pretty
good shape.

My first thought was to scrape it down and re-drylok it. �It's really
not a bad option. �But I was wondering what other people where doing
and how things worked (or didn't work) for them.

get a interior french drain, so water is no longer trapped in wall,
then drylock again and perhaps a top coat of exterior gloss regular
paint wiuth added mold preventer.

its very hard to sell a home with a wet or damp basement

On Mon, 28 Jul 2008 18:13:38 -0700 (PDT), Pat
wrote:

Man, it's been wet lately. The basement on a house I own isn't exacty
wet but it's definately damp and has that basement smell. It's mostly
concrete block that looks like it replaces the original laid up stone.

From the ground level down, the old paint (which appears to be old
Drylok) is pretty loose. I'm having my teenager blow it off with a
garden hose and a little light scraping. Above grade it's in pretty
good shape.

My first thought was to scrape it down and re-drylok it. It's really
not a bad option. But I was wondering what other people where doing
and how things worked (or didn't work) for them.


I used UGY in 1991. It stunk up the house for a couple days but
sealed my concrete walls. You may still need a dehumidifier.

On Jul 28, 9:21�pm, Phisherman wrote:
On Mon, 28 Jul 2008 18:13:38 -0700 (PDT), Pat

wrote:
Man, it's been wet lately. �The basement on a house I own isn't exacty
wet but it's definately damp and has that basement smell. �It's mostly
concrete block that looks like it replaces the original laid up stone.

From the ground level down, the old paint (which appears to be old
Drylok) is pretty loose. �I'm having my teenager blow it off with a
garden hose and a little light scraping. �Above grade it's in pretty
good shape.

My first thought was to scrape it down and re-drylok it. �It's really
not a bad option. �But I was wondering what other people where doing
and how things worked (or didn't work) for them.

I used UGY in 1991. �It stunk up the house for a couple days but
sealed my concrete walls. �You may still need a dehumidifier.

I have seen that paint get foot diameter bubbles, that eventually
burst.

get rid of the water, do the job right, do it once and forget about it.

On Jul 28, 9:29Â*pm, " wrote:
On Jul 28, 9:21�pm, Phisherman wrote:





On Mon, 28 Jul 2008 18:13:38 -0700 (PDT), Pat

wrote:
Man, it's been wet lately. �The basement on a house I own isn't exacty
wet but it's definately damp and has that basement smell. �It's mostly
concrete block that looks like it replaces the original laid up stone.

From the ground level down, the old paint (which appears to be old
Drylok) is pretty loose. �I'm having my teenager blow it off with a
garden hose and a little light scraping. �Above grade it's in pretty
good shape.

My first thought was to scrape it down and re-drylok it. �It's really
not a bad option. �But I was wondering what other people where doing
and how things worked (or didn't work) for them.

I used UGY in 1991. �It stunk up the house for a couple days but
sealed my concrete walls. �You may still need a dehumidifier.

I have seen that paint get foot diameter bubbles, that eventually
burst.

get rid of the water, do the job right, do it once and forget about it.- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

My house is wetter than the house I'm working on. I used Drylok about
15 years ago on it and was just thinking of redoing it. So for the
house I'm working on, I think it'll be good for another 20 years.
It's not too much water, just damp, and there's no controlling
dampness around here.

On Jul 28, 9:13*pm, Pat wrote:
Man, it's been wet lately. *The basement on a house I own isn't exacty
wet but it's definately damp and has that basement smell. *It's mostly
concrete block that looks like it replaces the original laid up stone.

From the ground level down, the old paint (which appears to be old
Drylok) is pretty loose. *I'm having my teenager blow it off with a
garden hose and a little light scraping. *Above grade it's in pretty
good shape.

My first thought was to scrape it down and re-drylok it. *It's really
not a bad option. *But I was wondering what other people where doing
and how things worked (or didn't work) for them.

Nothing you put on the inside of the wall is going to eliminate the
problem. You have a bigger problem than most. Just scraping and
scrubbing is not going to get your walls in the right condition to use
the paint on stuff, even if your situation might be added by it. You
would need to sand blast it clean and I would not want to do that. I
have done it once in a special case, it was a pain, but I knew it
would be.

If the original paint failed, the same conditions, even after
sandblasting, would also fail.

I suggest you start by determining if you have moisture condensing
or coming through the wall. Use some duct tape to tape a square
(about 1 foot on each side) to the wall and another on the floor.
Come back the next day. Is the moisture under it or on it?

If you are finding moisture under it, then you need to work from
the outside and move the moisture away from the wall. Lots of work,
but it works. The next bet is the French drain idea. It may well
work.

If the moisture is on the side towards you, the moisture needs to
be removed from the air using a dehumidifier or better ventilation.

In part what works best depends on local conditions. For that
reason I suggest you contact some of your neighbors and see what, if
anything, has worked well for them.

On Jul 28, 11:13*pm, Pat wrote:
Man, it's been wet lately. *The basement on a house I own isn't exacty
wet but it's definately damp and has that basement smell. *It's mostly
concrete block that looks like it replaces the original laid up stone.

From the ground level down, the old paint (which appears to be old
Drylok) is pretty loose. *I'm having my teenager blow it off with a
garden hose and a little light scraping. *Above grade it's in pretty
good shape.

My first thought was to scrape it down and re-drylok it. *It's really
not a bad option. *But I was wondering what other people where doing
and how things worked (or didn't work) for them.

The moisture, water, dampness is coming;

1) Through the wall from outside due to a) Lack of or a deteriorated
membrane on outside of wall. And/or b) Poor, or lack of weeping tile
to drain away ground water.

2) It is due to condensation on the cool basement walls, which are at
ground temperature, when warm outside and house air reach them. We
have a dehumidifier running continuously in our basement in this
weather.

Or both 1 and 2?

Without fixing the problems smearing paint or whatever on the inside
of the concrete or block walls wont' do much good!;

On Jul 29, 8:16 am, terry wrote:
On Jul 28, 11:13 pm, Pat wrote:

Man, it's been wet lately. The basement on a house I own isn't exacty
wet but it's definately damp and has that basement smell. It's mostly
concrete block that looks like it replaces the original laid up stone.

From the ground level down, the old paint (which appears to be old
Drylok) is pretty loose. I'm having my teenager blow it off with a
garden hose and a little light scraping. Above grade it's in pretty
good shape.

My first thought was to scrape it down and re-drylok it. It's really
not a bad option. But I was wondering what other people where doing
and how things worked (or didn't work) for them.

The moisture, water, dampness is coming;

1) Through the wall from outside due to a) Lack of or a deteriorated
membrane on outside of wall. And/or b) Poor, or lack of weeping tile
to drain away ground water.

2) It is due to condensation on the cool basement walls, which are at
ground temperature, when warm outside and house air reach them. We
have a dehumidifier running continuously in our basement in this
weather.

Or both 1 and 2?

Without fixing the problems smearing paint or whatever on the inside
of the concrete or block walls wont' do much good!;

Sometimes there's a block wall carrier in the
center of the basement, if so that would be
immune to point(1), but not (2).
Ken

Pat wrote:
Man, it's been wet lately. The basement on a house I own isn't exacty
wet but it's definately damp and has that basement smell. It's mostly
concrete block that looks like it replaces the original laid up stone.

From the ground level down, the old paint (which appears to be old
Drylok) is pretty loose. I'm having my teenager blow it off with a
garden hose and a little light scraping. Above grade it's in pretty
good shape.

My first thought was to scrape it down and re-drylok it. It's really
not a bad option. But I was wondering what other people where doing
and how things worked (or didn't work) for them.


----------------------

Pat:

we are a specialty coating company (mostly epoxies) and can offer
some alternative suggestions. Don't want to break forum policy so
email me directly at

paul

On Jul 28, 8:13*pm, Pat wrote:
Man, it's been wet lately. *The basement on a house I own isn't exacty
wet but it's definately damp and has that basement smell. *It's mostly
concrete block that looks like it replaces the original laid up stone.

From the ground level down, the old paint (which appears to be old
Drylok) is pretty loose. *I'm having my teenager blow it off with a
garden hose and a little light scraping. *Above grade it's in pretty
good shape.

My first thought was to scrape it down and re-drylok it. *It's really
not a bad option. *But I was wondering what other people where doing
and how things worked (or didn't work) for them.

If it stinks its got mold, use a garden sprayer and kill the mold with
laundry bleach first, get the humidity down with a dehumidifier, UGL
is ok and may take 7 coats for leaks, you do need a dehumidifer.

Pat wrote in news:894890e3-89e2-4d97-9e01-
:

Man, it's been wet lately. The basement on a house I own isn't exacty
wet but it's definately damp and has that basement smell. It's mostly
concrete block that looks like it replaces the original laid up stone.

From the ground level down, the old paint (which appears to be old
Drylok) is pretty loose. I'm having my teenager blow it off with a
garden hose and a little light scraping. Above grade it's in pretty
good shape.

My first thought was to scrape it down and re-drylok it. It's really
not a bad option. But I was wondering what other people where doing
and how things worked (or didn't work) for them.

Did the block replace the stone or is it built against it?

One solution I tried once that worked - pressure injection of liquid
silicone. Rather expensive. Quantities difficult to calculate as it depends
on the pososity of the masonry, and whether there is a void to exploit, eg
between block and original stone, and/or the nature of the fill behind the
walls.

There's also asphalt tanking :-O

On Jul 28, 9:13 pm, Pat wrote:
Man, it's been wet lately. The basement on a house I own isn't exacty
wet but it's definately damp and has that basement smell. It's mostly
concrete block that looks like it replaces the original laid up stone.

From the ground level down, the old paint (which appears to be old
Drylok) is pretty loose. I'm having my teenager blow it off with a
garden hose and a little light scraping. Above grade it's in pretty
good shape.

My first thought was to scrape it down and re-drylok it. It's really
not a bad option. But I was wondering what other people where doing
and how things worked (or didn't work) for them.

Thanks for the suggestions. Where I live, wet basements are common
because most basements are laid up stone. Heck, some still have dirt
floors. The house already has interior channels for the water but I
want to get it stopped before it gets there. I'm not digging down
outside because that's not in the budget. I'm also not really worried
about resale value -- heck, for $40k you can buy a decent house around
here. Sure it's a hundred years old, but so are all of the other
homes.

I just got back from HD. I stocked up on Drylok. It's not perfect but
it'll land another 20 years. That's good enough for now. I'll decide
later what I do in 20 years.

Pat wrote:
Man, it's been wet lately. The basement on a house I own isn't exacty
wet but it's definately damp and has that basement smell. It's mostly
concrete block that looks like it replaces the original laid up stone.

From the ground level down, the old paint (which appears to be old
Drylok) is pretty loose. I'm having my teenager blow it off with a
garden hose and a little light scraping. Above grade it's in pretty
good shape.

My first thought was to scrape it down and re-drylok it. It's really
not a bad option. But I was wondering what other people where doing
and how things worked (or didn't work) for them.

dehumidifiers, in season. Works well, I reuse the water, which is
clean, to wash clothes, water plants, etc.

French drains on patio - go under the slab under the basement - just
move water away. Need to be hosed clean periodically. Paid a local
outfit decade and a half ago, removed VAT, put nice Italian tile over
floor. Has worked out well and provided more elegant alternative to
what used to be dank utilitarian knock around space.

drylock - sure

brick patios on different levels- got control of areas adjacent to house
to control water, insects, other intruders, provided informal and formal
outdoor areas, integrate with large areas of formal planters to help
define the outdoor space into a series of visually discrete zones (for
eating and cookout, for egress , for visual privacy from the street
(brick wall, watercourse, 6' in one location) and basically for not so
apparent terracing.

++ wrote:


Pat wrote:
Man, it's been wet lately. The basement on a house I own isn't exacty
wet but it's definately damp and has that basement smell. It's mostly
concrete block that looks like it replaces the original laid up stone.

From the ground level down, the old paint (which appears to be old
Drylok) is pretty loose. I'm having my teenager blow it off with a
garden hose and a little light scraping. Above grade it's in pretty
good shape.

My first thought was to scrape it down and re-drylok it. It's really
not a bad option. But I was wondering what other people where doing
and how things worked (or didn't work) for them.

dehumidifiers, in season. Works well, I reuse the water, which is
clean, to wash clothes, water plants, etc.

French drains on patio - go under the slab under the basement - just
move water away. Need to be hosed clean periodically. Paid a local
outfit decade and a half ago, removed VAT, put nice Italian tile over
floor. Has worked out well and provided more elegant alternative to
what used to be dank utilitarian knock around space.

drylock - sure

brick patios on different levels- got control of areas adjacent to
house to control water, insects, other intruders, provided informal
and formal outdoor areas, integrate with large areas of formal
planters to help define the outdoor space into a series of visually
discrete zones (for eating and cookout, for egress , for visual
privacy from the street (brick wall, watercourse, 6' in one location)
and basically for not so apparent terracing.

I forgot to mention, if your painted walls are spalling or can't be
painted because of what was in the stain, there is a way to fix once you
have the basic water intrusion problem solved. Impregnate a sponge with
shellac and let this soak into the area falling apart, go over it with
Kilz or equivalent, use drywall compound over this, and then paint.