Moisture In Basement...What Should I Use?
I'm fixing up a house to use as a rental. The basement has moisture, maybe from the pores in the concrete walls. What type of sealant or chemical should I apply to the the walls to prevent the moisture? Thanks
i am a contactor and i fininsh basements all the time .What i do is buy a de-humidifier ,it works great .It sucks all the moisture out of the air .
before applying anything to the walls, try to figure out where the water is coming from. Many times I have been able to re-route downspout drains and build-up the 3' closest to the house (my favorite is 3' of plastic sheet all around the house and then 3-4" of small decorative rocks on top of the plastic. This directs the water away from the house which hopefully will also make your wall sealant unnecesary.
steve
a french drain system along house to divert water can help in many cases, need more info about the situation
if it is just a crack of small area you try a crystal product called (zypex) mixes with water and you have a very short period of time to apply it. it grows into cracks and seams in concrete.
Address the possible drainage problem first. Afterwards apply Sunny-Dri its a paint for waterproofing walls I've used it and it works great. They also make a hydrulic cement for cieling up running water ie: cracks or holes in the block wall.
Ed
Thanks for the replies. There isn't any known cracks, it's just the pores I take it. The drainage system is bad "gutters". I will replace them and have the water go farther from the house.
There are waterproofing "paints" such as Drylock that are designed to stop the inflow of the moisture you are referring to.
Start at the source. Be sure grade falls away from foundation. Got foundation drains? Be sure the drain outlet is open or "daylights". Make sure foundation is waterproofed on outside. Pipe your gutter downspouts away from house but be sure to use adequate size pipe (4" works for most but you may need to use 6" if tying in many downspouts or have large roof area). A dehumidifier works great in the basement or crawlspace. Now if this is groundwater coming up from a spring etc., then you have a difficult prob. A sump with automatic pump has worked for me in the past. Sometimes when a basement is dug, you can go through layers of soil each with different properties. You may have a heavier clay on top but get down to a more pervious soil below. After heavy rains water can perk into the ground and then run laterally through the more porus layer and come out wherever it was cut.
start with the spouts and gutter that is easiest and cheapest. To really do well with paint it needs to be on the outside and that means digging around the h ouse down to the footings. I have painted then with some success but ususally while I am there I get a 5 gallon bucket of tar and stick some 6 mil plastic over the outside of the stemwall/foundation before filling in and placing drain pipe.
Start with the gutters.....
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