Stone Basements: Are they usable? (Overland, Rea: to rent, condos, houses)

[slicey]

I've always lived in newer homes in Overland Park. I'm getting ready to buy my first home and want to move to an area with more personality and more activity for a single person with no kids to enjoy.

I've been looking at condos and homes in downtown, Westport, Brookside, and Waldo.

The homes I've looked at in Westport and Waldo that I really like all have stone basements. This is completely foreign to me since I've always lived in JoCo in homes built after 1960. I love the look and feel of the older homes, but I'm concerned about the stone basements.

Do people actually use them for anything? I can barely walk down the stairs before I am unable to breathe. I find the musty, wet smell to be unbearable. I know if I moved into a house with a stone basement I would have to have the utility hookups upstairs. I can't imagine having to spend any length of time down there doing laundry or anything else. Is it possible to store anything in a stone basement? It seems like within a couple years anything stored down there would be smelly, mildewy... I can't imagine storing anything important even with dehumidifiers and plastic storage tubs.

Even if a basement is treated with drylock, kilz, whatever - will it always smell musty? My realtor says that it is just the nature of stone basement - they will always smell wet and my allergies will suffer unless I avoid the basement.

Thoughts? Is it true that stone basements will always be musty because of the damp soil outside of them?

[shindig]

Stone basements can be water-proofed for the most part. It takes a bit of work, but it can be done. First thing you want to do is kill any mold or mildew on the walls. Usually some water and bleach will do the trick using a pump sprayer. Next, get a de-humidifier or two and put them in areas that are prone to get moisture. Next, like you said, if you have any cracks in the mortar joints between the stones, those will need to be patched up with Dry-Lock to prevent water from seeping in. This can be a tiring process because Dry-Lock dries extremely fast so you can't mix up much at a time. Next, I would buy a good spray painter and mix up some Kilz and paint the walls with several coats. After a few days you can also put several coats of concrete paint on to help seal out the moisture. This will probably need to be re-applied every year and it will eventually build up pretty solid.

Also make sure your outside landscaping flows away from your house to prevent water build up around your foundation. I've done all of these things in my house, but I will still ocassionally get a little seepage during a hard rain...you just kind of learn to live with it. Keeping a de-humidifier running during the summer will help a lot with the smell.

Good luck

[TabulaRasa]

Depending on where in Waldo, I'd avoid a stone foundation basement, because so much of the area is damp and prone to flooding. Where we used to rent, all the homes were on slabs because it was so damp.

Where we live now, we have a vintage home (built 1915) with a limestone basement. It's not important to us to have a basement rec room (if it were, we'd not have purchased an older home with a stone basement in the first place). We get minimal seepage, really only in very hard rains, and we run a humidifier to combat dampness. We use the basement for storage and laundry, and haven't run into any problems.

[johnmatrix]

I wouldn't have minded a stone basement this morning when the tornado sirens were going off.

[ykamom]

You are your own best judge of this. We just bought an older home with a stone foundation, and the basement is quite dry and usable for occasional living space. (Rec room for the kids/ laundry, etc.) I wouldn't want anyone to sleep down there every night, and I wouldn't store any precious pictures or papers there. Fine for Christmas decorations, bikes etc. I went in plenty of other homes where the basements were clearly damp all the time and got wet regularly. I can tell right away because I (like you, it seems) am very sensitive to the mold and mildew. So check that out first in every house, because it is highly variable. It is to be expected with older homes in an area where there is lots of water.

And shindig's advice above is spot on. I rehabbed a stinky basement with this kind of treatment myself and it became a place we could comfortably use for laundry and storage.

One additional piece of advice I will share is this: Have any home with a basement tested for radon. This is common where I come from in the northeast, but is fairly new on the radar here in KCMO. There is definitely radon occurence in this area. It isn't something to panic about if it is present as it is easily and reliably mitigated --- systems can be installed for less than a thousand dollars... but it must be discovered first and not every agent really knows to suggest it at this point. So be sure it is done when you do your home inspections. Your home inspector should be able to guide you.

Good luck! There is lots of great housing available right now at excellent prices. You should have fun looking around.

[aragx6]

They've never bothered me. I've known several people with stone basements that were dry and they used them for rec space. One friend has a great bar down there.

How many houses have you seen? Were all the basements equally tough on your allergies? I have a pretty significant mold allergy but I've rarely had any issues with ones I've come in contact with.

[lifelongMOgal]

Originally Posted by slicey

I've always lived in newer homes in Overland Park. I'm getting ready to buy my first home and want to move to an area with more personality and more activity for a single person with no kids to enjoy.

I've been looking at condos and homes in downtown, Westport, Brookside, and Waldo.

The homes I've looked at in Westport and Waldo that I really like all have stone basements. This is completely foreign to me since I've always lived in JoCo in homes built after 1960. I love the look and feel of the older homes, but I'm concerned about the stone basements.

Do people actually use them for anything? I can barely walk down the stairs before I am unable to breathe. I find the musty, wet smell to be unbearable. I know if I moved into a house with a stone basement I would have to have the utility hookups upstairs. I can't imagine having to spend any length of time down there doing laundry or anything else. Is it possible to store anything in a stone basement? It seems like within a couple years anything stored down there would be smelly, mildewy... I can't imagine storing anything important even with dehumidifiers and plastic storage tubs.

Even if a basement is treated with drylock, kilz, whatever - will it always smell musty? My realtor says that it is just the nature of stone basement - they will always smell wet and my allergies will suffer unless I avoid the basement.

Thoughts? Is it true that stone basements will always be musty because of the damp soil outside of them?

I'm saddened that your Realtor is showing in areas where he/she cannot impart information about the construction of the homes. Sad. I know the homes in the area you describe very well (retired Realtor).

Stone basements are just fine as long as they are not actively wet. If you get serious about a home in this area be certain to set up a showing during/immediately following a rainstorm and go straight to the basement to check it out. Please take a flashlight and look up at the unfinished floor joists for signs of a previous fire or termites.

I'd suggest the only thing you won't want to store in a stone basement is books/papers of value. You will want a dehumidifier to run on automatic during the wet seasons but you won't need it in the winter when your furnace is running. On the nice days/evenings when you have your windows open kick on the fan to your HVAC. This helps circulate air throughout the house, including the basement. The more air circulates the less damp and musty the basment. *Change your furnace filters on schedule!

Where the average poured concrete foundation in the KC area will be approx 6 inches thick the average stone foundation in the areas you are searching are 12-18 inches thick. Can you say sturdy? Yes, I live in one of the homes with the stone foundation you have described. You noticed they have windoes to help with air circulation, right? I don't use mind for anything except storage and laundry. However, the previous owner did, I have a neighbor who uses hers for a gym, and another who had their 1/2 finished area remodeled a few years ago after replacing the drain tiles around the foundation. Though, it is best not to lay carpet but tile and use area rugs if you must have them in the basement. I had the gas line to my basement fireplace gas line capped after I moved in but the original ceramic heater in it is still sitting in place!

In the neighborhoods you are searching originally the gutters ran straight to the ground and an underground drain system took the storm water away from the house. In the 60+ years that these homes have stood those drain tiles have foir the most part either collapsed or filled in.

If you find a house you like and decide to purchase you will want to do one of two things if they have not been done already: replace the drain tiles and waterproof the exterior walls (prohibitively expensive digging about foundation to footings and installation) or, run from your downspouts a long drain taking the water well away from the house (either on the surface or via trenching into your landscape).

In regard to maint. of any foundation:

1. Keep gutters clean of debris
2. Maintain a postive slope of the landscape from the house away so that water continues to drain away from the house to the street, backyard, driveway and away.
3. Water your yard including up to within a food of your foundation. Do not allow the ground within 6 feet of your house to experience "shrinkage and cracks". We have clay soil that shifts and the change from very dry/wet can/will cause foundation walls to shift. That is what has happened when you go into a basement and see if it has been "piered".

If you have any questions about old homes in the area you've described feel free to DM me. I can refer you to a great structural engineer for your home inspection (no financial interest in so doing).

[lifelongMOgal]

Originally Posted by ykamom

..........
One additional piece of advice I will share is this: Have any home with a basement tested for radon. This is common where I come from in the northeast, but is fairly new on the radar here in KCMO. There is definitely radon occurence in this area. ....

Radon is not new on the radar in KC. I had my home tested when I moved in 17 years ago when it actually was new on the radar. Sorry if your Realtor wasn't up to speed. It is no secret that radon is prevalent in Western Missouri and Eastern Kansas due to our heavy clay soil and limestone.

Radon is a problem if your house is too "tight" (a.k.a energy efficient) and if you don't open your windows regularly. Don't expect every seller to be willing to mitigate in order to sell. I certainly will not for mine. Buyers just need to figure this in to their costs if they so choose. Some Sellers will mitigate or pay half but they are nor required to do so by law.

[Versatile]

They work great for a tornado.

[brewcrew1000]

Also, i think that whole mold thing gets blown way out of proportion. Mold testing is just a new scheme/scare tactic to get people to buy a home test and pay for some other crap that probably won't help or work.

This article explains it a little more
Mold Myths