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And on top of that you can’t do the poured concrete floor properly unless you get under it which is next to impossible after construction. That’s why 90% of the people on the island run a dehumidifier in their basement out here. There is water everywhere under ground.
In order to do the job right, you have to dig the dirt away from the foundation and seal the outside foundation from base to top. I inquired when I lived on LI and maybe 10 years ago it was $22 thousand.
Absolutely right, that is the way in a perfect world. Unfortunately we have a double whammy along the entire rear foundation of the house which only allowed us to do that on 1/3 of the rear foundation wall and of course that was the "driest" location which is on the south end. The middle third of the foundation has a 10x12 Four Seasons greenhouse room attached to it which means no excavation access is possible. And the north third of that foundation wall - which of course was the dampest - can't be accessed either because there is a 14" thick slab of concrete butting right up against the whole length (plus another 15 ft beyond, along a crawlspace extension family room) AND extending out 25 ft from the back of the house, with a Cambridge Paver patio sitting on top of it. They would have had to jackhammer a 14' x 6' section of that slab up in order to seal that foundation, which would almost certainly damage the rest of the foundation and shatter most of the glass in the Four Seasons room in the process, as collateral damage. Not an option. So it had to be sealed from the inside in those areas instead along with several cracks in walls and slab repaired from the inside with rebar, concrete, etc in addition to sealing the south 1/3 from the exterior. Again, not ideal but better than nothing. Still cost around $20K.
I've said it a million times. And been ripped to shreds for saying it, but...
Basements were never intended for living space.
Lotta money if you really want to do it right.
I've said it a million times. And been ripped to shreds for saying it, but...
Basements were never intended for living space.
Lotta money if you really want to do it right.
Amen, brother.
I still can't believe the previous owners had an (illegal) apartment down there for 10 years. I guess SCCC students will live just about anywhere (seller was an SCCC professor and they had a revolving door of students every year, according to the neighbor). It was damp, had mold behind the walls from an upstairs bathroom leaks, and oh yes: we found out after moving in and starting to do renovations that it was infested with rats and mice. Just lovely. Of course all was nicely covered up for the listing with fresh paint, adroitly placed furniture, etc.
It is now gutted and an unfinished basement just like the Town has always assumed it was. It's clean, drier than it was, and legal.
After I'm dead the next owner can do whatever they want with it, LOL
Thank you all for the replies, the one about the damp and smelly basement keeping the wife out made me chuckle. As far as the person who said basements weren’t meant to be living space - we have conquered flying, can travel into space. and have harnessed solar power - don’t tell me there isn’t a way to make my basement comfortable (joking).
I know this is an uphill battle... and I don’t think I am ready to rip out the ground outside of the foundation , so with that in mind, if I were to rip up the interior and seal the floor and walls with vapor barriers does anyone have experience with this approach? I guess if I did that and it wasn’t sufficient I would live with running a dehumidifier forever.
I know this is an uphill battle... and I don’t think I am ready to rip out the ground outside of the foundation , so with that in mind, if I were to rip up the interior and seal the floor and walls with vapor barriers does anyone have experience with this approach?
Depends on how you approach it. First question: Are your basement walls made of poured concrete, or of concrete blocks?
As far as the floor goes, what's on there now? If it's any sort of carpet, that's part of your problem. It's the worst possible choice in most cases.
Before doing anything to the floor or walls you need to find out where the moisture is coming from: groundwater? condensation under flooring materials or behind walls, due to the temperature differential? bad grading or lack of downspouts (or downspouts not carrying the water far enough away from the foundation?
There are several "waterproofing" materials for interior basement walls. One that everybody's heard of is DryLock. Don't waste your time or money on it. It's just a fancy form of paint. Sure it will adhere for a while but because it has no elastomeric properties it will start to form tiny cracks which defeats the entire purpose. DryLock does not form a permanent bond with the surface it's painted onto.
It used to be called Super Thoroseal until recently, but for some reason they changed the name to MasterSeal.
It is actually a cement product, not a paint (although after application it looks like a light grey paint). This is the what the professionals use (well, the ones who do the job right anyway.) It actually bonds to the concrete it's applied to, and most importantly it can expand and shrink when the concrete does (unlike the DryLock which can't do either of those things.)
Do not ever ever EVER let anyone talk you using using that black stuff (tar seal) on an inside wall. Actually I think it's now against code to use it there but of course they still sell it and some yahoos will say it's okay on an inside wall that will then be drywalled over. It's not okay.
Hopefully if you remove the basement sheetrock you will not find the situation that is described here:
Unfortunately, we found the same kind of thing. Whatever idiot prior owner created the illegal apartment had those interior basement walls tarred with the same stuff that is normally used on the exterior. Discovered it when the sheetrock was ripped off. And they had applied it floor-to-ceiling.
The stupidity of some humans never ceases to amaze me.
Thank you all for the replies, the one about the damp and smelly basement keeping the wife out made me chuckle. As far as the person who said basements weren’t meant to be living space - we have conquered flying, can travel into space. and have harnessed solar power - don’t tell me there isn’t a way to make my basement comfortable (joking).
I know this is an uphill battle... and I don’t think I am ready to rip out the ground outside of the foundation , so with that in mind, if I were to rip up the interior and seal the floor and walls with vapor barriers does anyone have experience with this approach? I guess if I did that and it wasn’t sufficient I would live with running a dehumidifier forever.
A friend had the corning system installed in his basement and they claimed that would do the trick with vapor barrier etc. It made it better, however it still is not the best.
First and foremost thanks again for everyone’s feedback. Seeking some more opinions before I blindly listen to a contractor...
So, the summer and humid temps have come to pass. We have had quite a few heavy periods of rain, but since the humidity is gone my basement has been much better. I have not had to empty my dehumidifier in weeks.
With that information in mind does anyone have any other suggestions? Still no signs of water intrusion and without humid air the “musty” smell has dissipated and we aren’t collecting water in our dehumidifier.
Any suggestions or opinions?
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Whatever idiot prior owner created the illegal apartment had those interior basement walls tarred with the same stuff that is normally used on the exterior. Discovered it when the sheetrock was ripped off. And they had applied it floor-to-ceiling.
