If you’re looking for information on Waterproofing Basement Walls, this has it all.

Waterproofing basement walls should be a standard thing to do when finishing a basement. Moisture entering through the walls of the basement  is the main reason that area of your house is more damp than the rest of the house. Cracks, leaking windows and pipe condensation are probably the most common reasons basements have water build-up problems. A great deal of problems can be created from too much water or long term water retention in the basement.

Basement Wall Options

You have many choices when it comes to waterproofing basement walls:

- French Drains
- Hollow Baseboard Molding
- Sump Pumps
- Waterproofing
- Damp Proofing

French Drains – An exterior system running the perimeter or partial perimeter of your house for heavy rain run off drainage, or an interior system if water is coming into your basement through the floors or cove between the floor and the wall. A trench is dug round the inside perimeter of the wet basement floor. A pierced plastic drain tile pipe is placed and encircled by stones and pebbles. Some wet basement waterproofing and repair contractors re-cement the floor over the French drain system leaving a 1 inch to 2 inch gap in the floor along the walls to allow the web wall seepage to drain below the floor into the French drain system. A French drain usually connects to a sump pump.

Hollow Baseboard Molding and Cove Systems – A hollow baseboard channel is adhered to the joint where the floor meets the wall using a waterproof epoxy. The hollow molding collects wet wall seepage and water rising at the cove area. More often than not, linked to a sump pump.

A sump pump is placed in a tub that sits under the floor of your lower lever. In order to collect underground water one case install a device known as a sump pump. This should solve your underground water problems! Sump pumps can also act as a good floor drain or be used to drain a variety of underground drainage pipes.

There are many types and varieties of basement wall sealers on the market to choose from depending on whether you want to brush or roll the sealant product onto your wall, or you may choose to install a panel wall system to seal your walls.

The truth is even with a good drainage system, it can’t assure a dry basement wall. Lets look at damp proofing and waterproofing as these are the cheapest and easiest methods of stopping moisture getting into your basement through the walls.

What is Damp Proofing?

You may be asking yourself what is involved in damp proofing your basement and the best example I can give of damp proofing would be to think of a castle with a moat and think about how to keep the water away from this castle; first you build the permiable pallette layer where you want the castle floor, then you would place a solid layer over that, then you would leave a vent space and lay your foundation; as for your walls, you would build your walls, then do your solid layer and then your permiable layer, and now you have damp proofed your castle.

Damp proofing products are typically a tar based material in a solvent base.  Although these are a cheap fix, they are not very effective because they are designed only to slow down the moisture build up not prevent it.   The biggest problem is that, because this material becomes brittle, hairline cracks will appear as the foundation settles. Since the tar based coating does not stretch to cover these cracks, water will seep into the basement.

Does waterproofing may help a lot in protecting basement walls?

The water proofing products are such that they stop water penetrate into wet places as well. Because hydrstatic pressure in the soil after heavy rain or spring starts thawing.  Advanced Waterproofing Technologies products contain rubber which provides superior waterproofing protection and allows the product to remain flexible even when it dries.  This flexibility allows the waterproofing membrane to stretch as the foundation settles and bridge small hairline settlement cracks that can occur in the concrete or block.

Application instructions

Obviously it would be most sensible to use waterproofing as it offers better long term results and you might well find that it comes with a guarantee that lasts for up to thirty years.

In the earlier days builders often did not consider waterproofing the basement walls as important. So now is your chance to rectify that with simple-to-use products. Even if you are not a professional you will find that our products are easily applied and not harmful.   They come ready to use in for example, 5 gallon pails or 55 gallon drums and do not require heating or special application equipment – anyone who can use a brush or roller can apply them.  Commercial airless sprayers can be rented by the day to waterproof basement walls.  In 2 or 3 hours, a couple people using rollers can waterproof an average-size basement (about 1,000 square feet) without difficulty. So get to it and start enjoying all that space without the damp.