how to treat my old basement concrete wall?

13 years ago

My basement is poured concrete basement in MA. It was poured in 1950. we bought it 3 yrs ago. we want to finish it now. before we start, we will have interior french drain to handle water (no water issue 90% times). we want to "reduce" moisture as well.

The concrete poured is not good enough in my view. From the photos (http://www.flickr.com/photos/oldyoungguy88/) you can see lots of white crystals. I cleaned the wall last year but those white crystals come back again soon. I know that is because moisture migrate into our basement from outside. I graded outside and put a french drain for sureface water along our house this summer. Now it is time for inside.

I want to "minimise" the moisture through the concrete wall. Do you have any recommendation about the method and product to do this? thank James

Here is a link that might be useful: basement photos

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Comments (4)

wtrprfr1
13 years ago
I would use the money you are going to spend on the interior french drain and put it to better use by having the home waterproofed from the outside. Interior drainage eliminates seepage where the floor and the wall meet, but will do nothing to eliminate the transference of moisture through the walls.

From looking at your pictures it is obvious that the initial damproofing that was applied at construction has failed. If you do not stop the moisture from the outside, it may eventually get worse, leading to cracking, more dampness and deterioration.

We have waterproofed hundreds of homes that previously had interior french drains installed. Nothing you apply to the inside of the walls will work for any prolonged period of time.

Waterproof to correct the actual problem, rather than install a water control system to deal with the symptom. Let the water in and pump it out, or keep it out all together. This is the main difference between waterproofing, exterior, and water control, interior.
james_007
Original Author
13 years ago
Yes, you are right. But it is expensive to do outside waterproof. we have done some work outside for sureface water. I have loaded more photos to show what we did on outside.

In normal cases our basement is dry. interior french drain is for record rain. reduce moisture is our goal now.

Here is a link that might be useful: photos for water control
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wtrprfr1
13 years ago
I commend you on the work to reduce the surface water. Obviously this will help. If you were not planning on finishing the basement then the minimal amount of moisture that is transferring through your walls wouldn't be an issue. However, and this is only my opinion, you run the risk of ruining your finish work if moisture continues to diffuse through the walls.

I have seen all to many times, customers spend a lot of time and effort finishing only to begin noticing odor caused by mold growth. They are then forced to redo the interior work as well as have the foundation properly waterproofed.

I know this is not what you want to hear, but I would not spend a dime finishing that basement without having the walls sealed and waterproofed from the outside.
herbfrywaterproofing
13 years ago
you want to get it level and smooth so that it can be painted. Is there a self leveler that is available to homeowners. Or is there other options. I dont want to put in a wood subfloor.

Here is a link that might be useful: herbfrywaterproofing