Posted on 02/27/2014 5:11:03 AM PST by newb2012
Looking to moisture seal my unfinished basement’s concrete floor as a measure to cure and prevent mold in the house. Appreciate any suggestions, sources and references - about what kind of sealant to use etc.
They’re exactly the same way at Best Buy. Someone can go in there needing a device to achieve some sort of solution or goal, and one of their idiot employees will have them leaving with a $700 cart full of ‘stuff’, while a simple $15 part would have sufficed(I’ve seen that happen MANY times to people I do IT work for).
I suppose that’s a GREAT business model, assuming everyone is ignorant.(more so than the store employees)
What hurts, is when Home Depot employees confidently give advice which is destructive and wrong, on matters that will cost a fortune to repair within just a few years.
As a contractor, I see Home Depot as a business that has had a devastating effect on American home repairs and remodeling over the last 30 years, they trashed the American home.
Note how in my original remarks, I referred to one of their job requirements as having to “give authoritative bullshit answers”. They must SOUND like they know what they’re talking about. Which leads to the scenario you just explained.
>> “As a contractor, I see Home Depot as a business that has had a devastating effect on American home repairs and remodeling over the last 30 years, they trashed the American home.” <<
.
And they have run off the legitimate operators in most locales.
In the Bay Area, it was Yard Birds that was the good operation, but Home Depot bought them out and shut them down.
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Back with more questions. I did get the dehumidifier that you recommended. Moisture level in my basement currently is below 30%. The contractor who came into do some other work feels (looking at the moisture levels and also since there is no visible presence of mold ) epoxy paint might be an overkill especially since I’ll be finishing the basement in a year or two. He thinks a couple of coats of concrete paint would work equally good. Appreciate any thoughts or suggestions.
You're going to find that any reputable coating intended for concrete will BLARE AT YOU on the directions the need for etching prior to painting bare concrete.
Granted it's a time-consuming chore, but it's ignored at peril of wasting coating money and applicator's time.
(not to mention voiding any possible warranty claim)
Glad to hear the dehumidifier is working out for ya .. good luck with the floor.
It is dry now because it is exposed to air that is being dried by the humidifier.
When you finish off the basement, I expect you will have some type of barrier, paneling, wallboard, etc that will prevent your dehumidifier from adequately keeping that surface dry.
You have not stopped the moisture intrusions. The dehumidifier is just drying it up as fast as it comes in. As long as the surfaces are exposed, this works fine.
If you are going to cover up that porous block and concrete, preventing the direct drying action on the surface, you should expect mold behind the walls you put up.
Unless that “concrete paint” is a complete moisture barrier, I would not use it.
Thank you for your quick reply. Is it necessary to use a moisture barrier on the walls too? I feel it is because most part of the wall is underground too.
I would think so as well.
The lowest points will have the highest moisture level.
I don’t know your soil and conditions. But you had a problem prior. I would want to be sure the problems was sufficiently protected before I spent money putting other finishing on top of it that would be damaged by mold growth.
My 2¢
All I can do is relate the experience I've had treating the basement in my home and several others.
This place has 140LF of exterior walls and 100LF of interior walls (both sides), so using it as an example:
After proper prep work, I applied 2 coats of DryLok to the exterior walls, taking care to get as many of the pinholes as possible.
After that thoroughly dried, I went over them again with an exterior latex semi-gloss, and did two coats of the same semi-gloss on the interior walls.
I'd agree with thackney re the problems inherent in covering concrete block below grade with other wall materials eg drywall/paneling/etc.
Tho prop prep and DryLok or similar will keep it to a minimum, there'll always be some moisture, hence your shiny new dehumdifier.
I'm not affiliated in any way with either or SealKrete or DryLok other than having used them with good results professionally.
You should still read up on effloresence, but additionally DryLok has a good web page here with a step by step overview of the hows and whys of the process.
I've had zero leaks in ten years, and only this past autumn gave them all a single coat of the semi-gloss latex only.
Tho that was only because I'm out in the country next to a big corn/dairy operation and microdust is a fact of life, weekly vacuuming notwithstanding.
But that's a rant for another day .. lol !
You coated the exterior surface? Or the interior surface of the block wall that is below grade?
(think that's confusing enough ? d:^)
.. if not, he’s gonna need a bigger dehumidifier !
(ok, i'm leaving now .. lol)
Drylock for moisture, I also like California All Flor for concrete floors
Thank you. I used dry lok. I went with seal krete for floor. So far looks pretty neat.
Thank you! I followed every step that you suggested( Yes! I did read your Disclaimer :)) and so far things look great. Just applied the first Sealkrete coat and waiting for it to dry to do the rest.
Gotta admit that I don’t have any knowledge of these products, processes etc. But felt pretty confident after getting your advice. Talked like a pro with the contractors ;) Thanks a lot.
Will keep you posted. Might come back for advice on some more projects that I have in line.
I’m glad it worked out for you. I didn’t get to ask if you were actually getting ground water in the basement. Those products work well but won’t stop a leaking floor or foundation..
Am curious to know if you hired someone or ended up tackling the job yourself ?
Either way, don't get in too big a hurry with your subsequent coats .. 24hrs is a good/safe rule of thumb.
One last thing > if you/family members plan on being on it in sock feet, have a gingerly trial run first to get the 'feel' of it.
The ClearSeal can make it seem a little slippery at first depending on the texture of your floor and/or how smoothly it was trowelled .. barefoot or w/shoes, no problem at all.
Hope it works out for ya.
Imho, way too many basements end up being nothing but box storage when, with not much investment of time/$, they can add lots of nice living space to a home.
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