Ask MetaFilter posts tagged with basement

The incredible seeping floor

edmcbride — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 08:54:58 -0800

Seeping (almost weeping) water from the floor in my basement suites bathroom. How do I fix this? We moved into a basement suite, earlier this summer, and noticed that the floor "weeps". The more you stand on it, the more water comes through the tiles. Its enough to get your socks soaked all the way through. I have an electric radiator, and a de-humidifier running. The De-humidifier has been running all day everyday for the past couple of days. It doesn't seem to be sucking the water up.

My plan was to rip up the tiles, and get concrete sealer, and then put down new tiles. I have no real experience doing any sort of home repairs. My father in law will be helping me, and he has some experience.

I'm just worried that its growing more mold than I can see down there. The shower is dry (no seeping water).

Would that work? Whats the thoughts of the askmeta hive mind?

What’s the best way to build a storage room in my basement?

bondcliff — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 09:07:48 -0800

What’s the best way to build a storage room in my basement? I want to build an 8x14 storage room in my basement. I have the usual crap to store, a few pieces of furniture, some camping gear, some old photos, etc. I know the basement isn’t the ideal place for some of this stuff but, well, it’s really the only place I have for it. I’d like to build an area that will offer the best quality storage possible in a basement.

I have a new, very dry basement. There’s no issue with water other than humidity in the air. Walls and floors are dry to the touch, the walls are waterproofed and insulated on the outside and there’s a vapor barrier under the slab. We had a slight problem with mold growing on some stuff (but not on the house itself) that we seem to have solved with de-humidifiers.

The floor will be PT 1x sleepers with plywood flooring over it. Given that there’s already a vapor barrier under the slab, should I put an additional one under the wood floor?

Two of the walls will be framed with wood studs with OSB (or plywood) walls to separate them from the unfinished part of the basement. Is there any reason to use sheetrock instead? I want this to be quick and easy and the OSB will be lighter and easier to work with. The other two walls will be against the concrete exterior walls. Given that the concrete is dry, is there any benefit to putting up wood walls on these sides with a vapor barrier behind the OSB? Would that offer any better protection?

Is there any reason to put a vapor barrier on the interior walls?

Should I attempt to seal this room off from the rest of the basement and make it as airtight as possible (via poly barriers) or should I do the opposite and allow air to circulate in and out with a couple of air vents? Obviously, since there will be a door I can’t make it totally air-tight.

I’ll have de-humidifiers running in the basement during the damp months. Should I put a smaller one in this room with a drain to the sink on the outside?

What else am I not thinking of?

Mural, Mural on the Wall

ian1977 — Fri, 19 Sep 2008 04:17:00 -0800

Help me think of mural ideas! We have a 1/2 finished section of our basement. Two of the walls are fairly nice older plank wood paneling. The other two walls are cinderblock. The cinderblocks are in great condition and are currently primed white.

Id like to paint a mural with a HUGE caveat - it has to be dead simple.

To give you an idea of the level of simplicity I am going for here are a couple initial thoughts I had -

- Alternating red, blue, yellow, green on the cinderblocks
or
- Paint a bunch of big 2 color cartoon trees, with an occasional birdy or beehive

The area is kinda split into two rooms, one part has a bar area and the other is a library area with a bunch of bookshelves, but I'd like it to be one mural going all the way across.

I'd like the mural to be friendly enough that the library area is welcoming and comfortable but adultish enough that it fits with a bar area.

Help me pimp my cinderblocks!

mold in basement remodel -- what now?

Mon, 08 Sep 2008 20:36:17 -0800

I've put an offer on a 1924 house that has a refinished basement. The remodel was done by the homeowners, with no permits. My inspector found some mold on some wood and drywall. What now? This house is in Portland, Oregon where it rains non-stop during the winter. Most basements here have some water seepage. The current owners refinished the basement themselves either in 2005 or 2006 (I'll get confirmation of this), so it's been through at least one winter here, but not lots of them.
There was an area by a door jamb, where my inspector could look in and see the non-pressure-treated wood (which is apparently a no-no itself) and drywall had some mold on it from water.
So, what do we do now? We will obviously let the current homeowners know about this. My realtor thinks they should just get the work permitted. My concerns are:
- If there's already visible mold, what is behind the walls that we can't see/can't get to? Will we just need to rip all of this remodel down in 5-10 years because it'll be rotted away or totally mold-infested?
- My partner says he's allergic to some kinds of mold, but we don't know if it's this kind. I know mold is supposed to be "BAD BAD BAD!" but really, how bad? Don't most old houses have some kind of mold, somewhere?
- If we ask the homeowners to permit the basement and the county says it's not to code, then what?

Are we getting in over our heads on this? Is it a long-term problem with no real solution?

How clean is clean enough for the floor before a carpet install?

tickettrader — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 06:37:55 -0800

I am laying carpet in the basement this week. It's has a quality carpet pad and will be on top of concrete. The drywall mud/tape guy and the guy who sprayed the ceiling left an absolute mess on the floor. I've cleaned, scraped, swept, scraped, mopped, scraped etc. for a couple nights and the floor is fairly clean now. At the very least, it is VERY LEVEL as any cracks are now filled with mud that has been smoothed over. My question is - how clean does the floor need to be? Do I have to worry about the little bit of mud/drywall dust somehow magically seeping up through the pad and into my carpet?

Wood molding: DIY or hired help?

flyingrock — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 07:59:06 -0800

Finishing up a small basement project. Should I install the wood trim and base molding myself (with rented finish nailer) or hire some help? Installing a home theater in a previously finished portion of our basement. I framed and drywalled a 14' L-shaped half-wall on my own, which came out fairly well. I now need to finish it by installing wood molding under the half-wall cap and the baseboard. I have an electric miter saw, so I can miter cut the molding (I think), but installing it is a different story. I tried hand nailing one section with finish nails and a nail set and it was a disaster. I consider myself fairly handy, but some more precise tasks challenge me. Should I rent a compressor and finish nailer (I assume for about $80-100/day) and try it myself, or should I try to locate a handyman on Craigslist to come in for two hours and do it for me? I'd like it to look good, but absolute perfection is not required. Ultimately, which option would be 1) cheaper and 2) produce a better result?

How to fix a leaky basement

Badmichelle — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 07:18:12 -0800

Should I fix my leaky basement from the inside or the outside? My basement: it leaks. What follows is plenty of detail, since I now know more about basements than I ever wanted to.

I've now had three contractors come to view it, and they're giving me contradictory advice: two say fix it from the outside, that works best, one says inside is the way to go. All three say I need weeping tiles. Two say they will put them on the outside of the wall, and apply a membrane, one says they should go inside.

The details: We live in a pretty old house (80+ years, as far as I know) with what looks like a stone rubble foundation. The parging is coming off the walls on the outside, and I can see that the foundation is damp. Inside, there's actually not much water, but the walls are damp and there is some water on the floor. Not much, but this hasn't happened before, and I suspect it will only get worse: we've have spectacular amounts of rain in Toronto season, and I believe there's more to come. One window frame has rotted wood, and needs to be replaced.

The complications: The basement is finished. Fixing it from the inside means we'll have to remove the drywall and part of the floor. If we go from the ouside, we have to dig up a concrete walkway and then replace it (it's a shared walkway and our neighbors will not look upon us favourably if we don't replace it).

I'm still struggling to understand what will work best/longest/be best for the house. If we fix it from the inside--isn't the water still penetrating the foundation? Isn't that bad? If we fix it from the outside, are we risking damaging the foundation in some way? (I've read that you should leave a stone-rubble foundation alone).

Do you have any experience with this? Any advice? Fixing this is going to be really expensive either way we go -- we can only afford to do it ONCE.

Boston.com's most popular article?

theredpen — Sun, 20 Apr 2008 03:04:42 -0800

Why has this article on a basement door (and some other readers' questions) spent so much time at the top of the boston.com "most emailed" list? It's from October, and although it seems useful, there must be something going on that it's been emailed to others 10 times in the past hour (when I viewed the list early Sunday morning). It's at the top of that list all the time. Is it some secret underground meme or prank that I'm missing? Am I perpetuating the myth by drawing attention to it (I really hope not)?

Water (storage) to wine (storage).

liquado — Sun, 23 Mar 2008 14:45:32 -0800

What is the best way to convert an old, dry cistern into a wine cellar? We're mere days away from owning our first house, which is a beautifully refinished 77-year-old home. The basement has a cistern which is the perfect size for a modest wine cellar (and really wouldn't serve any other functional purpose, to be honest. My somewhat-inexperienced DIY nature says, hey, let's cut a doorway through the cement bricks, install a door, frame and drywall the gap at the top, run some lighting in, and voila!

Then, Ms liquado asked what kind of saw would be needed to cut through the wall...and I started thinking about how I was *really* going to pull it off.

So, constructionally-talented folksies, any advice or ideas?

My central heating unit smells like farts

lxs — Mon, 17 Mar 2008 08:13:49 -0800

Is my central heating system killing me slowly? I've lived in a garden apartment for the past two years. Right after I turned on the central heating system my first year living there, it broke and the landlord had it replaced with a new unit, which is in a sort of closet type thing in between our kitchen and living room. Whenever the thing runs, it smells strongly of sulfur. We've told the landlord and she had someone look at it, but said there is no problem with it. Does anyone have any idea what the smell could be? Am I slowly killing myself by breathing it in, or is the real problem just how embarrassing it is to have to explain to first time visitors that really, no one farted? I'm definitely moving out when my lease is up in a few months so I'm really just curious where the smell might be coming from and if it's something harmful.

Are we getting ripped off for basement HVAC work?

crunchtopmuffin — Wed, 12 Mar 2008 19:31:06 -0800

Home HVAC filter: Help us figure out if we're getting ripped off! We were quoted $800 for some HVAC work that needs to be done for finishing our basement; is this a reasonable amount? My husband is acting as the general contractor for finishing our basement, which is approx. 600 square feet. He just hired a guy who was recommended to us as an HVAC "expert" (as in he works for an HVAC company during the day) by someone we trust. We initially got a good feeling about this guy, and we went with him without getting other estimates because we're eager to get this work done. (I know, I know, not the best decision.) We hired him off the books and he quoted us $800 for the following work: From the main trunk in the basement ceiling, he ran two 15-foot lines with a single register at the end of each. He also cut into an existing line and added two registers. All of this is occurring between the floor joists in the ceiling of the basement. The price sounded reasonable to us, but it turns out that it will only be about 4-5 hours worth of work, which has made us wonder if perhaps we're overpaying. Of course, we assumed that since he's doing this work off the books that we'd be getting a deal.

Anyone have any idea if this is a reasonable amount to pay? Anyone who has experience with HVAC subcontractors or who is an HVAC subcontractor, your input is greatly appreciated!

Can I seal furniture in plastic to prevent mold?

intermod — Sun, 20 Jan 2008 11:44:58 -0800

Is it possible to "seal" furniture in a plastic bag to protect it from mold while stored in a basement? Please help me protect my inheritance until I have a bigger house! I have inherited some nice furniture but have no space in my current house. Climate controlled storage is too expensive for the 2-3 years that I'll need it until we get a bigger house. And I've got a basement, so if only I could store it down there ...

The basement is what they call "an improved crawlspace", under a 1930's bungalow. It's not open to outside air, but there is bare dirt crawlspace in half of the plan and standing room with rough concrete in the other half. I do have drainage properly worked out so that rainwater doesn't come in. There's no climate control in the basement, in the system that handles the living spaces of the house is not big enough to handle the basement too. I do have a dehumidifier to remove the worst of the humidity but it's not enough.

Other furniture I've stored in the basement has quickly been consumed by mold. I've already taken all other reasonable steps to keep the dampness down, but it's still damp enough that the furniture will quickly be ruined if I put it down there unprotected.

I'm thinking that there must be some solution to this, something like a plastic barrier that you can seal the furniture in, or even have a professional come out with their fancy Seal-O-Matic and do it onsite. Alas, googling on that leads nowhere so perhaps it doesn't exist.

Does such a product or service exist, or can anyone suggest any other solutions?

Is there anything we can do to help prevent or minimize flooding in a finished basement?

designmartini — Sat, 22 Dec 2007 12:07:20 -0800

Is there anything we can do to help prevent or minimize flooding in a finished basement? My boyfriend and I have just signed a lease to rent a townhouse with a large basement in NYC (which in itself is an anomaly, but that's another discussion). We'd like to use the basement as an extra bedroom for guests and as a place for my boyfriend's "office", but we're concerned about potential water damage from flooding.

The basement itself is finished, but with linoleum floors unlike the hard-wood floors in the rest of the house. We saw the place before it was cleaned, and it is clear that there is some water damage to the tiling, although it doesn't look like the water was very high. Also, there is evidence that the previous tenants didn't take very good care of the basement, so it's hard to tell what was the result of unavoidable flooding and what was just their lack of care.

Other details that might be relevant: the basement has 4 windows, and a door that leads to an outside "shed" with a small drainage hole in the center. It houses the electrical/ hot water/ boiler for the building, and also has a connection to the NYC sewage pipes (that's something I'm hoping we don't have to mess with). There's a washer/dryer and bathroom in the basement, so it's clear that the basement is functional at least some of the time.

I've read several threads on MeFi about clearing out water from an already flooded basement, but I'd like tips about preventing it or minimizing the damage. We understand that some water might be unavoidable, but we'd like to keep the space functional. Our landlord isn't going to provide much in the way of service for this problem, if it occurs, so it's pretty much up to us.

Suggestions? Experience? Thanks!

I need to purify the air for someone else

stormygrey — Fri, 14 Dec 2007 08:45:48 -0800

I've got a sick basement, I need to fix it. I have a mid 20's couple living in my basement. The female half of the duo says she's been sick since she moved in. I don't really know what to do about this.

I do here her coughing and stuff a lot. Its a brocnchitus kind of sick.

She smokes, as do we, so the first consideration is to smoke outside.

I guess we could also clean out the air ducts, but I don't really know what that entails or if it works.

Do you have any other suggestions that I, as the landlord that lives upstairs, could do to help?

(Considerations: between the lot of us we have four dogs and two cats, it could be allergies, also when we first moved in a couple of years ago we had leaky roof that was subsequently replaced and we haven't had issues yet)

Annoying dust-up in my basement

Gordion Knott — Wed, 14 Nov 2007 05:18:25 -0800

Help me unravel the enigma of the "Mysterious Basement-floor Chalk Dust." Ever since work was completed on my new, finished basement six months ago, parts of the floor have been playing host to a fine, chalk-like dust. I'd snap a picture of the culprit, but the color of the dust is very similar to the gray paint on the floor, and my photoshop skills aren't up to increasing the contrast.

Here are the relevant details:
-A fine, white dust. Reminiscent of talcum powder, but with smaller granularity. So fine it cannot be swept away, but must be removed with a moist cloth.
-Seems to appear next to the walls and entrance to my basement bathroom, ie, in areas with slightly elevated humidity. FYI, I keep the interior at a constant 55% humidity with a dehumidifier. (This is a comfortable level that doesn't overstrain my electric bill, so if possible I'd prefer not to lower the humidity setting.)
-Limited to the floor only. The walls, which are sheetrocked, are unaffected. Although I'm guessing that the concrete behind the sheetrock might have a buildup as well.
-Slow to develop. Takes two weeks to reappear after removal.

At present, my basement is hardly chalk city central, but I want to nip the problem in the bud. I'm about to lay wall-to-wall carpeting in the room, and I'm concerned that a buildup of chalk over time will trigger my allergies.

Marathon googling has come up with zilch, apart from a few technical articles. I'm at a loss. Is this a common problem in finished basements, and is there a way to counteract it?

Painting Corning Basement Panels

suzeQ — Sun, 04 Nov 2007 17:13:35 -0800

Has anyone ever painted their Owens Corning Basement System panels? I've scrubbed my watermarked panels per the instructions, contacted Owens Corning, begged for help and contacted the Attorney General's office in my state. All that said, I can't get the water stains out and my basement has been in disrepair for awhile and I'm anxious to put it back together. My son suggested fabric paint and there is a spray paint by Rustoleum. Any ideas other than spring for the new walls? Thanks.

Where the devil am I going to saw some wood?

phearlez — Mon, 30 Jul 2007 08:05:51 -0800

For my woodshop, is there an alternative to a house with a basement? Trying to find rentals in the DC area with unfinished basements I can use as a workshop is challenging. Finding affordable properties to purchase even more so. What else can I do? My darling girlfriend and I are finally looking at taking the plunge so we're looking at places to co-habitate. For reasons that are none of your business but probably glean-able from my past answers here on credit experience, I can't be on a mortgage or deed for a few more years, putting several property purchases beyond our ability at the moment.

Consequently we're looking around at places to rent and are not thrilled with the options. The big stickler in the requirement is a place to put the woodshop. It's not just a nice-to-have: deciding to do without one would close off one of the big parts of our life that you can see linked in my profile. Few rental properties have unfinished basements, or at least they're not explicit in their advertisements.

My question to you all is: is there an alternative solution I am overlooking? Could we find a perfectly fine place without the basement and have my woodshop in some shared workspace somewhere? If such things exist with any frequency, how do you find them? Hell, do you know of one in the DC area?

Any and all suggestions are welcome here - I'm sort of at the end of my brainstorming on this and would welcome other suggestions.

Reducing the Acoustic Shadow

Minus215Cee — Tue, 17 Jul 2007 12:47:19 -0800

Soundproofing material: What is this stuff called, and where can I find it? I'm looking to soundproof the basement of the house I live in with five other musicians. A few years ago I read in a magazine about this sound insulation material, formerly used in jet airliners, becoming available, repurposed, for retail and commercial use. Ever since then I've been unable to locate it. I've looked here, but the site provides very little in the way of real information.
The ex-jet stuff seemed like the cheapest, and most fireproof, option. We want to give our neighbors a break. Any specific information would be super helpful, just so I can present my roomates with a budgeted estimate.

A heating conundrum

Gordion Knott — Thu, 05 Jul 2007 03:58:14 -0800

I have a plug-in space heater. I also have radiant heat. Which is more economical for heating a basement room? My basement media room is 350 square feet of finished, insulated space. Unheated, temps hover at 57 degrees F in the winter, 64 degrees F in the summer (and 55% humidity controlled by a dehumidifier). Temperatures that, in other words, are fine-n-dandy for storage, but not exactly the bomb when I'm watching DVDs.

The radiant heat tubing snakes through the poured concrete slab, and heats the room to 70 F in about three hours. Takes another three to cool down. The space heater moves the mercury to that point in about an hour, but I sense that the floor, which is cold and uncarpeted (I'll remedy that soon with a low-r-rating, radiant-heat-friendly carpet), sucks away the heat.

Out of 24 hours, I only need two hours of heat per day.

Yep, just two hours. Enough heat to get my two-episode fix of "Battlestar Galactica," after which I pack up and leave. Of course, any electricity-versus-heating oil comparison will be ballpark at best. But which system, on the face of the above data, would be cheaper to run? And, as a corollary question, how do dehumidifier settings affect the efficiency of my heating choice?

Can Owens Corning Basement Panels Be Cleaned?

suzeQ — Mon, 02 Jul 2007 11:49:21 -0800

My basement flooded during the torrential rains of April and I need to really CLEAN the water marks on the Owens Corning Basement system panels in my basement. Everyone tells me that once stained, the panels can never be cleaned. Anyone have any other experience? Replacing all 18 panels of the Corning stuff will cost $200 per panel. Fema gave me $200 for my dehumidifier and $400 more for the rest of the damage. A French drain to avoid any other future water is going to cost $4000 and then another $3600 if I simply replace the panels. If I can clean the panels and save the $3600 it would be great.

What is this strange object attached to my basement floor?

fusinski — Sun, 01 Jul 2007 15:46:23 -0800

What is this strange object attached to my basement floor? I can only assume this is something electrical because of the description on the cap of this thing. However, it is located in the vicinity of where my basement is pre-plumbed for a bathroom.

You'll notice from the enclosed photos that it's kind of cemented on, so I have no real way of knowing what's inside... hence, my inquiry. I would rather not have to crack it open to find out (possibly to my detriment).

Photo #1 (Strange Object in its natural environment)
Photo #2 (Close-Up with Text)

What can you store in a damp basement, and how?

gottabefunky — Wed, 04 Apr 2007 18:39:07 -0800

What can you store in a damp basement, and what's the best way to do it? We just moved to Portland, and our new (rental) place has an unfinished basement that just screams damp, mold and mildew. The owner says water collects occasionally in one corner.

Storage space on the living floor is tight, so we want to be able to store stuff in the basement. What can we put down there without it going all nasty, and what's the best way to do it?

Clothes? Pillows? Papers and files? Camping gear (sleeping bags, tents)? Anything nylon? Drum set? Everything in plastic storage bins, up on pallets, with a dehumidifier going? Will that be enough, or are we just going to have to cram all our crap in our limited living space?

Why Don't I Rent Anymore?

toddst — Tue, 27 Mar 2007 18:15:12 -0800

A pipe in the basement is dripping. It goes to the boiler. What can I do to make it stop? Do I need a plumber? (Pictures inside) Here is a picture of the part that is dripping. The water seems to be coming from this piece. Here is a picture of the entire apparatus. Thanks! As a new homeowner, any info is appreciated.

How to fix an ailing sump pump?

Xazeru — Mon, 26 Mar 2007 07:35:55 -0800

SumpPumpFilter: Is my sump pump incorrectly installed? The pump runs periodically when it's wet in the basement, and the water seems to run back in the sump pump bucket immediately after the pump runs. I have a dehumidifier in my basement which drains into my sump pump. When it's wet, the sump pump bucket fills up, the pump turns on, and evacuates water into a tube which flows into an outdoor drainage system.

The tube goes up about eight feet, and the problem seems to be that the water doesn't ever get out of the tube into the outdoor system. So, the water just falls back into the pump and after a minute the process repeats.

I've tried to reposition the pump on the theory that it's a little too high or low in the bucket, but this didn't help. Other thoughts are that the diameter of the outlet pipe is too large or that the outdoor system is clogged. Any ideas, hive mind?

Help, I'm spalling!

fixedgear — Sun, 21 Jan 2007 04:40:06 -0800

The parging is flaking off my basement walls. How do I repair it? We don't get water, but it's starting to crumble. Knock off all the loose stuff and then put a skim coat of some sort of mortar mix? What kind of product? Sand mix, mortar mix? Then paint with Drylock or something similar?