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When you are finishing a basement, waterproofing basement walls is a useful thing to do. 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. Too much or prolonged water retention in the basement can cause a variety of problems.

Basement Wall Options

You do not have to stick to one particular method when it comes to waterproofing the walls of your basement:

- 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. Whilst the basement floor is still wet, dig a trench around its inside perimeter. First you need to position a plastic drain pipe, ready perforated, and then make sure that it is surrounded by gravel or similar 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.

what might be the possible use of the Hollow Baseboard Molding.is it good enough to adhered or joint for epoxy use? 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. Sump pumps can collect underground water through perforations in the sump well in the immediate vicinity of the sump pump. 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.

The majority of waterproofing products are comprised of a tar based substance in a solvent base.  They are cheap to apply but their effectiveness is limited because they are only to designed to ‘retard’ moisture penetration, 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.

What is Waterproofing?

Products used for waterproofing underground areas, such as a basement, are only designed to prevent water from penetrating the walls especially after heavy rains or spring thaws; but, if you have underground water from a source such as a spring you may need to install a sump pump to prevent water from entering your basement from under the floor.  Advanced Waterproofing Technologies products contain rubber which provides superior waterproofing protection and allows the product to remain flexible even when it dries.  The concrete or block has a waterproof coating that stretches to make the foundation completely waterproof.

How to Apply

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 you can fix that with a product anyone can use. Even if you are not a professional you will find that our products are easily applied and not harmful.   These are available in 5 gallon pails or 55 gallon drums, as an example, and are ready for use without heat or any specialized equipment – if you can use a brush or a roller, you can use these.  You can even use a commercial airless sprayer which can be rented by the day.  Two people using rollers to waterproof a basement of about 1,000 square feet can accomplish the task easily in about two to three hours.  So start it and enjoy the convenience of damp-less space.