Wet basement

[Unregistered-haugen34]

I currently would like to finish my basment. I have 3 bedrooms down there that are going to waste. Here’s the problem. I think its holding well,this year we got 23 inches of rain total all year, and all we got was ceepage. that water is coming in from that floor/wall joint, its only damp. The basement smells really musty, we removed all carpeting and lower part of drywall, now underneath the drywall there is 2 2×4’s stack for holding the bottom of the wall. This is also wet. How can I remove this without the house falling apart?Is it nesassary? what can i use to seal this? Cant wait for your input on this one! thanks bob!

[kbmcdowell]

Are the basement walls behind the studded walls concrete? If so, then the studded walls are removable, they were installed after the foundation and walls were built. Removing these walls should not cause your house to fall apart. Are the stacked 2x4s pressure treated?

The more pressing issue is not removing all that is wet and trying to dry it out, because the water will continue to come in and make it wet again. You need to identify why water is seeping into your basement, and fix that.

Do you have a sump pump? Does it run ever? Are there wet spots outside near your house? What kind of drainage do you have from your roof? Look for dirt spots where grass is not growing around your house. This is a sign of standing water.

If you can dry out your basement by greatly reducing or eliminating the water getting into your basement, then you can get a decent de-humidifier ($100) to help get the dampness out. Once the water is not seeping in, the wood should dry out. Once the studs are dry, you can drywall again.

Another area you want to look at is the insulation. It should not be in direct contact with your concrete walls, as this could produce condensation. If your studded walls are insulated, and you are finding stacked 2×4’s to keep the walls off the conrete walls, then chances are you have enough air between the insulation and the concrete walls. The key is air flow.

I would paint the concrete floor with KILZ or some other stain/smell removing paint, to help get rid of the musty smell. Then look at plywood subfloors like DriCore to keep your new carpet/vinyl/laminate flooring off the concrete floor. It creates breathing room underneath the subfloor, and also feels much better to the feet. It also warms up the basement helping it to not feel like what it is, a basement.

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