We have a brand new home, poured concrete foundation, walk-out basement. The corners and near-by wall space in back of our basement are saturated and wet to the touch, although, not dripping. WE've had recent rain and snow.
The builder says"no problem, normal, will dry out, etc." I want to finish the basement and I'm concerned about water, mold etc.
Any ideas, suggestions, responses?
Thanks!
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what is the humidity in the basement? below say about 40%.
or above 50%.
is the water more in around the tie holes in the foundation. these were used to hold both sides of the forms together to pour the concrete.and if not sealed properly on the outside can eventually leak water.
was the foundation only damp-proofed. is your soil clay. clay soils can cause enough water to sit against the wall to cause the pressure to go through the damp-proofing.
if yes to the above problems(except humidity) then your builder can do the foundation properly by water-proofing it. requires digging up the outside to the draintile and putting on a rubber membrane or this,,,
http://deltams.com/deltams/index.html
and then putting in enough drain rock of at least a foot and then filter fabric to keep the drain tile working good .
it is never safe to finish a basement if there are issues of foundation dampness. by the time the house is built and finished any extra moisture in the foundation should of dryed up to not blame the moisture on curing concrete.
Thank you for your reply.
The wet sections of the walls are the exposed areas at the back of the walk-out basement. Since you asked about humidity, could the wet-ness actually be from the inside, as in condensation??
The walls that are surrounded by dirt are dry and much warmer.
The wet sections of the walls are the exposed areas at the back of the walk-out basement. Since you asked about humidity, could the wet-ness actually be from the inside, as in condensation??
The walls that are surrounded by dirt are dry and much warmer.
the wetness,is it on the wooden wall at the walkout portion? if it is this, then is there a vapor barrier on the wall to stop moist air from reaching the outside of the wall.i was reading a post where a person had ice on the inside of the sheathing of the outerwall.
i was thinking the "back of the basement" is where the foundation is up 8 feet, maybe i'm wrong. maybe the back of the basement is the walk out portion.
but check the moisture and open a window for awhile(depending on outside humidity) to lower the humidity to about 40% for a few days and see if the moisture/water goes away.
if you have a spot for a bathroom down there then if it is a humidity problem you could put in the bathroom area fan(about 120cfm's) and put a humidistat on the switch to come on when the humidity rises above 40%. it won't completely pull all the moisture off of the floor but will help to control the moisture.
i was thinking the "back of the basement" is where the foundation is up 8 feet, maybe i'm wrong. maybe the back of the basement is the walk out portion.
but check the moisture and open a window for awhile(depending on outside humidity) to lower the humidity to about 40% for a few days and see if the moisture/water goes away.
if you have a spot for a bathroom down there then if it is a humidity problem you could put in the bathroom area fan(about 120cfm's) and put a humidistat on the switch to come on when the humidity rises above 40%. it won't completely pull all the moisture off of the floor but will help to control the moisture.
