Finished Basement Gets Waterproofed in Mt Pleasant, MI

Friday, March 3rd, 2017 by Brian Bigger

Challenge

A homeowner called us when they started noticing dampness in the partially finished area of their basement. There was no mold or mildew and the homeowner was not aware of any cracks in the floors or walls and yet the area around the base of the walls was showing signs of moisture. With a finished basement area, the ideal situation is to be able to add a waterproofing solution that is going to ensure that the basement is dry without having to tear apart any more of the area than necessary. That's what the homeowner was looking for here.

Solution

Our first step was exposing the base of the walls where the moisture was. In order to do this, we simply pulled back the carpet, removed the bottom approximately three feet of drywall, and cut out the bottom part of the framing. This gave us room to install our WaterGuard system along the base of the walls. We removed the concrete along the base of the floor so that we could set the piping system right on the home's footing. The piping is then covered with stone and concrete so that you almost don't even know it's there aside from the gap created to channel water from the walls into the system. Water that enters the WaterGuard system gets directed to the sump pump and ultimately out of the home without puddling on the floor and harming any building materials. The waterproofing is done and with minimal damage to the finished room.

To repair the framing that was cut out along the base of the walls, we replace the cut portions with steel studs. The use of inorganic materials in the framing along the base of the wall is preferable to putting wood framing in a place that is suceptible to water damage. The bottom of the wall is then covered with our 32" tall EverLast wall panels. These again are made from inorganic materials making it mold-resistant and resistant to any water damage. White trim finishes it all off. Not only is the room waterproofed and protected from further damage to plumbing, the wall panels add great visual interest to the room and a beautiful finished look.