basement interior walls

Ok children. I am not boasting about having a 15million square foot house that im looking to have 17 zones of heat in. I just want some simple suggestions on what i should do from here...

Bought a house, started to tear out the cheap wood paneling on the ceiling and walls in the basement. Upon removal i found some slight mold and water discoloration behind the paneling on the drywall. My question is how should i combat this? The basement never see's much humidity, normally its been around 50%. I've heard different things and would like some input on whether i should pull the 2x4's completely off the wall and seal behind all them and put it all back up, or just pull the insultation, seal up to the 2x4's and then put the new insulation and drywall up. I would also seal a few feet out on the floor. Ive heard to use drylock or densifier on the walls and floor. Ive also been told to seal, put up insulation, and then put 6mil plastic over that, and then drywall.

Whats your take on this?

http://i386.photobucket.com/albums/o...psxtscqhcc.jpg
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Ive also been told to seal, put up insulation, and then put 6mil plastic over that, and then drywall.

^^This is good advice.
Ideally you should be looking to pull out the studs to get a complete seal coat on the block wall.
Another thing is to make sure you have good drainage away from the basement walls outside.

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Originally Posted by SSDude

Ive also been told to seal, put up insulation, and then put 6mil plastic over that, and then drywall.

^^This is good advice.
Ideally you should be looking to pull out the studs to get a complete seal coat on the block wall.
Another thing is to make sure you have good drainage away from the basement walls outside.

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I agree that it does sound like good advice. What do you think of the 2x4's being anchored to the walls, they are currently nailed into the concrete, and if i did go the route of sealing -> insulation -> plastic, can i get away with not removing the 2x4's and sealing up to them/over the top of them?

The idea is to seal the wall. You'd end up with a 3-1/2" gap behind every 2x4 that won't seal the moisture out completely.
The trick is to figure out where the moisture came from to mold the drywall. Is the drywall rotted or just stained from the mold? If its just stained It could just be from extra humid conditions. If its rotted you may have a water problem. A water problem should be resolved before closing up the wall.
Most basements finished or not need a full time dehumidifier at least 6-8 months a year unless you enjoy the musty odor that will develope.

i would almost be interested in leaving it open for awhile if you can afford the time,see if you can find where the water is coming in,make sure its not a foundation,window,pipe leak before I did what ss dude said. JMHO water comes from somewhere no mater what the humidity level is,its there for a reason,find it first. and yes a dehumidifier is a must,my basement gets musty at times if i dont have it running,I have never had a water intrusion issue nore even water in the sump crock.

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Originally Posted by SSDude

The idea is to seal the wall. You'd end up with a 3-1/2" gap behind every 2x4 that won't seal the moisture out completely.
The trick is to figure out where the moisture came from to mold the drywall. Is the drywall rotted or just stained from the mold? If its just stained It could just be from extra humid conditions. If its rotted you may have a water problem. A water problem should be resolved before closing up the wall.
Most basements finished or not need a full time dehumidifier at least 6-8 months a year unless you enjoy the musty odor that will develope.

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Makes sense. I did have a leaky drain above the window, to the right about four foot, from the dishwasher and sink drain above in the kitchen. When i moved in i fixed that immediately, which i think that leak caused some of the mold on the ceiling. The rest of the walls appear to just be stained from some moisture, never found any mold on the walls. I shouldnt say no mold, there was some on the bottom of the wall, where the leaky drain was. In the first picture you can see some of the water line about a foot up from floor on the drywall.

forgot to mention, i do not have a sump pump, but the house is on top of a hill with what appears to be darn good drainage away from the house.

As much as you want to get to work I would wait several months and with this nasty thaw we will be having you may find a leak or four. Your blocks look to be in good condition and not pushing out calcium...

Are those 2x4's attached to the concrete block or are they just floating? I'm curious as the why they didn't just build a regular stud wall. They used 2x4's as furring strips, why not just build the wall the way you normally would? Also here is what I did in my basement for what it's worth. I drylocked the entire wall first. Then I put up 2x4 walls. I used the insulation that is wrapped in plastic already, it's complete encased instead of just being open. I then put up 4mil plastic vapor barrier over that. I even insulated the interior walls down there, with regular batt-type insulation. For the few bucks it cost, I wanted to added heat retention down there, and it helped dramatically with noise reduction. I used the pink foamboard insulation in a very small section because I needed the extra inch to put the toilet back in the bathroom that I built. There was already a toilet, and by the time I built a 2x4 wall, then covered it with 3/4" pine car-siding, it would have been to thick, so I used that 2" pink foamboard in a 4' section. Depending in how long you plan on living there, and how much you plan on using it, the ultimate insulation would be to have someone come in and spray foam it. That stuff is amazing, but costly.

IMO, you won't regret doing it right.

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Originally Posted by 05caddyext

Are those 2x4's attached to the concrete block or are they just floating? I'm curious as the why they didn't just build a regular stud wall. They used 2x4's as furring strips, why not just build the wall the way you normally would? Also here is what I did in my basement for what it's worth. I drylocked the entire wall first. Then I put up 2x4 walls. I used the insulation that is wrapped in plastic already, it's complete encased instead of just being open. I then put up 4mil plastic vapor barrier over that. I even insulated the interior walls down there, with regular batt-type insulation. For the few bucks it cost, I wanted to added heat retention down there, and it helped dramatically with noise reduction. I used the pink foamboard insulation in a very small section because I needed the extra inch to put the toilet back in the bathroom that I built. There was already a toilet, and by the time I built a 2x4 wall, then covered it with 3/4" pine car-siding, it would have been to thick, so I used that 2" pink foamboard in a 4' section. Depending in how long you plan on living there, and how much you plan on using it, the ultimate insulation would be to have someone come in and spray foam it. That stuff is amazing, but costly.

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Alot of people didn't want to lose the square footage with doing it the right way. Whenever you are attaching something directly to foundation you are running a risk. Our house is a similar situation and I found I had hydraulic leak up through the floor during last thaw. Waiting to see how this tlaw goes before I redo our basement. Can really get into some money if you start throwing mold resistant everything at it without knowing what you are actually battling

I dont think we have any type of mold issue, except for the stuff i found from the leaks above the room, after pulling all of the insulation the bricks all seem rock solid as well, no cracks or water stains there. I have read through everyone's advice and information and am probably going to seal the wall as best I can without removing the 2x4's, insulating with new styrofoam, plastic, and then drywall. The only negative i can see from that is if I DO have an actual water problem this will all have been in vain, but from the looks of it to me (the non professional) i think it will be ok for quite some time.

To be honest I wouldn't start rebuilding anything till you fix the water issue, if there is one to be concerned about. The mold will only come back. My house is on a hill as well with concrete on 3 of the 4 sides and I used to get water building up in the cinder blocks. Before i did the correct repair i cleaned up the cinder block walls and applied a water proof sealer and with in a month it was bubbling of again so i knew i had water either in the blocks or moisture was being pulled in from the ground outside. There are no cracks in any of the blocks/ joints and the walls aren't being pushed in anywhere. So I installed an interior french drainage system with a sump pump. All is better now. I just dug a foot and a half off the wall exposing the footing and laid that plastic flex piping. Pitched it towards the sump pump and piped the discharge outside. I used that black dimpled stuff and drilled the holes in the very bottom cinder blocks too. It was funny cuz when I drilled the holes water came streaming from some of them. Lol
Once you figure out what your basement needs and your starting the remodel I would get that blue paint you apply to the wood that prevents moisture and mold. Also I would use moisture/mold resistant drywall. If costs are a issue then only use that drywall for the first 4 foot off the floor. GL.

It sounds like the water issue is already taken care of. He knew it came from a drain above the room, not from outside in the ground. The drain is fixed, no other signs of water anywhere, other than from that drain above the room. That being said, I would still probably wait as this was just such an unusual winter. I'd at least wait until we get a few good rains while the ground still has frost. You will know pretty quickly whether or not you are ok to close it in again. I guarantee people that normally never have water in their basements will this spring. Not everyone will have an issue, but I'd rather be safe than sorry especially since you already have it all torn out.

^ this. Super cold, deeeeep frost and rapid snow will produce leaky basements. Lots of people that never have water problems are gonna find out in the next 2-4 weeks if their basement can survive this thaw. Leave it open for at least the next 6 weeks, remove those studs, seal and vapor barrier, reinstall framing.

^ That's what I am saying Get any water issues fixed first or its a waste of time and money.JMHO

Yea, its not a priority room, so we've moved onto the upstairs bathroom renovation. We'll see how she does with the thaw. Most of the 2x4's are down now and everything looks cherry, for now.

NEVER EVER EVER--put vapor barrier below grade. it traps water vapor and condenses creating the mold. in your case, it appears as though the window is leaking or at least condensating and the water is traveling down to the bottom plate. Rigid insulation is also a no-no as it does the same thing--traps the water vapor.

In addition, always use pressure treated lumber anytime wood is mechanically fastened to concrete--it appears as though the original builder used regular SPF--also a big time mistake. Any decent inspector will fail the SPF & vapor barrier combo.

50% humidity is to high as well. The acceptable relative humidity will fluctuate with exterior temps and 50% is too high during winter. Dehumidifier is imperative during summer months.

This Relative Humidity Temperature Is : Should Be Maintained
+40°F 45%
+30° 40%
+20° 35%
+10° 30%
0° 25%
-10° 20%
-20° 15%

Fix the leak, remove studs and plate installed on face--and replace with PT plate and SPF 2x4 on edge, R-13 batts, 1/2" rock.