[berrygoat]

Hey Gang,
My house is 3 years old with a 13 coarse block basement. Overall it is dry but when there is a very, very heavy rain one small corner gets a little damp. My wife and I have a baby on the way and I would like to start doing some inexpensive basement work. I don't have the funds for a finished basement so I thought I would at least paint/drylock it.
I did a little internet research and some say NEVER paint the walls or floor others say drylock is great etc. I could do most of the basement in regular masonary paint as it's dry but have read that is a bad idea as well. Any thoughts ? Thanks !!!!

[6t7gto]

My house was built in 1979.
I have lived here 20 years.
My basement block walls were painted before I got here and I have no problems whatsoever with the painted walls.
Half the floor is carpeted and the other half is painted. No problems there, either.
David

[69goatboy]

Think about this. If water gets through the block to your painted surface, it'll just sit there compromising the block foundation of your home over time.

The trick with water is to manage/direct it away from where your do not it. If you cannot prevent it from coming in your basement (such as tarring the OUTSIDE of the block), then you need to manage it once it gets through (drainage channels/sump pump/etc..)

[berrygoat]

The basement is overall very dry. These different things I read say the block has to breath even if it doesnt get wet. Same with floor, a guy told me if it's painted it will rot. Sounds BS to me

[Ed Fitzgerald]

If there is water coming in, where is it coming from???? You say one corner so... I would check to see if you have positive drainage away from the foundation in that corner on the outside of the house. The grade (topsoil, gravel,pavement, etc.) has to have fall away from the house. The more the better. Next check to see if you have a drain spout from the eavetrough in that corner. If you do get yourself a piece of 4" plastic pipe and slip it over the end of the eavestrough downspout. This maybe your problem.The water may be soaking into the ground and taking the path of least resistance towards the house. (Remember your basement is just a big hole and gravity will pull the water down into it). Next check to see if your eavestrough's are full of leaves. In a hard rain they will overflow and drop down the side of your foundation and cause problems. (No one evers thinks to stand outside during the rain and watch what's going on, they tend to check the basement next day after the rain). If this is the case and it has been going on for very long you should be able to see a drip line that runs parallel to the wall directly under the outside edge of the trough. I would guess it's not hydrostatic pressure or you would have water signs on all 4 corners and through any cracks in the floor. Ground water rises evenly that is why you never see any hills in a lake. As for the block breathing and the pros and cons of painting it. If you don't get a handle on the water that is saturating the block the block is going to spauld (whether or not you paint it). I would bet right now that you have a white powder that looks like frost on the blocks that is easily wiped off. That is the first signs of spaulding. If you don't then the moisture has just started and that would tell me to lean towards poor positive drainage or plugged troughs. Also the longer the water runs back toward the foundation the more it will pack the soil against the foundation and will continue to pack/drop making the problem that much worse with every rain. Ed

[Cammer-6]

waterproofing should be done on the outside of walls not the inside.
I agree with Ed,find out where its piling up and move it away from basement walls.
you might need to put some drainage pipe and rock down at foundation to divert the water away from walls.

[David Jones]

Moisture aside, white painted concrete blocks will help light the basement much more than unpainted block. Paint them.

[63gpman]

The advice here is solid, redirect the water away from your home. Downspouts and longer runs away from the home will do a lot to keep water out of your basement or you may need to grade your lawn in that area among other things you can do to keep water away.

[The Boss]

Drylock is great stuff - have used it dozens of times in very wet basements with excellent results. Paint it!

[carcrazy]

If possible prevent the water from penetrating the wall from the outside. As noted: make certain the grade falls away from the structure (typically a minimum of 6" over 10'). Exend any downspouts away from the house (assuming you have gutters and if you don't you should-in most cases-have them). You could always install a "French Drain" on the outside to collect and move water away from the house. All this being said, since it appears the water penetration is very minimal, painting with "drylock" can be very effective.

[74gto]

I second the Drylock statement Chris posted. Just be aware that virgin block is gonna eat up a lot of Drylock, and the surface will not be smooth, but kind of grainy. I don't know if you could prime first then drylock, as anytime I have used the product was already on painted block walls. It also does'nt cover as much square footage as the can states, but then again, what paint does!

[sonjaab]

On bare block use "block fill". Its a heavy latex paint product sold at commercial paint stores under various brands.
It fills the voids/holes in the block for a smooth surface. Just scrape the block surface first to remove the cement
"boogers" and prime the wet/stained spots with oil or shellac/alcohol based Bin or Kilz and paint away.
Then if you wish paint over it with any finish color if desired.

I would solve the exterior water intrusion also.

[berrygoat]

Thanks guys, as I stated in my first post my basement is overall very dry other than some moisture in one corner. It's moisture in the block, no actual water leakage in the basement. Im going to "spot" drylock the wet areas and use masonary paint for the rest. Thanks for your input.

[63gpman]

Yea, I think we all got that your basement was not flooding with water, only some moisture but that is water. To me it is like painting over rusty metal. May work for some time, but if you were to fix the problem vs the symptoms you will be way better off. Even with a good grade and long down spouts, you could still get moisture on the walls, but would be good SOP to check and confirm. Your house should have drain tile on the inside and ouside of the footings including a sump basket, so if you are not getting any water in there, you likely are in good shape.

[rohrt]

If the water is able to come in through the footing/wall joint drylock will not help. However I do like the dry lock paint. It looks pretty good and does help keep out moisture.

The only cure required lowering water table around the house so that pressure can't build up along the outside walls.

Their has to be a drainage tile lower then the footing and lots of course gravel above it so water to go strait down to the tile and evacuated out.

Sounds like you don't have a sump pump?

[HaloMedic]

Ive been here and done that,, As others have said its a dranage problem water is finding its way back to the foundation and not going away from the house, Paint it, Seal it with any product that says it will seal it permently is just a quick fix, Dranage problem must be addressed and the basement needs to be sealed from the exterior if your going to be in this house for more then a few years your gonna end up spending big money for water damage to the wall if not corrected.

[Ed Fitzgerald]

This could be the problem of high humidity also if the block wall is damp in the corners and next to the floor. The humidity is condensating out of the air in the corners because of the air not flowing into and around the corner. If you don't think you have a drainage problem on the outside then try a de-humidifier in the basement for a few weeks and see if that solves the problem. Ed

[sdbob]

Could be the block are just pororus-being new on the outside. Seal-paint the outside block with a good sealer-my father always said 'you are only going to do it once'-so buy the best.If the fill on the outside in the wet corner 'tilts' toward the house- taper away.I ahve 'seen'( I was ahome builder) downspout elbows installed 'backwards' yes the rain runoff ran all over the home and ground.I would pull as much fill away as practical then let dry and paint. Painting the inside we usually used a beige-yellow color-hides dirt-cobwebs in time.My 2cts. Bob

[GT182]

We had the ol moisture problem inside in our block wall cellar up north. Once we coated it with DryLock no more problems. Use the water based Drylock.... that oil based stuff is one hell of a mess to clean up. Don't ask me how I know.

[sonjaab]

You say the house is 3 yrs. old? Most new homes built to code usually have
the lower below grade exterior block surfaces sealed with tar or other waterproofing
material to prevent water intrusion.

It could be a just high humidity issue..................