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Basement Waterproofing

One of the key aspects of refinishing a basement is making sure it's dry and warm. Bob talks with Larry Janesky of Basement Systems about the steps taken to keep the Melrose basement dry. An interlocking plastic underlayment works as a subfloor for the basement floor. It's very important not to have organic material on the floor as it will be susceptible to mold from water vapor. Before the underlayment was put in place however, a perimeter drain was dug into the basement floor. The perimeter drain sends the water to a sump pump system. The system installed is called a Triple Safe System as it has three pumps inside; an AC pump, an AC backup, and a DC battery backup pump. Using this system, the basement should stay flood-proof. There is some standing water where the sump pump is being installed but this should not be a problem since the system has an air-tight lid on it so water cannot evaporate back into the home. A charger box for the sump pump alerts the homeowner when the pump is running on battery backup. Ice guard fittings have been placed over the pipes that carry the water to the exterior of the home so that water will drain even when water in the pipes is frozen. In an older home like this one, the foundation may be a little weaker and more porous than homes built today. To prevent rain water from seeping in through the foundation, a vapor barrier was installed. A product called Clean Space was also installed over the walls to direct water buildup from condensed water vapor into the perimeter drain. A flood ring was installed around the water heater, which will drain water into the perimeter drain. Dehumidifiers in basements should be basement rated. Normal dehumidifiers are designed to take water out of warmer air and might not be adequate for dehumidifying basements. A SaniDry Basement Air System was installed in the basement of the Melrose home. It can process 100 pints per day and has air filtration built into it. The system is Energy Star rated and will perform well in basement environments.

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Basement Waterproofing

computer-generated transcript - may not be 100% accurate

" One of the key things about refinishing a basement is to make sure that it's gonna be dry. And then warm so we got together with our friends from basement systems we couldn't have done it without them. Lots of measures here to kind of waterproof this basement area and this is the latest right this is an underlayment right yeah."

" the it's plastic subfloor. Made specifically for basements -- And you know in a basement is very important we don't have organic material on the floor. Because. We have water vapor coming up through concrete it's porous and we don't want to have mold underneath the floor. Health. Before we got this far let's just recap some of the some of the methods that have been used for waterproofing this basement the first things that we did involved a perimeter drain system -- want -- Recap that for us he in order to keep the floor dry and to drain water from the floor and the walls and the first thing that we did. Was put a perimeter drain. What we did was take all that water from the perimeter drain to a sump location. Some system that we installed is called the triple safe system because it has three pumps and you have an AC pump you have an AC backup and a DC battery backup pump. So you're covered in all cases in agony letter from pump it."

" Okay so we've got the lid on. And we just adding more crushed stone to secure but there's always going to be some standing. Normally it would be but this sump system has an airtight lid on it so that's cool water that's sitting there all the time doesn't and that's really can't evaporate back in all right now."

" And now we've also included an airtight floor drain in the sump lid. This way if there was a plumbing leak from any plumbing source in the house it would. Run to this low spot and then run down this floor drain which lets water down but damp air cannot come up because as a cup and a check ball. I think that -- so he thought of everything. We try what about if you run out of power and you go on battery power. Well that's important that the homeowner knows that they're on battery -- So this is a charger box and control box for the battery backup pump. And we're going to mount this on the wall up there and there's out loud alarm that sounds off. When the homeowner is on a battery power to tell them hey you've got to restore these primary pumps before the battery goes dead. OK it seems like you. You thought about everything but there's got to be some other potential problems down the line I mean you're you're taking all the water that collects here up. And then through in between the ceiling joist to an outside location. What about issues of freezing. Yeah that's an important issue too and we have the solution to that. They're called ice guard fittings and we've mounted them outside already and this is all kind of aimed at controlling any. Water infiltration from."

" Underground. Right right it's Rainwater is what you're particularly concerned about when it rains a lot the backfill gets saturated on the outside of the foundation. Creates a little hydrostatic pressure pushes water through the walls and up at the floor wall joint terrible terrible but."

" And then speaking of the walls an older house like this it's does not quite a century old but still the big quality of the foundation walls is not what you expect in today's homes where you have a uniform concrete pour. Here it it's kind of clunky and rubble stone right what have we done to deal with water infiltration through the walls."

" Well what we wanted to do was create a vapor barrier on the inside of the walls -- brown water vapor from evaporating into the basement environment. And we wanted to drain any leaks that come through the walls down into the perimeter drain. Without being exposed to the basement environment so we put a product called clean space was reinforced. Vapor barrier. On the walls and tucked it down into our perimeter drain so it would take care and what about other issues like appliances that like the water heater for example of the should fail and it's now on a finished basement. What we've done there is we installed up a ring called a flood ring around -- water heater that was Rainwater. Away into our perimeter drain. In the event while an eventuality that the water heater would leak or -- in the fittings associated with Whitley."

" In case and then the last question is very often people have to go down and buy a dehumidifier even though they've taken all these measures to control moisture. They still feel there's damp in there that's right and the furniture. Going to get ruined or whatever or mold growth. What do you suggest in terms of dehumidifying space."

" Well he knew dehumidification system that's made for basement environments most -- of fires are rated at eighty degree. 60% relative humidity. And eighty degrees it's easy to take water out of here because you cool it a little bit and you get condensation. But in basements we have temperatures that are much cooler maybe 62 degrees 65 degrees F. And we needed the humidifier that is made for that environment. And here we've installed what we call us in a dry basement air system. And it is 100 pint per day dehumidification system has air filtration built them. It's very energy efficient back its energy star rated. And it will perform very very well in basements that have the cool temperatures thanks Larry."

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Reworking the Existing Plumbing

Bob reviews the work done on the existing plumbing once all the waterproofing and flood-prevention measures are put in place in the basement. Al Leone of Leone Plumbing Corp. first cut the pipes into sections for easy removal. The cast iron pipe was cut and removed using a special pipe cutter. Bob explains that Leone is a union contractor who decided to go into business for himself. His helper, Matthew Orlando, is going through the apprentice training program through the Plumber and Gas Fitters Local Union Number 12 in Boston. The chapter spends $4,500 a year to put each apprentice through a thorough five-year training program where they spend two nights per week learning about everything from bathrooms to hospital gas work. Leone demonstrates some of the specialized work he does to install the pipe, including using oakum, a joint runner, and poured hot lead to form a joint seal. Leone then shows how some of the other seals are put in place in the pipe.

A Complete Basement Remodel

The new family room is all done and furnished and looks terrrific. Bob talks with Sarah Monzon, the homeowner who also acted as the general contractor on the project, about the remodeling work done on the room. The room was a "cave" according to Monzon before the project was started. A pitted soapstone sink was previously used as a laundry and had become an eyesore. The room was also cluttered with accumulated junk. Because of the shortage of space in the house, the family decided to finish the basement to add to the living space of the home. Monzon acted as the general contractor for the project because there wasn't money budgeted for the expense, which was not necessarily an experience she would choose to repeat. The local inspectional services department provided a large amount of information for the novice general contractor. It is imperative before homeowners do any work on their home that they obtain the necessary permits and find out what is safe and what is not. If homeowners do work on their homes without a permit and anything goes wrong, insurance will not cover the damage. Before any work was done on the house, the basement floors were concrete and heating ducts crisscrossed the ceiling. There was flooding damage in the basement during the past fall which needed to be corrected and prevented in the future. Basement Systems was called in to install a perimeter drain and drainage system. A lot of existing plumbing was then moved from the ceiling to make more headspace and a new HVAC system was installed to move the heating ducts. The new central air system complete with an air filter made the house much more livable. In one of the smaller spaces in the basement, a new bathroom was installed with the help of technology from Saniflo. Owens Corning Basement Finishing Systems was then called in to install new finished walls. Many of the mechanical devices in the basement are now hidden behind the walls but are still accessible as the walls can be easily removed. A new entertainment center was then installed in the finished basement featuring a S1 Digital Media Center. The media center allows the homeowner to browse digital pictures taken using the family's digital camera or to set the image as wallpaper for the screen. Television shows can be watched or recorded using a schedule guide. The media center also can store home videos, movies, and music. New reclining chairs from Bell'O were put in the entertainment room. When laying protection from flood damage in a basement, it is important to elevate wood from the concrete floor. Instead of using a plywood underlayment, a plastic tile system was used which interlocks and can be screwed down onto the concrete. Plastic webbing underneath the tiles diverts any water which may come up through the concrete or spill in the basement to the perimeter drain. Slide-Lok cabinets were put in the basement to increase storage space. The Slide-Lok wall system was put in place to hang tools in the workspace. The husband of the family is a musician and uses much of the storage space to hold his instruments. Because the room can double as rehearsal space, two and a half inches of fiberglass are in the walls to reduce sound transmission to the outside. The basement has a small office space for the husband as well. Accents throughout the space correlate with other things in the room. The lampshades on the desk have a design which relates to the flooring product. The floor does not have a wall-to-wall carpet although it looks as if it does. The floor is from Binvetec and features tiles of carpet which stick to the floor. The product has interlocking patterns which can easily be layed down. Bean bags from Sumo were put in the room for lounging in and the kids love to play on them. A stairwell fishtank from AquaVista is only four inches deep.