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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.

Here s another great tip from BobVila.com. It s certainly not new on the scene, but in this age of tightly built homes, mold is the new public enemy #1 for homeowners. And here s the big news: Bleach won t get rid of it! Molds have evolved over billions of years to thrive anywhere there s water and food. They spread through microscopic airborne spores that are present in the air we breathe. Surprisingly, there s really no such thing as a mold-free environment. All mold spores need to take root are constant moisture and organic material to feed on. Your mold problem could begin with something as small as a leak in your bathroom tile, creating the ideal conditions on the wood framing and paper-faced drywall of your bathroom wall. It s estimated that 40 percent of American homes have a mold problem. We know mold can follow a flood, but it can also happen when interior air is over-humidified or there s not enough ventilation. It can happen behind vinyl wallpaper or any other vapor barrier. And it can happen when a roof leaks or because of a leaky toilet or appliance. While our grandmothers would have washed moldy areas with bleach, we now know that some mold species have evolved to resist bleach on porous surfaces. While it will remove staining temporarily, the mold s roots, or mycilla, remain embedded in anything organic and regrow in as little as 24 hours. Flood victims who have relied on bleach report that in as little as three days their mold problem comes back with a vengeance. Mold remediation has become big business. Faced with tens of thousands of dollars worth of work with toxic chemicals, which may or may not be more harmful than the mold itself, some homeowners have had no choice but to tear down and rebuild or move. It s important to catch mold problems early. If you suspect mold, check the EPA s web site for instructions on removing it. Removing the affected material altogether is usually safest. But if it s an area larger than 10 square feet or there are very young or older folks living in your house, don t try to do it yourself. Find out more at BobVila.com: the ultimate home improvement web site! 2008 BobVila.com

Bob meets up with Fred Giuggio in the former barn where the crew is installing QuickStep wood laminate flooring. QuickStep is a glueless flooring. It's engineered using an 8-millimeter board. The boards just click together on all four sides. It has a 25-year stain, fade, wear, and moisture warranty and comes in 25 different colors including the "bianco" selected for the barn/studio. The crew puts the QuickStep Unisound 1/16 sound attenuating floating pad on top of the concrete slab and lays the QuickStep on top of that. It's quick and easy to install and since its uses no glue, post-installation cleanup is a breeze. During installation spacers are placed around the perimeter allowing 1/4-inch for expansion. Boards are staggered to prevent joints from lining up. A board is locked in on one side, positioned as close as possible to the next board, locked in and then tapped from the end to secure the mechanism. If a board is damaged it can be easily removed and replaced. The product has a vapor barrier on top with removable tape on the edges. The installers peel away the tape and stick the edges together so that they butts rather than overlap creating a uniform vapor barrier throughout the space. The product can be cut with a crosscut saw for installation around columns, etc. It cleans up with a damp or dry mop.

Larry Janesky of Basement Systems reviews the work being done to cut a drainage trench in the concrete around the perimeter of the basement floor. Water will be channelled through the trench to a sump, where it can be pumped out of the home. The sump hole was dug at the lowest spot in the basement as determined by laser level. CleanSpace is being installed over the walls as a vapor barrier to drain water from the walls to the drainage system. It is possible to install CleanSpace in crawlspaces as well as in basements to prevent water buildup in underground walls and eliminate rot and mildew. Janesky recommends taking these two steps in securing the drainage of a home and to secure against all outside air leaks. The final step is to dehumidify the crawlspace. Janesky points out a corner of the basement where the Thermal Dry Wall System has been installed. This product goes behind finished walls and drains water like CleanSpace but also reflects heat generated in the basement back into the basement. Janesky then shows a portion of the floor where the Water Guard Drainage System has been installed in the drainage trench and secured with cement.

Bob is joined by Jim Remick of Nickerson -Remick insulation contractors. Remick tells Bob that this NCFI-Honeywell insulation technology is more and more in demand from builders and contractors. When the liquid insulation hits the wall, the two chemicals react causing it to expand. This closed-cell foam is a moisture, vapor, and air barrier that sets up in a matter of seconds. It will be 95 percent cured in 4 hours, and 100 percent cure in just 24 hours. Once cured, it will give an R Value of 21, which is exceptional. It can only be applied in open cavities because it expands away from the exterior wall and would completely blow off existing wall treatments. There is no need for an added moisture barrier with this closed-cell insultaion. It will provide twice the insulation value, or R factor, but cost three to four times as much to install as average insulation. But the heat savings should be 30 to 50 percent over any other insulation product, bringing rapid payback for intitial installation costs.

The slab was poured at the same time as the footing, saving a lot of steps. The process was very streamlined. Insul-Tarp, a combination insulation and a vapor barrier from RadiantMax.com, was used to insulate the slab. The tarp acts as a barrier to the moisture below the slab and provides an insulation value of around R6, which prevents heat loss. The haunched footings, the slab, and any reinforcing are all done in one step. Traditionally a 10'x10' steel reinforcing mesh would go down before the concrete is poured, but that step was eliminated by blending the fibers into the concrete mix. This mesh adds to the cost of the concrete but by an insignificant amount. This method is still much cheaper than the traditional method. The slab is four inches thick. After the concrete has been poured and allowed to set, the diagonals are checked to make sure the slab is completely square and points are perpendicular.