basement waterproofing

nlexi912

Hi, I'm new to the site and new to remodeling. I have a 4yr old home and will attempt to finish the basement myself. Advice on this site is great. My first step is to waterproof my basement as an extra measure, although I have never had water in the basement. I've read that a latex waterproof paint is best. I was about to purchase Drylock latex based paint, however the salesman convinced me that the waterproof paint brand Behr which is an acrylic base is better. He stated his store sent him to school to learn the brands and it was proven better. Any thoughts on this? Also he stated that these could not be painted on the basement floor, only the walls. He told me to buy a floor primer so the floor would be able to breath. The waterproof paints would not allow the floors to breath and soon would lift and crack. Any help would be appreciated.

redline

sounds about right.

zmusashi

it's not that Behr brand is better but rather that acrylic is preferable to latex, that is my understanding talking to my painter pro friends. Acrylic is relatively new and outperforms latex in many conditions, that is my understanding.

concretemasonry

The guy that mentioned that the wrong paint could cause a slab to lift and crack should not be giving out any advice. Sounds like someone that wants to appear more knowledgable that he is. A one day class held by a paint manufacturer is no qualification for that kind of advice. I hope he is not asked for a recommendation on paint for a hospital operating room!!

The "waterproof" paints you are talking about are just water repellant at best. Their claim to fame is that they are formulated to be applied to concrete instead of wood.

There are several good coatings for basements.

1. DryLok is a paint-type coating (two different solvent bases). It is relatively easy to apply.

2. Thoroseal has been around much longer and is a cement based coating that is used on commercial, residential and induatrial applications. It is more difficult and messy to apply (pancake batter consistancy) and is much more durable.

zmusashi

Hey thanks for your input, ConcreteMasonry. I am also myself looking forward to remodeling a basement for some friends. They got flooding in their basement from an adjacent area under a sunroom installed off the main house, which houses a pool pump. They had a sump pump installed and that company cut a grroved channel all the way around that room to prevent futujre flooding into the main basement area, which they want to refinish for a children's playroom. That sunroom should have been constructed differently, but anyway we hope the main area should always be dry now, no matter what happens in that other room. BUt we would like to have more piece of mind; I scanned the terrain around the house to see if it was graded properly away from the house; would painting the cement walls with what you mentioned provide some protection in the occassional bad weatherstorm to come in the future? We are afraid of water from other places. do you have any othe advice? The cement foundation/basement wall is nearly entirely underground.
Thanks

concretemasonry

The prime rule - Nothing is better than preventing the water from getting into the soil around a foundation.

Have gutters and long downspout extensions (10') to carry rain water away from the house. If you do not like the look and inconvenience, try the underground line with a pop-up bubbler 10 or 20 feet away. Make sure the slope of the ground is well away from the house.

After that, you can look to applying something for the water that is in the soil and any groundawater. Fill the slab/floor joint with hydraulic cement (generic product) according to the manufacturers instructions. If I was going to finish a basement, I would invest my "free" labor in the best material available and be done with it. I personally like Thoroseal despite the mess (not really that bad) and work (hard to apply if you do not keep the wall wet ahead of you). I don't like to do things twice

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zmusashi

Thanks for all the good advice.