[chaking]

House was built in the 1940's. In upper midwest. periodically we get seepage and low scale flooding in basement. at one point we had an extended power outage causing more severe basement flooding (several inches worth). It's a large basement, probably over 1,000 sq ft.

At some point prior owners semi-finished the basement with extensive drywalling and even ratty carpet in one room. The carpet has since been removed.

A 'restoration' company was brought in after the extensive flooding and they tore out the bottom roughly measured two feet of dry-wall throughout the basement.

I had no experience dry walling but assumed at the time that i could figure it out on the fly and re-drywall the bottom two feet myself. turned out to be a lot harder than i thought, especially becaue the framing behind the drywall is uneven causing significant bowing, as well as the cut of the drywall being extremely uneven and unprecise resulting in a need for varying sizes of replacement drywall. i got halfway through that project then stopped when i fully realized i had no idea what i was doing.

i don't anticipate additional significant flooding (we've by and large resolved those issues). but i do fear it anyway, and so am thinking dry wall in general is just a bad idea.

Does anyone have experience or suggestions with converting from lots of drywall to a panelling alternative? any suggested panelling or cheap ways to acquire it?

any help is appreciated.

thanks,

 

[joed]

Panel over top of the existing drywall. Those places where the drywall has been removed add wood strips the thickness of the drywall to bring the studs out even for the new paneling.

 

[chaking]

Panel over top of the existing drywall. Those places where the drywall has been removed add wood strips the thickness of the drywall to bring the studs out even for the new paneling.

my wife wants me to rip out all the drywall so i can inspect for cracks.

I like your idea but is it significantly more difficult or expensive to rip the dry wall out? i get it will be a pain in the butt but we want to inspect the foundation walls. do you see any value in that considering we still have occassional seepage?

 

[joed]

Extra expenses I see are the disposal fees, time, redoing casing around doors and windows.
It would give you a chance to insulate and run any new wiring you want.

 

[Nealtw]

my wife wants me to rip out all the drywall so i can inspect for cracks.

I like your idea but is it significantly more difficult or expensive to rip the dry wall out? i get it will be a pain in the butt but we want to inspect the foundation walls. do you see any value in that considering we still have occassional seepage?

Tell us what was done to resolve the flooding issue.

 

[carpdad]

If wall studs got twisted or originally bent, 4' wide drywall may have curved but not 2' piece. And panels are usually thin so that you can't just nail them to studs and look flat. The shape of the studs will telegraph through, drywall or not. Put a straight edge on the remaining wall and see what kind of gap you need to fill. Photo and come back.


Thin panels probably will be less resistant to water and moisture as well. Lots of mold problems on the back. You should consider removing up to where the drywall joint is, check for mold on the back and finish with paperless drywall.



Another option may be using 2 layers of 1/4" boards or such as a filler than panel over.

 

[chaking]

If wall studs got twisted or originally bent, 4' wide drywall may have curved but not 2' piece. And panels are usually thin so that you can't just nail them to studs and look flat. The shape of the studs will telegraph through, drywall or not. Put a straight edge on the remaining wall and see what kind of gap you need to fill. Photo and come back.


Thin panels probably will be less resistant to water and moisture as well. Lots of mold problems on the back. You should consider removing up to where the drywall joint is, check for mold on the back and finish with paperless drywall.



Another option may be using 2 layers of 1/4" boards or such as a filler than panel over.

1. would cement board be a better option than either drywall or panelling?

2. huge bowing in the drywall that's currently on there in several places. i toook a picture to try and demonstrate. hopefully you can get the idea. half inch to 3/4 inch maybe in some places. would have no idea just looking at it without holding a straight edge to it or working with it. but it's pretty severe.

 

[chaking]

Tell us what was done to resolve the flooding issue.

two things principally:

1. there was a large visible crack below a window well. i sealed that with a kit off amazon. the kit where you put an epoxy over the crack with nozzles to then pump material into the crack, then seal it off. (i'll take a picture shortly).

2. also put covers over each window well.

together those things have reduced water by 90%.

a couple times we have had leakage in a different part of the basement. Much of the area is covered by drywall, but i suspect the source is on or around the water well. but i can't be sure. but this is a small amount of water only when raining a lot. obviously i want/need to have ZERO water, but that's another reason to remove all remaining drwayll so i can inspect for cracks and have a better idea what the source of hte problem is.

 

[Nealtw]

Cut out a chunk so we can see what the problem is, if it is just a bent stud we can fix it from there.

 

[Nealtw]

two things principally:

1. there was a large visible crack below a window well. i sealed that with a kit off amazon. the kit where you put an epoxy over the crack with nozzles to then pump material into the crack, then seal it off. (i'll take a picture shortly).

2. also put covers over each window well.

together those things have reduced water by 90%.

a couple times we have had leakage in a different part of the basement. Much of the area is covered by drywall, but i suspect the source is on or around the water well. but i can't be sure. but this is a small amount of water only when raining a lot. obviously i want/need to have ZERO water, but that's another reason to remove all remaining drwayll so i can inspect for cracks and have a better idea what the source of hte problem is.

I guess you did that repair from the inside, if yes water can still get access to the crack from the outside and some water will wick thru the wall to the warm side.

Before I spent any work and money in a basement, I would want to really believe, this basement will not have a water problem for the next 15 years.

We would like to know that the damp proofing on the outside stops water from getting into the concrete, the soil next to the foundation is porous so water can get down to a drainage system that is a little lower than the floor inside. We also want 6 to 8" of foundation showing between the ground and the bottom of the siding as well as have the dirt sloped away and down spout water moved away from the house.

Your house likely failed a few parts of that. Redoing all that is a big expensive.

Short of doing that you manage the water on the inside, which is also a fairly big job but it can be DIY with a lot of grunt work.

 

[chaking]

what do you guys think of using cement board as an alternative to panelling or drywall?

 

[Nealtw]

what do you guys think of using cement board as an alternative to panelling or drywall?

Throwing good money after bad.

 

[chaking]

what if i can't ever ensure 100% dry basement. should i just never go down there?

 

[Nealtw]

what if i can't ever ensure 100% dry basement. should i just never go down there?

I was hoping you would ask about to fix it from the inside.

 

[chaking]

hey i'm just frustrated. i really appreciate your input.

how do i fix it? i kind of think the water issue is a separate issue deserving its own thread.

to me step one is teraing out the drywall so i can better assess the situation.

 

[Nealtw]

hey i'm just frustrated. i really appreciate your input.

how do i fix it? i kind of think the water issue is a separate issue deserving its own thread.

to me step one is teraing out the drywall so i can better assess the situation.

Yes if the walls leak at all you need to drape the concrete and direct the water to a drain system you put under the floor that drains in to a sump pit and gets pumped out.

Then when you do build walls you want it insulated and totally sealed so the cold can't get the inner surface and air can't get to the cold behind the wall or you can get mold growth on the walls.

 

[chaking]

Yes if the walls leak at all you need to drape the concrete and direct the water to a drain system you put under the floor that drains in to a sump pit and gets pumped out.

Then when you do build walls you want it insulated and totally sealed so the cold can't get the inner surface and air can't get to the cold behind the wall or you can get mold growth on the walls.

I've seen youtube videos with similar fixes.

my basement is so large and irregularly shaped that i'm not sure this is a remotely realistic option. i'll post a floor plan at some point showing what i mean.

 

[Nealtw]

I've seen youtube videos with similar fixes.

my basement is so large and irregularly shaped that i'm not sure this is a remotely realistic option. i'll post a floor plan at some point showing what i mean.

Is all the basement mostly below ground level or do you have some walk out to level?

 

[chaking]

all below ground level. built in the 1940s. has been partially finished at some point so there's a ton of internal walls and dry walls and built in cabinets that have been built up that would make such a project much more of a PITA.

but your point is taken...

edit: i also note there are two crawl space areas, one on each end of the basement. one of the crawlspace acreas has big cement type covering it. one of them is gravel floor.

pics will come but it might be some time.

again i appreciate your input. and i appreciate any one else who wants to add anything constructive. pics to follow.

 

[Nealtw]

all below ground level. built in the 1940s. has been partially finished at some point so there's a ton of internal walls and dry walls and built in cabinets that have been built up that would make such a project much more of a PITA.

but your point is taken...

edit: i also note there are two crawl space areas, one on each end of the basement. one of the crawlspace acreas has big cement type covering it. one of them is gravel floor.

pics will come but it might be some time.

again i appreciate your input. and i appreciate any one else who wants to add anything constructive. pics to follow.

Talking is cheap.