Mold Spore Allergies

Basements: Everything you Wanted to Know and More about your Basement or Cellar

From basement waterproofing to basement finishing to foundation repair and basement construction, this one has it all! Browse through for what you're interested in or read it in its entirety! Basement remodeling, basement renovation, basement refinishing, French drain, drain tile, sump pump, battery backup sump pump, basement window, basement window well, foundation wall cracks, hydrostatic pressure, basement dehumidifiers, basement walls, basement floors, and other information also included.

Background

Basements, most commonly referred to as cellars in the United Kingdom, are cool underground spaces that were originally most commonly used as areas to store foods and stocks over the winter. As a result, these spaces are most commonly found in areas that face cold, harsh winters such as in the United Kingdom or Canada as well as the Midwest, New England, and other parts of the northern United States. Since the 50s, however, basements have instead been used for storage and living space as well as providing access to pipes, wiring, water heaters, ducts, and other areas underneath the main area of the home.

Basement construction is an extremely imperfect procedure. Before reading on, please note these definitions:

Before a basement can be constructed, a large hole must be dug into the virgin earth. This space should be larger than the home's planned footprint in order to ensure that there's more than enough space for the foundation walls to be placed. The earth that is excavated will not be pure soil- there will be rocks, roots, and other debris within.

When concrete walls are poured, they can take as much as ten years to fully cure, with factors including the mixture and preparation of the concrete, the humidity level of the air, and the temperature of both the concrete and the outside air. Because of the excessively long time that concrete takes to cure, the foundation is almost always built before the concrete is fully ready.

As concrete is mixed, vibrating rods are inserted into the mixture to shake air bubbles to the top. This can often be done improperly or too quickly, allowing larger air bubbles to be added, weakening concrete walls in the foundation. Not only do the air bubbles fail to add strength and structure, they will also expand and cool at different rates than the concrete around it, causing deterioration and cracking. Sometimes, too much water is mixed into the concrete, which can also weaken the concrete and subject it to early flaking and spalling.

Once the foundation walls are laid and the floor is poured, the excavated soil (known as "backfill") is added to fill in the empty space. This backfilled soil is then poured into the gap of extra space around the edge of the foundation. When this happens, the curing cement foundation walls are shocked by the backfilled soil in three different ways: temperature, weight/pressure, and impact. The soil pressing against the concrete will cause it to either shrink or expand with the change in temperature and the sudden weight of the backfilled soil will add sudden pressure to the walls that can be detrimental to the structure. As the soil, rocks, and debris is filled into the space - sometimes hastily or carelessly - this will also potentially cause damage to the walls.

Additionally, during the construction, the foundation walls are generally exposed to all weather conditions, including rain, sun, heat, cold, and humidity. All these factors can cause problems with basement and foundation walls.

Because your home is surrounded by looser backfilled soil, it will always be more absorbent than the virgin soil surrounding it. This means that you will have an artificial water table around the home where, in most cases, more water will collect than anywhere in the area. This is called the "clay bowl effect", as a bowl of dense clay is essentially collecting water in the area around your home.

As moisture builds up in this area, it puts pressure on the basement and foundation walls. This pressure can damage the walls as moisture presses in and searches for any way to pass through the basement wall and floor cracks as well as through the basement wall floor joint. This moisture will also press through porous concrete, mortar, and grout, passing into the home in the form of water vapor.

As this moisture passes through, it enters the air and adds to the humidity levels of the basement area. Additionally, the moisture that passes through makes it way through, evaporates, and deposits mineral substances behind. This creates a white, flaky residue on the basement walls that will build up and ruin the appearance.

Because of the way that foundation walls are built, finding cracks along the walls is not uncommon at all. Foundation walls, even in newly built homes, often have many cracks that form in the foundation walls. These cracks are usually small, superficial, and will not threaten the well being of the home. There are three major types of foundation wall cracks:

Vertical Wall Cracks: Vertical basement wall cracks will generally not compromise the structure of the home, but they do hold the possibility of resulting in a leaking basement. They're most commonly caused by the shrinking concrete as it is curing but are also known to be created by the backfilling process.

Horizontal Wall Cracks: Horizontal cracks are much more dangerous to your home than vertical ones and have the potential of leading to the complete failure of the walls. As the pressure of the soil and water outside combines with the weight of the entire home to press on the foundation walls, they can buckle and snap. If the crack is large enough that you can fit a dime into the gap, then you should immediately get a professional opinion from a foundation contractor. Many options can be used to fix bowed walls- including helical piering, braces, and reinforcement. These solutions can repair the walls, add strength, stop their inward movement, and redistribute the home's weight across the foundation.

Bowing Foundation Walls and Sinking Floors: Often, basement walls will begin to bow before they crack. This foundation wall bowing is difficult to identify by a novice, but it's a very strong early warning of a weakened basement structure. Brick and stone walls are just as vulnerable to these problems and are also susceptible to crumbling mortar. Bowing basement walls are serious and must be addressed as soon as possible or may become irreparable. Signs of a bowing basement wall include the following:

• Basement wall cracks are wider at the top instead of the bottom.
• Uneven floors
• Cabinets, windows, and doors that will not shut properly
• Cracks forming in upstairs drywall and plaster
• Exterior brickwork cracks and breaks in caulking seals
• Leaning chimneys and porches.

Please note that bulging foundation walls may be at risk of collapse. If you see this, seek expert advice immediately!

Monitoring Basement Wall Cracks

Generally, foundation wall cracks are discovered long after their formation. It's easy for a homeowner to assume the worst and assume that these cracks have suddenly appeared. A realistic view on cracks is important- it's best to treat all wall cracks as potentially serious until a professional has taken a look at them. Cracks typically form at weak points in the foundation walls, including corners, pour lines, service holes, pipe penetrations, edges of basement window frames, tie rods, and long spans of wall in the basement foundation.

Once you've located a crack, be sure to check on it regularly. If the crack is moving, widening, or spreading, then the fatigue on the basement walls is getting worse. To avoid more damage to the walls, monitor the length of the crack by marking the edge of the crack with a pencil. Draw several "alignment" marks as well to make sure that the crack has not shifted unevenly. Date the marks so you have a running record of how quickly the wall is deteriorating.

Fortunately, basement wall cracks can be permanently repaired. Most cracks are minor, do not leak, and only need a cosmetic repair. However, if wall cracks continue to deteriorate or begin to leak after cosmetic repairs, they are likely the result of a deeper problem and should be addressed right away.

Advancements in basement repair technologies have made it much easier and less expensive to properly repair wall cracks, where at one time high-pressure injection equipment or drilling of holes in the basement wall was necessary.

Do-It-Yourself Repairs

Homeowners will often try to repair leaking cracks simply by applying caulk onto the gap or by coating the crack with cement. These fixes are limited in effectiveness and will not stop water in the long run. As moisture and efflorescence build up around the seal, it will leave a flaky residue that will push the caulk away from the cement and cause it to slowly peel off.

Sometimes, homeowners will instead repair the cracks by removing the caulk and chiseling an inverted V groove from the crack. This groove is then filled with hydraulic cement. While this plugs the hole, it bonds very poorly. As the concrete expands and contracts with moisture and temperature, the plug will weaken, allowing efflorescence and water to seep in. This fix will last about twice as long as caulk- about two years- but it will then cease to be useful and will allow water into the home once more.

Epoxy Crack Injection

There are some professionals that will still install epoxy or grout injections to fill basement wall cracks. These powerful seals fill the crack and will even temporarily make the basement wall stronger. At first glance, this seems like a fantastic idea, but the solution has three critical drawbacks:

1. Epoxy is a slow-curing material. Before it hardens, it can actually run the risk of running out from the other side of the crack.
2. When epoxy is applied, the surface must be completely dry. Combined with the slow curing process and the fact that this is usually used on damp and leaking wall cracks, this is a poor solution.
3. Although epoxy and grout will seal the crack, the crack's original cause is never addressed. If the structural stress that caused the crack is not addressed, new cracks can appear next to the seal or farther down the foundation wall.

Epoxy injections are a stronger solution than some others, but they're not the best answer for fixing a basement wall crack.

Exterior Basement Wall Crack Repair

Another attempt to repair foundation wall cracks has been to excavate around the perimeter and seal it with multiple layers of synthetic waterproof material that prevent future movement and permanently seal away the water. This method usually solves the problem, but there is a definite downside. Excavating the lawn requires the homeowner to remove ALL things around the edge of the home, including foliage, gardens, sidewalks, porches, and steps. During this invasive and expensive procedure, dirt is piled in mounds around the yard, creating an eyesore. When the soil is backfilled, it will create a new shock to the already weakened foundation wall, and the backfilled soil will be looser and more porous than ever. In a year, the soil will settle, and you will need to add more soil to regrade the area. If this soil is not regraded, water will run downhill and pool around the edge of your home.

Effective Basement Wall Crack Repair

Basement Systems offers a basement wall crack repair system that comes with an extra line of defense- the FlexiSpan Wall Crack Repair System. This repair provides a polyurethane seal that forms a barrier that is impenetrable to water. It bonds well with both wet and dry concrete surfaces, and unlike grout and epoxy, it's a flexible material that can expand up to 20 times its volume (3/4" or 1.9 cm.). This flexibility and water resistance allows it to adjust to the continuous expanding and shrinking of the concrete that comes with varying moisture and temperature conditions.

Their polyurethane polymers have a low viscosity that allows them to easily fill hairline cracks, and they install easily for a fast, cost-effective repair. However, if this seal breaks for any reason, Basement Systems also lays a foam strip over the top that directs the water into either the perimeter drainage system or to a small drywell the installer creates in the floor. If the polyurethane seal fails, it should still stop 95% of the water that would otherwise come through- the foam strip should never become overburdened with the exess seepage. Once the strip is installed, it's covered with a coating that gives it a gray, tooled-off look. If a dry well was created, it's covered with fresh concrete, and the basement wall crack is repaired! They offer free estimates, so visiting with a professional to ask questions and compare options comes with no risk or obligation.

Warm air moves upwards and cold air sinks. This is why a chimney (also known as a smoke "stack") works. As the air is warmed by a fire, it pushes upwards, bringing smoke and all other materials upwards with it. In a chimney, this is fortunate.

Unfortunately, this is also how ALL the air in a house moves. Air begins in the lower levels of the house, rises, and leaves in the attic and upper floors of the home. As it rises from the lower levels, it sucks air up from the basement, carrying anything in the air up with it, including humidity, mold spores, dust mite waste, and odors. If your basement air is unhealthy, the rest of your home will have a less healthy environment as well.

As stated earlier in this article, basements made with concrete, mortar, epoxy, and grout are created from porous materials that can easily absorb moisture. Water vapor will continuously travel through the floor and ceiling of the basement, creating a cool, dank environment.

Basement humidity has the following disadvantages to a home:

• Because a large portion of the work done by an air conditioner is dehumidification, it takes much less energy to cool dry air than humid air.
• Damp air is more difficult to cool than dry air. And as the warm air cools, the relative humidity of the air rises, exacerbating the problem.
• Damp, humid air creates an uncomfortable home environment.
• According to the Environmental Protection Agency, a relative humidity of above 60% will create an environment where mold and dust mites can breed. This makes the basement poor for storage of anything organic and makes the entire home unhealthy (eee the following section for more details).

Air can hold different amounts of moisture depending on how warm or cold it is. Warm air holds a great deal of moisture, and cold air holds very little. To measure how much moisture air can hold based on its temperature and how much moisture is already in the air, scientists measure it in relative humidity.

For each degree that air is cooled, its relative humidity will increase by 2.2%. If the relative humidity of air reaches 100%, it becomes completely saturated with water and cannot hold more.

On an 80 degree day with relative humidity of 80%, if air is pulled into the basement and cooled to 68 degrees, the Relative Humidity will raise by 26.4%, which is 12 degrees times a 2.2% raise in Relative Humidity per degree. That would raise the Relative Humidity above 100%, however, and the excess moisture cannot be held. Instead, the excess moisture is shed on whatever surfaces are nearby- especially cool surfaces like pipes, basement walls, basement floors, and water tanks. Water that collects on cool surfaces due to relative humidity levels that raise above 100% is called condensation.

In recent years, health problems connected to basement and crawl space allergens have become much more commonplace. The Journal of Property Management has reported tens of thousands of lawsuits that have cropped up against landlords, developers and insurance companies related to mold and dust mite related issues. In fact, general liability and property insurance companies will usually exclude mold from their policies! There are few regulations for acceptable mold testing levels set by the EPA, and it's become a legal battleground in which homeowners and building managers are often the losing side.

Homeowners who suffer from headaches, congestion, or allergies when they're home but find that these symptoms are relieved when they leave the house might have a problem that is being worsened by allergens such as dust mite feces and mold spores in the home. And as Glenn Fellman, executive director of the Indoor Air Quality Association states, "If you are reacting to a problem because somebody's been sick, you've waited way too long to address indoor air quality." When it comes to mold and dust mites, it's best to prevent the problem before it begins.

Basement Mold

Mold is typically about 10 mircons (0.0002 inches) in size. They will feed on any organic material they can find, including dust, cloth, wallpaper, wood, and paints. The Journal of Property Management reports a single square inch of drywall contains between one and 10 million spores, each as small as 1.5 microns in size! Approximately one and a half million species of mold exist, and some species grow only in homes. Inside the house, they can grow all year long- no matter how clean the house is.

Mature basement mold will reproduce by releasing seedlike spores into the air. If the temperature is at least 40 degrees Fahrenheit, they will be able to land, grow, and spread. According to Time magazine, several hundred thousand mold spores can exist in a single cubic meter of air, and a single person will inhale 10-12 meters of air in a single day, with 90% of our time spent indoors.

Bleach and biocides will offer a temporary solution to mold. However, if the reason mold exists in the home in the first place is not eliminated, it will simply return in time. Biocides that depend on mold resistant coatings can keep mold of the surfaces they coat, but even if every book, box, piece of furniture, ventilation ducts, article of clothing, piece of food, and every piece of organic material that enters the room is also coated, mold can still grow on dust while waiting for an opportunity to reestablish itself. Mold spores can lay dormant for years while they wait for an opportunity to grow, and according to Human Ecology magazine, even dead mold spores can cause allergic reactions.

Mold spores can adversely affect a home's inhabitants by agitating allergic rhinitis. These spores can enter though inhalation, ingestion, and skin contact and cause a runny nose, watery eyes, mild allergic reactions, a scratchy throat, fatigue, and general discomfort when breathing. In some rare instances, mold can even be toxic! The American Lung Association reports that 88 million US residents suffer from respiratory distress, with 50% of homes having at least one person with allergies, asthma, or other respiratory ailment.

Ignoring a mold problem will not only lead to the compromised health of the occupants, but can also lead to expensive home damage. Repairs can be lengthy and extensive, and in extreme cases, it could be necessary to move out of the house while the work and mold remediation is being completed. Mold can grow near plumbing leaks, on leaking roof surfaces, and especially in damp crawl spaces and basements. All water problems should be dealt with and dried within 48 hours, or mold and rot will have the opportunity to set in.

Dust Mite Allergies

The American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology states that 50% of all respiratory illnesses have been cause or aggravated by polluted indoor air. Statistics taken by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) show the levels of many airborne pollutants at 2-5 times higher than the same levels outdoors. As a matter of fact, the EPA ranks indoor air pollution as one of the top five environmental risks to public health, with dust mite allergies a leading cause of these problems.

Three things to consider about dust mite waste:

1. A gram of dust will hold a thousand dust mites.
2. In one day, a dust mite will defecate 20 times, creating 200 times its body weight within two months's time.
3. 54, 000, 000 Americans suffer from allergies.

No matter how clean a house is, dust mites will grow and spread. They develop from egg to adult in a single month, but females will begin to lay eggs in after only ten days. Females lay 2-3 eggs in a day and live up to 100 days, producing as many as 270 eggs in their lifetime.

Cases of health issues related to dust mites and other indoor allergens have become increasingly more significant with each passing year. ICS Cleaning Specialist Magazine has reported the prevalence of asthma and asthma-related health problems increasing by an astounding 75% in the years1980 to 2001 alone!

As stated by American Family Physician, controlling dust mites is the most important thing you can do in your house to make your asthma and allergies better. Since this is the most common chronic disease among children, the problem is too important to pass by. Allergies generally develop from ages 6-26, with symptoms emerging late if the environment changes from one with few allergens to one with more. Dust mite feces contains more than 15 potent allergens that sensitize and trigger allergic reactions in predisposed people. The waste created by dust mites, according to National Wildlife Magazine, accounts for 80-90% of its allergic components. Approximately 10% of the general population and 90% of asthmatic patients are sensitive to dust mite feces allergies, and in many cases, asthma and dust mite allergies symptoms could be decreased or eliminated entirely by reducing exposure.

Eliminating Household Allergens

When it comes to pollutants, pet dander, and other chemicals, a residential air purification system may be needed. However, if you're looking to remove mold and dust mites, the American Academy of Family Physicians recommends removing carpet that's been laid directly over concrete and then reducing indoor humidity in the home and especially in the basement. Mold and dust mites both need a relative humidity lower than 60% to thrive. The Environmental Protection Agency recommends lowering the relative humidity is lowered below that level to cause it to grow dormant and die. They also recommend eliminating all sources of water leakage in the home, sealing penetrations in walls and floors, checking for moldy odors, and drying up all sources of freestanding water.

When looking for a basement dehumidifier, consider the following questions:

1. How much moisture can it remove from the air each day?
2. How will you know how dry your basement will be?
3. Will the dehumidifier blow the dry air around or just dry nearby air?
4. Is the dehumidifier energy-efficient?
5. Will the collection tray for the dehumidifier fill every 8-12 hours or does it drain automatically?
6. Can the dehumidifier be ducted into other rooms?

A basement dehumidifier should be powerful enough to dry all of the air in the area and blow the dry air around the home. It should be adjustable to a specific humidity level so you know that the area will be dry enough to kill mold and dust mites. By blowing the air around, dampness trapped in furniture, wood, books, and other objects in the home will be dried out thoroughly, killing even dust mites that burrow deeper into fabrics and furniture where moisture can be stored. Energy-efficient, self-draining dehumidifiers will be able to run automatically and at minimal cost to ensure that your basement is kept dry without the continuous chore of removing collection trays. And if the basement is finished, a dehumidifier that can be ducted into an adjoining room will keep the area dry without needing to be present in the area.

Basement System's SaniDry basement dehumidifier meets all these requirements and more. In addition to being a powerful, self-draining, energy-efficient dehumidifier that will blow dry air all around the room and through ducts, it also serves as an air filtration system. The SaniDry is able to remove particles as small as two microns from the air, making it effective enough to remove dust mite feces and most mold spores from the basement environment. It's capable of extracting up to 100 pints of water with the energy usage as some 40-pint models on the market, earning it an Energy Star rating. An optional air filter is also available which empowers the SaniDry to remove odors and musty smells from the basement air. When it comes to basement dehumidifiers, there's just nothing like it anywhere!

A wet basement is a major problem in a home. Aside from the cleanup cost, damaged property, mold and foul odors rising from the drywall and flooring, the home's resale value is heavily compromised. Builder Magazine cites 19% of home buyers as outright refusing to consider a fixer upper home. Unfortunately, the value of a home is reduced by by 10-25% when it reaches the market.

If you're shopping for a home, one with a wet basement can be a real bargain! While 40% of previously owned have at least one serious defect, fixing a wet basement is a very manageable task. As one of the 12 most serious red flags that USA Today warns homeowners to look out for (along with defective roofing, horizontal foundation cracks, lead paint, and asbestos), it's quite possibly easiest and fastest to repair. A sump pump, French drain, and a basement dehumidifier generally installs in 1-2 days, and it can pay back for itself by an easy 400% or more in a $200, 000 home! It's important to find a home inspector to check for issues that can be difficult or impossible for a layman to identify. However, not doing so could cost tens of thousands of dollars!

When hiring a contractor to do the work, bear in mind that The Small Business Administration reports that 50% of contractors fail within the first year and 96% within five years. Hire only certified, well-established basement waterproofers to help ensure that they'll still be around if something goes wrong or you need to service the system A contractor reported to Country Living Magazine that 17% of their work is fixing the poor work of other waterproofers! Get at least three references, check the contractor out with the Better Business Bureau and Angie's List (where applicable), and be sure they have references.

The following are three common approaches to fixing a wet basement:

Negative-Side Sealant

Many homeowners will opt to use a "waterproof paint" or "damproof sealant" on their basement walls in an attempt to prevent moisture from passing through. Unfortunately, these sealants do not stop the original problem of water pressing against the basement walls from outside. In six months or so, these sealants will begin to blister and peel as they fail, causing an ugly, useless eyesore in the basement.

Alternatively, special solutions such as waterproof hydraulic cements will sometimes be used on the walls to keep the area dry. These solutions still do not solve the problem- water is still pressing in from the outside. In time, the seal will chip off and create a mess on the basement floor. Ultimately, this solution causes more mess than good.

Exterior Excavation

A very invasive way to waterproof a basement that is still used is to excavate the entire perimeter of the basement and install a waterproof barrier. This process is extremely expensive and damaging to the yard- involving having a backhoe, large piles of dirt in the yard, and the removal of foliage, gardens, steps, walkways, porches, and anything else located around the edge of the home.

Once the yard has been excavated and the barrier has been installed, the area is backfilled again. After a year or so, the soil will settle again, and new soil must be added to regrade the soil to slope away from the home again.

Of course, the system is probably replacing one that that already failed once- an exterior French drain (also known as drain tile) system. These are commonly installed when a home is being built and are failing all over the country. These systems- consisting of pipe run around the home- are laid underneath several feet of soil and crushed stone by the foundation where they will clog with soil. When filter fabric is used to keep dirt and debris away from the pipe, the fabric clogs instead. Either way, the installation will eventually clog again, and all too soon, the homeowner will find themselves in the same situation. If the system ever needs to be serviced, you can expect another disruptive excavation!

The best basement waterproofing solution- and the most sensible when considering servicing the system- is to install a perimeter French drain around the edge of the basement floor and direct the water to a basement sump pump system. These systems are much more reliable than other options and install quickly and easily- usually in a day or two.

To install an interior French drain, the area around the perimeter of the basement floor is jackhammered and removed without damaging the footing. A drainage system is laid down with a bed of crushed stone designed to help filter out any dirt or debris rising up with the water. This drain then directs the water to a sump pump system that will then pump the water out of the house.

Interior basement waterproofing systems rely on a sump pump to remove the water from the home. A reliable sump pump system includes a cast-iron sump pump (Zoeller being a popular brand), a battery backup sump pump, a sump liner, and alarm.

Cast-Iron Sump Pump: A basement waterproofing system should be installed with a strong cast-iron sump pump to minimalize sump pump failure. Homeowners who install cheap plastic sump pumps or do-it-yourself sump kits often find that their pumps shut down or are overwhelmed when there's a heavy rainfall. It's important to have a sump pump that's durable and powerful enough to get the tough work done.

Battery Backup Sump Pump: Battery backup sump pumps are the insurance you'll need to enjoy your vacation and relax when you can't be home. If the power goes out in the home, the primary sump pump fails, or heavy rains begin to overwhelm the system, a DC powered sump pump system can kick in to take care of the work. Homeowners that rely on generator-powered sump pumps will need to remember that they need to be both home and awake at the time of the power outage or their generator will be useless in keeping the basement dry. A strong battery backup system should not lose its power sitting on the basement floor and is capable of pumping out at least 10, 000 gallons of water from the basement.

Sump Pump Liner: A basement sump pump liner should be large enough to hold a minimum of fifteen gallons of water. Small, cheap sump pump liners used by some companies can only hold a maximum of five gallons! This forces the sump pump to empty out the water in the liner too often, causing it to turn off and on repeatedly and burn out more quickly. Sump pump liners should also come with an airtight lid that cannot rust, rot, or corrode but is capable of protecting your basement from odors and humidity rising from the sump. A drain installed on the lid is able to help remove flooding from broken washing machine hoses or other unexpected plumbing failures should one occur.

Sump Pump Alarm: If there is no alarm installed on a sump pump, you won't know if the sump pump fails or is being overwhelmed until the basement floods. At this point, it's too late to avoid a problem! Basement Systems installs a WaterWatch alarm with each sump pump system so that you can be sure that you have a warning if there is a problem with the system in time to react before disaster. Basement Systems can even tie the alarm into some alarm systems so you can be called on your cell phone if you're away from home in case of a problem!

Before selling your home for one with more living space, you may want to consider remodeling the basement. Finished basements are becoming more and more popular, with Home Improvement Research Institute estimating more than one million homeowners finishing or remodeling their homes annually. According to Money magazine, adding an addition may run $150-$200 per square foot, whereas a basement finishing runs $30-$75. There is no other way to make 12-15% of the price of a house increase the livable space by one third! Despite a poor housing market, a finished basement increases the value of the home by 75% or more of the cost of installation. Better yet, a remodeled basement is a temperate, quiet, naturally private space in the home.

Even if you've had a basement waterproofing system installed, you have sinks, pipes, water heaters, toilets, showers, and a variety of other water sources in the home that can burst, break, or fail and send moisture into the basement. Ideally, all materials in the basement should be able to hold up to not only moisture and mold, but even an actual basement flood.

In the home improvement industry, the insulative qualities of building materials are generally rated by the R-factor- as the R value of a material rises, insulation value does as well. A material with an R rating of 1 will reflect back 50% of the heat that reaches it, whereas an R-rating of 2 will reflect back 75%, R-3 will reflect 87.5%, R-4 reflects 93.75%, and so on. Single-paned steel basement windows, for example, have an R-insulation rating of 1. The code requirement for basement walls in many northern areas of North America is increasingly being set at R-13. As basement finishing is becoming more and more common (1, 000, 000 people finish their basements every year), these code requirements are turning into a widespread standard.

Basement Walls

Drywall has generally been touted as a standard in basement finishing- mostly due to the fact that it's an inexpensive building material. However, drywall (even "mold-resistant" drywall) can easily be destroyed by basement moisture and flooding. No drywall, mold-resistant drywall or "green board" I've ever seen on the market has a warranty against mold, moisture, or flooding of more than a few months. A company that is confident of their product's capabilities should be able to create a warranty that reflects that confidence. Additionally, these flimsy walls are not ideal for shelving, and they tend to break with even mild impacts. Finally, the paint and wallpaper often used to hide their ugly finish is completely organic, making it perfect food for mold.

Other basement wall products use cloth covering and fiberglass insulation to finish the basement walls. Like drywall, it's flimsy and not ideal for holding shelves and decorations on the wall. It absorbs moisture and water easily and has no enduring warranty against mold, rot, and flooding (and since fiberglass contains urethane, there IS organic material in the material). Additionally, this makes for a poor wall partition, and the cloth surface is difficult and inconvenient to clean.

Wall panels should be made with dense foam polystyrene and should include a solid surface and vinyl coating. The best wall panels come with an R-13 insulation that will not degrade over time and can be installed in an unbroken sheet on the inside of the finished basement. Unlike soft paneling, hardboard panels are free-standing and make a very effective wall partition. On top of this, they come with vinyl coverings that are easy to clean and a durable build that's perfect for the wear and tear of kids, basement bars, and game rooms. Total Basement Finishing's EverLast Basement Wall Panels come with a 50-year warranty against mold and moisture- even if the basement floods!

Basement Floor

There are four classic basement flooring options:

Wood Flooring and Wood Sub Floors: The first thing to go in a finished basement is often the basement floor. Even if a basement never floods, the condensation that continually rises from the basement floors will collect underneath, encouraging rot, mold, odors, and mildew. As the wood absorbs moisture, it will swell and buckle, causing an uneven floor that can interfere with doors and creak underfoot.

Whether on the walls or floor, there is never a good reason to put wood up against the concrete in a basement. Its condition will deteriorate rapidly, and in time, the homeowner will have to go to great expense to have the materials ripped up and removed from the basement.

Once installed in a home, tiles placed directly on a basement floor are a cold surface that's very unpleasant to walk on. Their hard, smooth surface is noisy to walk on, easy to slip on (especially when wet), and unforgiving to falls, which increases injuries and is less safe than other floors for children. Similarly, objects dropped on this surface are more likely to shatter and take damage. The tiles themselves- especially ceramic tiles- are also very fragile and can easily crack, chip, shatter and crumble from impact-related damage.

Porous materials, such as grout lines between tiles and the surfaces of many types of ceramic tiles, stain easily with spilled foods liquids and other materials while promoting the growth of mold, bacteria, and mildew. Grout lines will need to be resealed every year, and porous ceramic tiles will need similar resealing routinely. Installing marble and high-quality stone flooring avoids many of the problems of ceramic tiles, but at $25 or more for top-quality tile, it can get extremely costly.

Carpeted Basement Flooring: Basement carpeting laid directly on the floor is never a good idea. Any organic carpeting is going to collect moisture underneath from the absorbent concrete floor and moist soil underneath, which will allow it to grow mold, rot, and mildew. Carpets are perpetually being torn out of basements as they're ruined by the moist environment in a basement! Even inorganic carpets are a poor choice, as moisture can still pass through and collect underneath objects laid on top of this carpet. If those materials are organic, such as cardboard, furniture, and wood, the moisture is going to allow these things to be damaged as well. And as we know, the same moisture can destroy wood sub floors underneath the carpeted floor as well!

Alternate Basement Flooring: Examples of other basement flooring materials that are sometimes used in the basement include linoleum, bamboo, vinyl laid directly on the floor, cork, and stained concrete. Linoleum, vinyl, and stained concrete installed directly on the floor trap moisture underneath that will ruin the bond of adhesives, create bubbles and blisters on the material applied to the floor, and damaging the material. Materials such as cork and bamboo are made with organic material, and like wood, they will swell with moisture and end up with rot, mold, mildew, and odors in the basement.

Total Basement Finishing's Flooring: Basement floors are best chosen when the big picture is considered. If you want a basement floor that's going to hold up in the long run as well as strike a good impression from the beginning, find a solid vinyl tile that can lay raised off the basement floor (vinyl that is laid directly on the floor collects water underneath and can cause problems in the long run). ThermalDry vinyl flooring that sits on raised pegs that allow for air and moisture to circulate underneath. The tiles are provided in marble finish, carpeted tile, and as an inorganic sub floor that is appropriate for custom carpeting. Additionally, MillCreek inorganic wood finish flooring is available, with all four options usable immediately after installation. ThermalDry flooring can be as much as ten degrees warmer than the concrete floor below (due to the air barrier), installs without grout lines and adhesives, will not shatter or crack, and is competitively priced with high-quality tile. Neither ThermalDry nor MillCreek flooring encourages mildew or bacteria growth, and they install and uninstall cleanly and easily. What more could you ask for?

Basement Ceiling

When finishing the basement ceiling, there are two popular methods: drywall ceilings and basement drop ceilings.

Drywall ceilings are a popular finished basement ceiling product for one primary reason: homeowners want a cheap way to make the finished basement to look just like the rest of the home. However, the basement will never look just like the rest of the home- there's fewer windows, utilities in the area, and many different requirements for the walls and floors. Drywall is a cheap, dusty, dirty product, and it offers poor access to pipes, wiring, and ducts in the ceiling even if an access portal is created.

Conversely, drop ceilings provide a fast, clean installation that is compatible with recessed lighting, florescent lighting, can lights, and suspended lighting options. Every panel doubles as an easy access point for ducts, pipes, and electrical wiring, and in the case of a plumbing failure, individual tiles can be replaced instead of attempting a drywall patch on the ceiling. Drop ceilings install quickly and cleanly and muffle sounds between the basement area and the second floor for extra privacy. A reliable basement ceiling product will be cost-effective and an attractive solution to your basement.

When used in a basement, the product should be completely inorganic and come with a warranty against sagging that will last for at least 25 years. Drywall can guarantee neither of these options, and ultimately simply cannot provide the material needed for a reliable basement finishing.

No basement remodeling is complete without first replacing the basement windows- an inexpensive job that should take a serviceman about thee to four hours to complete. Consider this: what do you imagine when you think of a newly remodeled basement? Rusty, drafty basement windows will not fit what you envision with your basement walls, flooring, lighting and ceiling. Common problems with basement windows include the following:

• Rusted steel basement windows that do not open
• Peeling paint on the metal or wooden frames
• Weeds, leaves, and other debris blocking the basement windows and/or filling the basement window wells
• Water pooling around the window or filling the window well and leaking into the home
• Drafty or poorly insulated basement windows
• Single-paned windows allowing too much cold to pass through
• Rusty, ugly basement window wells ruining any benefit that the windows offered

Best Basement Window Practice

The goal of installing basement windows is to allow beautiful natural light into the space to help it stop looking like a dungeon. Sunlight does wonders to make a basement look and feel more pleasant, inviting, and cheerful. Termites and carpenter ants can easily be attracted to wooden windows and can see them as an invitation to enter your home. Rusty steel windows can be difficult to open and can leak, become drafty and are ugly as they decay.

A Report by the US Department of Energy has stated that energy bills can be decreased by 30-40% if all windows are sealed in cold climates. From a practical perspective, this makes a lot of sense. A basement is completely surrounded by thick, solid walls on all sides except where the basement windows are located. When it comes to insulation, these windows are the weakest link. If you're finishing and insulating the basement walls and floors, it doesn't make sense to let your heat (and money) literally go out the window!

Steel-framed windows make for terrible insulation, with the metal conducting heat easily from your home to the outside. Even brand new, single-paned steel basement windows have an R-1 insulation rating, meaning that 50% of heat escapes through. However, metal and wooden frames quickly rust, rot, and become drafty, losing their insulative value. Normal double-paned basement windows have an R value of 2, meaning that they reflect 25% more heat back, saving the homeowner a lot of money!

Everlast Basement Windows

Basement Systems and Total Basement Finishing offers EverLast Basement Windows. With a bright, white vinyl finish, they never rust, rot, corrode, or need paint, allowing them to stay beautiful for years without difficult maintenance. They slide open and close easily without ever jamming shut or having a wooden framing that expands or shrinks with moisture and temperature changes. Additionally, EverLast Basement Windows are easily removed from their frame for ease of cleaning and to allow an opening in the basement so long objects can boards can slide through.

EverLast basement windows are built with dual window panes made of Low-E glass - crystal clear thermopane glass that provides an R insulation rating of 2.94 and reflects nearly 37.5% more heat back into the home than brand new single-paned steel windows! The Low-E properties of the glass have proven to allow the sun's heating rays into the home during the winter while also reflecting away them in the summer, adding extra heat to your basement when you need it most!

Basement Window Wells

Does anyone want to look out their basement windows and see ugly, rusted steel window wells? Far too often, the view out of a basement window includes weeds, mud splatterings, and a dark, wet window well pit. These rusty, corroded basement window wells often collect leaves and debris, and as they fill up with snow and water, that water will often leak directly into the basement.

If you look out your basement window and don't like what you see, your basement window wells aren't doing their job. Make sure your basement windows have protection, with as much natural light as possible entering the basement via vinyl window wells.

Basement Systems and Total Basement Finishing offers the SunHouse basement window well enclosures, with reflective surface that are sloped to bring as much sunlight into the basement as possible. A clear plastic covering keeps them bright, clean, and free of the debris and weeds that plague old-fashioned window wells. They will never rust, rot, or corrode, and they make the home more energy-efficient by shielding your basement window from cold winter winds striking the window from the outside. If you just finished your basement, you're going to want as much light as possible to show off the new space.

Basement egress windows and window wells are designed to give an alternate escape route in the area for anyone unable to leave by the normal route due to a fire or other emergency. These routes are designed with a basement window that is large enough to use as an exit combined with a window well that can be used as an exit. If a basement is being finished for living space, these are a necessity with the basement renovation. The International Code Council states that all basements with habitable space and every sleeping room shall have at least one openable emergency escape and rescue window or exterior door. However, it's a wise idea to also check with a local code official before deciding on a final plan.

Of course, there's no code that says that these window wells must be ugly. Carefully selecting a bright, open, egress window well adds an enormous amount of light and beauty to a basement environment. In fact, egress window wells are on the market that can reflect daylight back into the basement, hold potted plants and shrubberies, and add cheer to the remodeled basement. The best egress windows are made of polyethylene (not wood) and will be strong, durable, and designed to last for decades without rotting, chipping, denting, or fading in color.