How should I handle moisture/insulation as I finish my basement?

Question

Not sure what to do

Details: We've recently moved into our first home, a split-level home in Upstate New York (Climate Zone 5 & 4 Marine). The lower level has 3 main rooms, a playroom, laundry room and man cave, all of these rooms have some level of finishing, but I'll just focus on the playroom.

Playroom: Dimensions: 22' x 16' Floor: Concrete, Glued Vinyl on top, (Use to have Carpet) Walls: 3 exterior walls partially below ground (concrete block is ~4'2", however only about 2.75-3' is below ground), above ground is finished with drywall and electrical. On top of the drywall and concrete was panel board (the concrete had furring strips to which the panel was attached). Windows: 3 Ceiling: Drop-ceiling Addl: This room also has a closet for Plumbing, Water Heater, etc…

Problem: This past Spring and Summer I’ve been told has been really rainy and pretty warm. We didn’t run a dehumidifier down in the basement (first time home owners :) ) and noticed white mold in 2 of the 3 rooms and efflorescence in 2 of the rooms.

In the playroom, there was white mold growing on the toys and kids furniture and it also smelled very musty. The paneling on one part of the wall also started warping. We pulled up the carpet and tore down the paneling and noticed efflorescence at the bottom (~3-6” up) of the all 3 exterior walls. We also noticed that two of the drywall panels on the interior walls (towards the bottom) had black mold on them.

Question: We had two basement companies come and evaluate and they said that it would probably be enough to clean the efflorescence and apply Drylock, to help with the moisture coming through the walls. Would this solution be enough? Do I also need to insulate? I would like to put drywall over the brick, just trying to figure out the best way to do that to prevent moisture, mold, insulation problems.

Thanks,

I’ve also included a photo of the playroom wall.

Answer 1

I live just north of Pittsburgh, Pa. and this is what I did to finish my basement. After my house was built I waited 2 years to finish the walls. I tapped plastic to random spots on the walls to see if moisture was coming through the concrete block. When I was sure it was safe to finish the walls I coated all below ground wall areas with a Drylock material. My walls were insulated with 1 inch T&G styrofoam against the block with the seams taped with 2 inch "suretape" brand tape used with duct work. The area was studded with 2X4's, fiberglass insulation, drywall and painted. No leakage of any type. This worked for me. Make sure that you add enough supply and return registers to this area and if you have A/C make sure that the supply registers have dampers that you can close in the summer. (cold air falls to the lowest levels) Basements are usually the coldest areas in the house to heat during the cold months. I also run a dehumidifier in the summer to control indoor humidity and run the furnace fan on a low speed 24/7. The basement has been dry and comfortable for 18 years and counting. Hope this helps.