It’s always been a big problem to fix crumbling interior basement walls. The walls between a basement and the house above are called basement walls. These are often built of brick or concrete, but can also be constructed of wood. While they seem sturdy enough, they may need to be repaired or rebuilt if you notice signs of crumbling or splitting.
Have you ever walked into your basement only to be overcome by the thought, “what the hell happened in here?” The walls of your basement are beginning to crumble and need some attention. Before you start tearing apart those walls with a sledgehammer, there are some things you can do to make them more stable.
Rising rents, high property prices, and increasing property taxes have all forced people to renovate their basements. The low-cost approach to basement renovation has been brickwork, which is a cheap but uninspiring solution.
Well, we have been thinking of doing a series of articles about such topics for a while now. But, when we wrote about the topic back in the Past many people asked us what is the most important thing to be done in order to keep our basement walls intact and hold them up to years.
Questions About The Content:
Why Do Basement Walls Crumble?
Many people wonder why their basement walls are crumbling. The answer is simple: moisture and humidity.
The problem starts when water from the outside makes its way into the basement through leaks, cracks in the foundation, or a rainstorm. If you see an ancient, poorly manufactured basement wall that is crumbling, the problem is most likely due to one of two factors: moisture or design flaws.
1. The wall was poorly built with poor materials or construction techniques. In other words, it was not “reinforced” properly or did not have proper “support” (reinforcement)
2. The basement walls were built in a home that had termite damage and dampness problems as the building’s foundation failed and slowly decayed over time making every wall, including your basements wall, weak
What can you do to prevent this?
We would recommend using an airtight concrete barrier system like our Basement Storm Shelter Systems, which allows: More About The Basement Walls: Crumbling Debris From Roof Forests. If you have a basement that has been impervious to moisture in the past until recently, there is no guarantee it will continue as strongly after construction or for years to come.
If this is correct, and your permeable subfloor system allows water to flow into the area on occasion, here are some things you can do to alleviate leaks so that they don’t be permanent problems.
Steps to Prevent this from happening:
Step 1: Preparation of Surface:
The first step is to prepare the surface to fix crumbling interior basement walls. This includes sanding it and removing any mortar or concrete that might be there. Remove any old plaster, loose concrete, and broken tiles. All of these can make your wall unstable so you should remove them.
When you have removed them, but the existing holes are still there and the adhesive is supporting a tile or mineral fiber that was ripped out by somebody else’s hand not realizing it can still magnify moisture issues within your basement walls If this is true, remove all tile and mineral fibers from floorboards as they will just make things worse with each passing summer season if left to remain where ever in abundance possible block access of water entering any of the basement walls.
Although there are good materials you can apply to your floors and maybe even pour directly into a few of them that WILL get it right here is what isn’t recommended:
Plasterboard
The same old thing we’ve been hearing so much about. They make incorrect claims when applying plasterboard as they have no idea how much moisture can really penetrate through spaces with little or exposed surfaces, like between tiled walls. There’s also a lot of the interior plasterboard in your walls that appear to be either not impressed into concrete, or are held by adhesive on one side and then released with an odd smelling spray on the other.
If you ever do put this onto your floorboards I suggest you don’t fully apply it as some will additionally develop mold after a few months anyway. That is certainly better than cement!
Caulking
This can actually make things worse because so many problems with loose concrete in your walls can be resolved. Should you put caulking into any of these spaces additionally it just causes an additional mess to tidy up further and when foundation drains are present then the caulk ends up floating around creating crumbs that end up everywhere else within the area constantly!
If you have problems controlling water, or even a consistent dampness issue this really is not advised though many new materials claim they will perform miracles over previous ones.
In general, I also prefer not to apply any caulk into old concrete floors because it can always split, damage, or otherwise fail to lead to wet carpets. But do smell of them before walking on! Many times an area will develop a mildew odor with the presence of some products that are bad for your health however these obviously clean off and maybe desirable if others such as dog urine are suspected.
Plastic tile
This type has actually repeatedly been considered a superb choice for floors, particularly the grout that remains in its tile form to cut down on dust and fumes. Some plastic liners simply don’t work perfectly but others can be really efficient at cutting water by only getting it through tiny pores. We have actually got this type over our entire living room space and I absolutely love my floor! It’s sure that has enabled us to minimize keeping some areas wet which is ideal considering this is an existing wet area of our home.
The professional outfitted company that installed this surface did it right the very first time so the plastic wrapped around perfectly and really held up over many years! Now we consistently utilize a chic disposable shoe cover while walking on it which has been good but ultimately do not need to keep any products in my closet or at all other where I can leave them as they are clear examples yet you may still have your own choices and those are large if you have an opportunity to try it out.
Building a fresh house with brand-new furniture is something that many people look forward to doing, especially if they are fans of stepping back into the days when things had been first constructed in their respective homes.
Step 2: Waterproofing The Basement Wall:
Waterproofing is the second step to fix crumbling interior basement walls. If you don’t waterproof your wall, moisture will get into the porous surface and cause a lot of damage.
To do this, use a quality waterproofing compound that has the ability to seep into the more fragile basement wall spaces, which need to be applied two times per yr on the leading wall, and after a couple of years as explained on the website you ended up picking.
If waterproofing is performed right prior to this your basement walls can last for countless decades if water isn’t continued to trouble you anymore. Definitely select polymer cement place it accurately over bare concrete surface areas spread evenly with a trowel.
Should the basement wall is crumbling, proceed to the third step in fixing basement walls while cementing wall surface areas not mortar stucco plaster molding and other types of the porous compound into it will aid seal up basement moisture build-up holes that can allow water come flooding your home structure should you choose not waterproof them correctly.
In case you have both these issues we highly advise employing a professional company as much help for fix crumbling interior basement walls you actually will save the time and labor for yourself.
Step 3: Resurfacing The Basement Wall:
As you’ve applied the epoxy, let’s move on to resurfacing the wall. The next step is to apply a mortar mixture with some sand and Portland cement. You must be wearing a dust mask when applying this because the mortar cement dust is going to make the wall surface area porous.
Once the mortar mixture of sand and cement gets dried up you should wait a few days until it’s thoroughly dry before staining with concrete paint or stain that matches your basement wall’s color (I recommend trying out the second so as to not wreck the walls).
The contractor will repair crumbling interior basement walls only by coating these surfaces in a masonry waterproofing compound. while occasionally the wall surface area might require stucco cement insulation to help moisture get rid of through the basement walls.
Regardless, in order to avoid ruining the environment of the building, masonry waterproofing should be applied by a professional contractor on top of virtually any plumbing or electrical lines running right down into the wall basement.
There you have it! A comprehensive guide on how to fix crumbling interior basement walls.
Conclusion:
If you have crumbling interior basement walls, the first step is to epoxy them together and then resurface the wall with mortar. If the wall needs stucco cement insulation, a professional contractor should be hired to apply the waterproofing compound.
Answers of Some Related Issues/Topics:
How to repair spalling concrete walls?
There are several ways to repair spalling concrete walls. One of the most common and cheapest is to coat the concrete with a mixture of quick setting epoxy and plastering compound. This will fix the rust on steel bars as well as seal off any basement wall’s concrete surface gaps.
The next solution is concrete paint which can seal basement walls and waterproof cementing joints to prevent moisture cementing within the mortar joint of the wall system problem (which includes crumbling basement walls).
However, it’s best not to just jab on new mortar first then coat with a thick layer of epoxy in order for those existing holes to be sealed off completely by the masonry waterproofing compound coating process.
If the basement wall surface is crumbling due to concrete moisture chewing at the mortar joints, then coating the wall with a masonry waterproofing compound will first break this concrete cementing between cement/mortar squares. Then your contractor would plaster over exterior walls as a repair technique – which also
seals the wall basement moisture.
Let Us Know if you need a detailed Article on this Topic.
How to repair vertical cracks in retaining walls?
Step 1: Use a level to check the cracks.
Step 2: Repair the cracks using putty.
Step 3: Apply the waterproofing compound on the wall with a trowel.
Step 4: Keep an eye on the repair work. Repairs can be made at the cementing surface and the wall basement mortar joints.
Step 5: The waterproofing masonry coating will also provide water-resistive properties to the walls in order to create an even moisture uniformity throughout the foundation wall basement. Therefore, curing concrete cracks would become the last step of the basement wall repair job.
Or, the waterproofing masonry coating can also be used to seal moisture cementing mortar joints between cement/mortar squares in concrete foundation walls.
Let Us Know if you need a detailed Article on this Topic.
How to fix a crumbling concrete driveway?
Crumbling concrete driveway is a common problem for homeowners. The process of restoring the driveway is quite simple, but it requires a lot of patience and effort. It is often caused by poor drainage and the deterioration of the underlying soil. If your driveway is crumbling, you can try to fix it yourself without any cost involved.
If you have a crumbling concrete driveway, it can be easily fixed.
To provision you with a clean working environment, first, sweep the driveway properly with either a broom or a handheld vacuum cleaner.
The next step is to separate all of the loose asphalt from the crumbling areas. make use of a wire brush to sweep all loose materials away. You may need to re-use the handheld vacuum cleaner once all of the debris has been cleared from the ruined area.
You should also remove all of the old mortar and bricks. Use a trowel to scrape away the cement surface until you reach good quality gravel or concrete beneath. Save any leftover material for future use as fill material around the perimeter of the area that needs repair.
Now it is time to mix up some concrete repairs mortar using a 1:1 ratio of Portland cement and sand. Once the mixture has cooled, use a trowel to apply the mortar to the crumbling area. Use your hands or a trowel handle to smooth the mortar onto the concrete surface.
Next, use a wire brush to clean the mortar joints and any remaining loose material from the driveway. Once everything is clean and free of dust, it is time for the final step: waterproofing masonry coating. Apply a coat of waterproofing masonry coating to all exposed surfaces of cement/mortar wall.
The coating can be a cement mix of mortar or mortar that has been stabilized with cement sand mixtures and the concrete sealer glue. Once the wall is completely coated, it must cure for 12 – 60 hours before further use.
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