Getting Ready to Finish Your Basement

Basement remodeling increases living space and value in your home.

At DryZone we've seen thousands of finished and unfinished basements. The basement moisture we've seen range from dampness to all-out flooding. Before remodeling the basement, consider these steps to prepare it properly. Even if your basement has already been finished, most of these precautions are still possible.

1. Install an Effective Waterproofing System

If you’ve had any basement groundwater seepage at all, then you need a basement waterproofing system like WaterGuard, DryTrak or other Basement Systems waterproofing solutions. Because basement water problems never improve, you can count on the drains and coatings that protected the house to fail and continue to worsen. If water seepage occurs even as little as one a year, it needs to be fixed before the basement is finished.  Allowing the flooding to continue is to risk a larger basement flood in the future, causing the finished basement system to be damaged.  As a matter of fact, some cautious homeowners will hire a foundation contractor to install a basement waterproofing system even if they haven’t had seepage as a precaution. This makes sense- these systems are far easier to install in unfinished basements.  Once the walls are finished and the floor coverings are installed, access is considerably more restricted. DryZone recommends installing this perimeter waterproofing system around the entire perimeter of the basement.

2. Install a Reliable Sump Pump with a Backup Sump Pump

If you’re planning finishing your basement, you should first have the best sump pump protection available.  By properly waterproofing the basement, you guard your home against flooding from primary pump failure, pump overload from torrential rains, and power failure. Basement Systems' TripleSafe sump pump system is ready for the challenge, with primary and secondary AC-powered pumps and a third battery backup sump pump in a single airtight sump liner. TheTripleSafe system automatically pumps out basement water in a power failure or if the primary pump mechanically fails to operate. Without this triple protection, your finished basement is only one pump or power failure away from a flood. Protect your basement all the time with triple protection before you invest in it.

If you decide not to install a TripleSafe sump pump system and opt for Basement Systems' SuperSump instead, it’s important to have your foundation contractor install an UltraSump battery backup sump pump and WaterWatch Sump Pump Alarm. The UltraSump (standard with a TripleSafe system) is a battery-operated back-up pumping system with a DC sump pump installed in the same sump hole, a battery, and a charging system. Our UltraSump can pump more than 11,000 gallons of water from the basement if there is a primary sump pump failure or power outage. A WaterWatch Alarm is standard with each Basement Systems sump pump systems, which will sound off to alert you to pump failure before the basement floods.

3. Protect Against Floods from Frozen Sump Discharge Lines

A sump pump most commonly discharges foundation water outside. Ice and snowy conditions can cause the discharge line to freeze and block. If this happens, the pump will be running, but flooding water will be trapped, creating a basement flood. DryZone offers IceGuard ®, which is standard on most systems, to prevent this problem automatically.

4. Install a vapor barrier on the walls before finishing

Basement walls can leak at high points on the walls, and water vapor can also pass through contribute to a high humidity levels. A sheet of plastic vapor barrier- preferably a high-quality, extra-durable one- directs water seepage down to drainage system below, keeping it away from studs, drywall, and paneling. Water vapor will be kept from the basement environment, lowering humidity levels. The vapor barrier should be tucked into the drainage system below if one exists, and the top of the vapor barrier should be caulked to the top of the wall to keep a reliable seal.

Installing a vapor-proof drainage sheet on the walls that can also insulate, such as Basement Systems ThermalDry WALL System, can reflect 97% of the heat back into your basement.

5. Keep the Basement floor warm, dry and comfortable

Once possible leakage problems in the basement have been eliminated, water vapor from coming through the concrete floor should be prevented. Porous concrete allows water vapor to slowly and continuously travel through. Laying a carpet on top of the concrete floor will trap moisture under the carpet, creating odors, mold and rot.

Basement Systems’ solution is a ThermalDry Basement Floor Matting system. This includes a specially engineered polypropylene, 17-inch tongue-&-groove square tile that, unlike systems that use wood sub floors, is totally water and vapor proof. The unique grid design on the bottom of the tile creates an air space that insulates the basement floor and does not allow water vapor to condense. This sub floor takes away only 3/8" of precious ceiling height in the basement, as opposed to 4" for other methods.

6. Prevent common plumbing leaks from ruining your finished basement

Water leakage, whether it’s from the ground or not, has the same damaging effect on your finished basement. DryZone has easy solutions for the two most common domestic water leaks we see constantly.

The average life of a water heater is seven years, and when they fail, they often leak, flooding the basement. Basement Systems FloodRing® will contain water seepage from leaking water heaters, draining it to the waterproofing system when the water heater leaks.

The second common plumbing leak is caused by washing machine hoses that flood your basement.  This can happen even if the washing machine is on the upper floors. The problem?  Washing machine hoses are not made to withstand the 50 or 60 pounds per square inch of water pressure that hard plumbing systems are built for. Valves can shut the water pressure off when the washing machine is not in use, but very few people use them all the time. In a few years these inexpensive hoses either leak or fail completely, and hundreds of gallons of water can leak out in a very short amount of time. Basement Systems FloodChek hoses are the answer. With a 20 year guarantee, the FloodChek hoses are made to take the pressure, and will not blow-out, corrode, or rust at the end connections.

7. Inspect the basement windows

Will your old basement windows be good enough for your finished basement? Basement windows are notoriously poor for energy efficiency and ugly. Wet environment near the ground or in a window well will cause rust in steel basement windows and rot in wood basement windows. Many windows do not have screens, and constantly repainting them is a constant challenge.

DryZone can replace your basement windows with energy-efficient, all-vinyl EverLast windows. With smooth sliding operation, double glass, full screen, no need to be painted, and easily removable panes for cleaning or passing long objects into the basement, your basement windows will stay looking great for decades!

The right time to replace your basement windows is before a basement remodeling.  This way, a basement finishing contractor can trim right up to them for a nice, finished look.

8. Dehumidify the space

The SaniDry Basement Dehumidification and Air System powerfully and effectively dehumidifies incases where most standard dehumidifiers are too small to go the distance. The SaniDry dehumidifies the air and automatically drains the water out of the hose.   You’ll never have to empty it, as would be necessary with a conventional dehumidifier. Our basement dehumidifier takes three times the amount of water from the air as a typical dehumidifier with the same energy usage. The SaniDry’s powerful blower draws musty air in moves dry, clean air back out into the basement. Once DryZone installs this basement dehumidifier, your high humidity and musty smells are gone from your remodeled basement.

9. Perform some basic exterior maintenance

Having the home’s downspouts extended with Basement Systems RainChute will keep roof water away from the foundation. Foundation soil should be graded away from the house wherever possible, and your gutters and rainwater drainage channels should be kept clean. Window wells should be clean and clear of leaves and debris.