Almost everyone who owns a house with a basement unfinished, dreams of having done. How can you not think of it? After all, an unfinished basement is worth an entire floor of space that can be easily transformed into any kind of your family room needs.
However, the basement finishing projects are quite inexpensive and, because basements are like no other room in the house, there are particular challenges when it comes to choosing the best finishes and configuration. Basements usually house the utilities, plumbing, electrical. They are also very prone to moisture and water accidents. All this must be taken into account before tackling the project. Making the wrong choices, you can literally spell disaster
Below are the six most common mistakes homeowners make in basement remodeling projects :.
1 - Finishing a wet, damp or flood prone Basement
because of the way they are built, basements are always prone to moisture and flooding.
your basement is basically a porous concrete box, buried in wet soil, and when that ground is saturated with water, the resulting hydrostatic pressure pushes the water against the foundation walls. That water will eventually find its way into your basement through the cracks, the junction between walls and floors, as infiltrating the concrete through capillary action. To make matters worse, basements can also be inundated by plumbing leaks, hot water tanks and other water routes accidents. Without adequate drainage, a reliable sump pump system, and proper dehumidification, without basement is dry enough to be finished
2 - .. Using wooden sleepers, in fiberglass insulation and drywall
While these materials work well when finishing rooms above grade, in a basement usually spell disaster. Basements are naturally moist, and all these materials have the tendency to absorb moisture. They are also made with organic compounds: wood, paper and, in the case of glass fiber, a urea-based adhesive is used to hold the lot together
When combining the moisture with the organic matter, creating ideal conditions for. mold for development. In addition, fiberglass loses all its R-value when wet and plasterboard, in contact with water, will start to decompose and produce toxic fumes. basement walls must be finished with waterproof and 100% of inorganic materials that will survive a flood water cellar or accident
. 3 -. Using wooden substrates, wood floor, cork or bamboo
in essence, everything that is made from organic materials is a bad idea for basements. Producers could say that these products are both naturally "mold resistant" or are chemically treated to be so. Some manufacturers basement wood subfloor could be argued that the product has a vapor barrier and is raised off the ground to keep the soaked wood moisture from the slab. However, read the small print. None of them will stand a chance to survive a flood, which can be caused by a hydraulic loss, for example. Seek solutions to the basement floors that are specifically designed to withstand all types of basement moisture conditions
4 -. Improper use of vapor barriers
Many entrepreneurs will tell you that if you attach poly sheets on all the walls and the floor of the basement, you can safely use any type of finish you want, because the "vapor barrier" will protect the materials. Some will have an even worse hint: the vapor barrier Positioning of studs and glass fibers, and then attach the drywall. According to the US Department of the recommendations building of America Best Practices of energy, moisture from the basement walls and floors must be allowed to evaporate and dry on the inside. This type of vapor barrier will do only one thing: to trap water vapor between the concrete and the barrier, where it can condense, and can cause mold to grow
5 - Not having a backup sump . pump
Each year in Wisconsin, millions of dollars are spent on cleaning the basement floods, the repair and replacement of flood-damaged goods. To make matters worse, the damage is never covered by insurance, homeowners, and also establishes special flood insurance coverage limits when it comes to basements. Even if your basement is properly waterproofed and has a good working sump pump without a battery backup sump pump, you are at risk for a full basement. Keep in mind that the same storms that have the potential to flood your basement can also cause power outages. No power, no pump! battery backups are useful also in case of failure of the primary pump or other electrical fault
. 6 -. Neglecting humidity control
Have you done all the right things during your basement finishing. It is equipped with drainage, a good sump pump with backup battery. It is chosen all the right materials for the walls, floor and ceiling. Yet cellar musty odors or you found some spots of mold growing in furniture, fabric or paper. Although a correct waterproofing and basement finishing good choices can greatly improve the conditions in the cellar, in some cases, not be sufficient to control the humidity in the basement .
underground levels of moisture tend to be higher because of the temperature differences between the basement and the areas above grade. When the basement humidity levels go above the 60% of the mold will start to develop, especially in organic surfaces. Even if you do not see, if the basement musty odors, mold is present. damp basement levels should be closely monitored and a dehumidifier should be used to maintain the relative humidity levels at or below 55%.
0 Komentar