Sealing Basement Floors

The basement is a popular location for entertainment rooms, laundry area and store. The basement can also be a great place for locating your home theater. If not sealed properly it is easy for a basement to suffer from moisture problems. Moisture can gain access to your basement through cracks or can enter directly through the concrete.

Once moisture enters the basement it leads to mildew, and black spots and can also spoil precious flooring. Moisture seepage in the basement is the main reason why solid hardwood floors are not recommended for use in the basement.

Efflorescence

Moisture in a basement also leads to the problem of Efflorescence. This is a condition characterized by the deposition of a white chalk like substance on the concrete floor. The chalk like substance consists of solid salts that leach out of the floor with the water. The water evaporates leaving the salts behind. While the salts may not harm your floor themselves cleaning the deposits can be a housekeeping challenge. Properly sealing a basement floor can help avoid this problem.

Major Factors that Increase Moisture in a Basement

• Excess soil moisture.
• Cracked basement floors and walls.

Handling Moisture Seepage in a Basement

• The first step is to reduce the moisture levels in the soil around your house. This can be achieved by drains, gutters and by ensuring proper grading. These steps will ensure that the water flows away from your property.
• Sump pumps and dehumidifiers can come to your rescue if moisture has started seeping in. but these are temporary solutions at best, that are akin to using duct tape to close a leaking hose.
• Sealing the basement floor is a long lasting solution that can keep moisture at bay without seeking regular interference from your end.

Sealing the Basement Floor

• Remove the existing flooring if any to determine if there are any cracks in the floor.
• Once the cracks are identified close them with mortar.
• Once the basement is free from cracks the sealant can be applied. Sealants can be surface sealers or penetrating sealants.
• Penetrating sealants give better results than surface sealants. Surface sealants may blister and crack open with time. Penetrating sealants impregnate the concrete up to a thickness of 4 inches. They react with the free lime in the concrete making it impermeable to water.
• Once the basement has been sealed it is still advisable to use a moisture barrier between the concrete floor and flooring products especially those made from wood.

Sealing a basement floor will reduce the moisture levels in the basement. It is equally important to remove the internal sources of moisture. You may for example vent the clothes dryer to the outside and protect air conditioning ducts to ensure that condensation does not occur. Depending on the construction of your basement it may also be necessary to seal hollow columns and open cores in the wall. Sealing a basement floor is a job for a professional. If a basement floor is not sealed properly, almost every flooring whether Vinyl tiles, Linoleum floors, engineered hardwood floors or carpets will face the risk of moisture damage.

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