unfinished basement

I have a unfinished basement in a 90 year old home. I have no water problems or flooding. The eaves drain at least three feet from the house. Sounds good so far...however on one wall the cement is falling! It is dry to the touch and crumbles. Just the first "layer", then it is firm. Ive had a contracter look at it and he said in "the olden days it was not uncommon to spread concrete on the concrete blocks" for supposed insulation. It looks bad in one spot (approx 10ft wide) and Im unsure what to do. I live in the midwest and it rains alot. Also no bushes or anything around the exterior foundation. Im just stumped...should I put cabinets up over it to expand my work area? Do I call in a foundation expert and watch my bloodpressure rise? Any info or advice appreciated.

 

Most 90 yr. old houses only fairly recently had the gutters put up. It is likely

that this basement had leaked for one reason or another, for a long time,

before somebody thought to put up gutters, etc. This crumbling area is

probably a former owner's attempt at ''waterproofing'' a portion of the base-

ment that leaked the most. If the original wall behind this patch is pretty

sound, I wouldn't give the whole thing another thought.

 

Im an Indiana guy, and from a Michigan guy, I know you can relate to similiar weather conditions, thanks. What do you think about good primer on it to make sure it stays for awhile? What Im afraid of is the continuation of falling cement...of course I have no idea if it will continue. Ive cleaned up a lot of cement (bags full). It seems stable. What I also think someone did was put up a weather barrier some years ago that stuck to the cement. The cement couldnt get rid of the water so it stayed. Its only a guess.

 

I doubt that primer would help falling cement veneer. One option would be

to rip it off and be done with it. If you're not brave enough to get that

destructive to your basement, I would consider putting up a well braced

stud wall at this area of basement and before raising that wall in place, nail

1/2 '' osb over the backside. Go ahead and insulate and finish the wall.

 

Thanks. My problem is insulation techniques...since I have not read a lot on the subject. All I know is that it depends on the region of the country what will work best. Do I keep an inch between the cement and the studs? I guess I can try to find threads that will help me. I just dont want to mistakingly let moisture collect somewhere hidden from view and creating a problem. This doesnt seem to be a highly talked about subject.

 

The reason some subjects are not ''talked about a lot'' is probably due to a

lack of uniformity in recommendations. There is a lot of research and

divergent experiences in some aspects of construction and sometimes these

may not always agree. I would leave a couple inches air space if it was my

basement. Most older basements need more than that, just to plumb and

true-up the walls. You should get a long block-layers level and a chaulk line

and measuring tape to locate exactly where those stud walls should start

so you still have space to the basement wall where they end. If an inch or

2 one way or another will help square up the basement ''footprint'', this is

as good a time as any.