Basement waterproofing suggestions

I am starting to finish my basement. The basement has been basically dry but there are a couple of walls that are often moist. For at least the past 3 years or so there has been no water on the floor. However as I will be framing and sheet rocking the walls I am a bit worried about mold getting behind the framed walls.

I was contemplating using the waterproof paint that they sell at home depot but as I was reading stuff on the internet it seems that there are also other options.

Stuff such as ( no affiliation ) :
radonseal: RadonSeal Plus Concrete Sealer

or drylok extreme ( again no affiliation ):
UGL - DRYLOK® Masonry - Masonry Waterproofer

I would like to do whatever will last the longest. I am worried about mold and also I dont want to redo the work again in the future although who knows if I still will have the house 20 years from now.

But I would probably like something that has a 20 year life span or more.

Firstly what would be the recommendation for the walls?
Secondly what are the recommendation for the floors?

What is the recommended flooring for a basement and what is the best vapor barrier for the floors?

 

first, you need to make sure that your ground slopes away from the house at least 1-in in 3 ft.
second you need good gutters that empty at least 10 ft from the house, that will help on moving water from the house, then either one of the products will help but if you are going to finish the walls you will need to allow for ventilation behind the drywall or you will have mold, no product will block water from the inside of the concrete, the pressure behind the wall will force it thru somewhere. sooner or later.

Death leaves a heartache no one can heal, love leaves a memory no one can steal.

 

What do you mean ventilation behind the drywall? Does that mean that I need to build the wall away from the concrete? Can you go into a little more detail on this?

 

Yes, leave space between the concrete and the stud wall

However, moving the water away from the wall through grading, gutters and downspout extensions should be your first priority

 

BSD-103: Understanding Basements — Building Science Information

Info-511: Basement Insulation — Building Science Information

Gary

 

As speedwrench notes, in my experience the first step is controlling moisture levels at the interior of basement walls is to take any practical and cost effective steps you can to control moisture levels at the exterior of the walls - if excessive moisture is present at a foundation's exterior it can find its way through even minute defects in "waterproofing" coatings applied at the interior of basement walls and slabs, which is why there is a market for the various kinds of systems to collect and dispose of such moisture once it makes its way through a foundation and any interior coatings applied to it.

Here are some suggestions for reducing exterior moisture levels based on my experience at moisture intrusion inspections here in Chicago (Note: I do not sell or install any type of product for basement waterproofing, I just inspect for such problems):

A visual guide to reducing basement water problems - Paragon Home Inspections Chicago/Skokie

 

if you're serious about the 20yr time, dig down outside to the footer & wtrproof the wall,,, 'moist' doesn't mean 'basically dry' at my house,,, regrading can't hurt but don't look for it to be a permanent solution by itself.

http://www.ugl.com/drylokMasonry/mas...xtreme.php]UGL - is a joke

acid-stain the floor & seal w/breatheable material.

 

How about using XYPEX on the cement floor and after that Delta Flooring? To seal the floor? But for outside I blueskin and insualated and used Drainage board to protect the blueskin and replaced the wheeping tile.

 

xypex is a decent mtl - delta flooring & blueskin i don't know,,, 'wheeping tile' is 4" ads corrugated surrounded by #57 stone ?

 

My house is around 90 years old and when we get very heavy rains or during very wet spring thaws, we get water in the basement in a few select spots. My house foundation was done in three separate pours - the main house, the front porch and the back porch area. When it leaks, it is always where the seams between these are. I installed a French trench around the inside which took care of everything but the worst conditions I mentioned here. I'm thinking I need to do something outside the house. I saw a system on TV that layered some materials and was plyable. Does anyone know what this is about? Any suggestions? Thanks.