Hello. Here's the situation. House was built in 1995, basement walls are studded, insulated, and covered with poly sheeting. Basement is a walkout, and the walkout wall is totally above ground. When we bought the house last year, during the home inspection I noticed small dark spots (possibly mold), behind the (likely original) clear poly sheeting, but ONLY on the wall that has the walkout (100% above ground). Didn't look bad at all, but I had the sellers replace all the insulation and sheeting along that wall anyway. Studs appeared to be totally fine. Poly sheeting was and is currently sealed with adhesive along all edges, fully taped and appears to be sealed very well. This summer has been very humid here in MN. We have been running the A/C and the basement has been nice and cool. Last week, I noticed quite a bit of condensation behind the poly sheeting. This was not present all winter. Since there were small mold spots during the home inspection, I am assuming this has been a problem before. Since the condensation is behind the sheeting, I am assuming that the hot, humid air from outside is somehow penetrating into the wall (which is 100% above ground), and flowing up againt the cool poly sheeting inside the house, and condensing. The question is, what to do? I am planning to sheetrock the basement this summer. Will that help at all? I can slit the sheeting and let it dry out and reseal, but I won't be able to do that next year after the drywall is installed. Can I expect the moisture inside the wall to diffuse back outside during the fall and winter? I don't want to totally remove the sheeting along that wall for fear that I will have moisture build up in the winter along that wall. Comments? thanks Joe

First, a little history. And an apology in advance. This is bound to be long winded. I have an older (1955) ranch house over a crawlspace on a perimeter foundation. It is about 25'x40', with an addition on the right side and on the back that sits on a slab. When I bought the place, I could not get into the crawlspace to follow the inspector ( I had my leg in a cast), so I had to trust his evaluation. That was a mistake, as I would soon learn. The house had carpeting over an oak floor, so I decided to tear it up and recondition the floor underneath. Another mistake, as the oak was in really bad condition and would have cost as much to repair as it would to replace, without the guarantee of looking as nice. So I decided to tear up the oak and replace it. The sub-floor looked sturdier and in better condition than it was, as I suddenly found myself standing in my crawlspace. Fortunately for me, it was only about 6" deep where I went through. It should have been a minimum of 18", something the inspector would have noticed if he had done his job properly. So I tore up the subfloor. Then I stepped on a joist and broke it in half. You can see where this is going. One big nightmare. Anyway, I dug the crawlspace deeper under that room (18"-24"), replaced the sill (as it had met its demise under an infestation of carpenter ants that the seller neglected to disclose and the inspector apparently missed) and all the joists and put in new piers and posts, and put down a new floor. The 4"x6" center support beam, at least at that part of the house, looked ok, although it had about 25 separate "piers/posts" composed of whatever scrap the builder or previous owner had lying around. I'm talking half pieces of bricks, 2x4's lying down, standing up, etc. Nothing substantial, and I kick myself in the butt everyday for not fixing it then, when I had the floor up. Anyway, I went on to do the kitchen the same way (which is on the opposite side of the center main beam from the living room), although I didn't replace all of the joists in that room. Now I've tore up the den floor, which is on the same side of the main beam as the living room, and its a mess under there. The main beam of the house has been cut in multiple places and replaced with what looks like a steel I-beam in one section and possibly a railroad tie in another. All of these are also supported by an assortment of small bricks, etc. I have an engineer friend with some neat software that told me I need 12 good piers and posts under the house. To be safe, I plan on putting in 15-18. I had 84 of these hackjobs. My plan to begin with was to adjust the level of the house in certain parts, as there has been some sinkage over the years. However, I'm not comfortable with the main beam as it is, so I want to replace the entire thing. I plan to build a temporary support wall on both sides of the main beam using a 4"x6" on the top, supported by 4"x4"'s, standing on a 2"X12" base. Its considerably more than I have supporting the center now. Then I plan on putting in new piers and posts, removing the center beam, and replacing it with one that is made of 3 2"x10"'s bolted together, which is what the engineer suggested. But I have a couple of questions first. Should I build the walls the entire length of the house first, or should I do it in 8' or 10' sections, replace the beam, and then go on to the next section? How far from the center beam should I build the support walls? I don't want to get too far away for obvious reasons, but I also need a little working room as I plan on digging 2'x2'x2' holes for the piers, filling it with compacted gravel, and pouring a new 2'x2'x1' pier on top. I asked my friend these questions, but he's strictly a numbers guy who seems overly dependent on software to do his job if you ask me. I know a lot of people reading this are thinking "Get a professional". I've done this type of work before when I was younger, so I know I can do it. It's just going to take some time. And I also can't afford the $15-20,000 quotes I've been getting to do the job. Any other suggestions, tips, or advice anyone can think of are welcome. Except for the bulldozer or match suggestions. My father has already beat you to those.