I'm installing an egress window in my basement that will be placed in a wall that runs parallel to the floor joists. Do I have to install a header as well? I know that if it were a wall that ran perpindicular to the joist I would have to but am not sure in this case. The opening will be 55" by 62". Thanks for your help.

My finacé and I have an old farmhouse (> 100 y.o.). The basement is consistantly damp and has some standing water after long storms in the winter. The walls are rough stone and the morter is crubling at the surface but seems solid deeper. No stones are lose. The floor is concrete and fairly strong. As you might imagine, there is a severe mold problem. I've been reading other posts about Dry-Lok and I have a couple of questions. * Do you need to paint over Dry Lok, one post said yes, others imply that they left it without more paint? * Will I be hastening the decomposition of the morter and cement floor if I simply Dry Lok over them? What are the long term consequences of sealing the floors and walls from the inside only? * What is "tiling" in regards to basements, one quote said they were sure their basement hadn't been "tiled"? * What would be the "right" way of dealing with an old basement like this?