Hi everyone, My wife and I closed on our first home in November, which is a 1,200 SQ ft ranch with a full basement, built in 1959. One of the selling points for me was was a small finished room in the basement. The moment I stepped into the room I knew that it would be my Lionel sanctuary.....well then reality set in. When we first closed, the room had carpet down, and it looked decent. The only thing the room needed was some fresh paint, or so I assumed. The first indicator of any problems, was that the room smelled a bit like a dirty fish tank when the door was closed. I also noticed some mildew like stains by the baseboard trim. We had some boxes in the room that we had to move out since every item in the box of a musty (dirty fish tank) odor. I removed the carpet to determine if that was the source of the odor, and I found that the carpet/foam was simply placed over the bare concrete. It was clear that the carpet had been wet before. The nails in the tack strips were even rusty. I removed the carpet/foam, but the smell still remained. My next assumption was that the base of the sheetrock was moldy, thereby creating the musty odor. I had planed to check it but didn't get to it. Today we had a rough weather day, ice in the AM and many inch's in the afternoon. The ground is frozen so no rain water is being absorbed. I walked down to the basement this afternoon, and I was horrified to see water seeping out from the wall in a few places. The previous owners had a sump pump/French drain system installed, but it does not extend around the perimeter of the basement. In my "train room" there is no French drain, but there is a hole in he floor to drain the water I guess. Water was emanating from the wall I assume ,but never a huge amount. It was also leaking near the sump pump. In the train room, the basement trim and some sheetrock was also damaged. Any deas on what to do about my dilema? Thanks everyone, Zack[ATTACH]45126[/ATTACH][ATTACH]45127[/ATTACH][ATTACH]45128[/ATTACH][ATTACH]45129[/ATTACH][ATTACH]45130[/ATTACH]

4 years ago we built a 20x20 addition off our house on sonotubes. The structure is about a foot off the ground. The builder suggested I just use some lattice to close up the opening but instead I used PT plywood. I didn't like the look of lattice and figured the plywood would help keep bugs, rodents and rain out. I buried the plywood about 6 inches down, screwed it to the structure, painted it and cut in some vents. Looked great... Now, it is starting to get musty and stale under there. I can smell it through the carpet when I lay on the floor. I have a family and want to protect their health before this turns into a serious a mold problem. Here is my plan: Remove all the plywood to open the space back up. Check the floor insulation for mold. If it is moldy, tear up the carpet and subfloor and remove it. Paint all the floor joists with Killz and replace the insulation and sub floor. This time I will close the opening under the addition with lattice (with some bug screen/mesh stapled to the back). Does anyone see a fault with this plan? Should opening the space up to the fresh air and leaving it that way prevent the problem from re-surfacing? What other concerns should I have? I realize I am now inviting small pests and frigid air to reside under my addition. I feel this solution is much better than installing membranes and dehumidifiers etc.... BTW, there is no plumbing under the floor. Please share your thoughts and suggestions. Thanks!