Basement Finishing: is drywall the best?
Hi everyone-I searched the archives for threads about fninishing basements, and there is a lot of information framing and drywalling a basement to protect from moisture/mold. But I didn’t find any references to some of the non-drywall alternatives, such as teh Owens Corning basement finishing system (http://franchising.owenscorning.com/bfs/products/) and others. These systems appear much more mold resistant and can also be easily disassembled for future access to foundation walls (is that even important?).
Are these systems worth the extra money? I live in an 80 year house in central Ohio. Re-grading aroudn the foundation and new gutters have improved the moisture level 100%, however once a year or so a bad storm will cause a little bit of water to flow in through the foundation. In addition, we run a de-humidifier in spring/summer to keep it from getting musty.
I believe a sump pump and some sort of perimeter drain will stop water pentration (it has worked for my neighbor), but the question is will that be enough to prevent mold in a dyrwalled basement? Anybody have experience iwth these other products? Should i spring for the more expensive option?
Replies
I would just get mold resistant drywall which in the overall scheme of things is just marginally more expensive than regular drywall. Menards carries it in my area.
you need something to control the humidity to 50% or so.
Before you commit to the paperless drywall take a look at it closely. Most of what I've seen needs a skim coat over the entire surface to get an acceptable finish.
Fisher, you bring up valid concerns for a basement remodel. My bsmt was flooded as I was finishing it two years ago. We had a nightmare with mold, so it is a "formidable enemy" worthy of consideration. I found some mold growing on styrofoam insulation, so I concluded that all the hoopla about paperless drywall a little overstated.
In my subsequent remodel, I decided to use a vented wall assembly. Fresh air and drying seem to prohibit mold growth, so I promoted that. The down side was the loss of insulation between the fur strips, but that's not so critical in a bsmt which is mostly underground. I did use mold-free drywall, and 2" of hardieboard behind the baseboard, which is spaced off the flooring.