Hey everyone, I’m looking for some advice on our 1960’s ranch with a walkout basement. We live very close to a lake and the land slopes at about a 10% grade toward the front of the house. Grading the front of the property properly is not in the cards right now, but I plan to do it in the next few years. We’ve not had any bulk water in the house in the 3 years we’ve been here. There is no sump pump either. The only sign of any moisture is some staining/white fuzzy mold on the cedar wall strips up to a foot above the floor. That also coincides with some mold/staining on the back of the finished walls. See the pictures.

In the meantime, I’d like to finish/re-model the basement and address what I can from the interior. My plan is to coat all the basement block walls (3 sides) with Drylok Extreme, then 2 inches of EPS or XPS foam, then 2×4 framing in front of that. Floors will be re-tiled with porcelain, with Schluter Ditra beneath. I’m hoping the Ditra will act as a vapor barrier, although I know the porcelain will already bring me most of the way to that goal.

Once I get to work on the outside, the plan is to ensure the foundation wall is waterproofed, dimple drainage board added, drainage tile installed and tied into the gutter downspouts and back-filled with clear-draining gravel.

Main Question: Are there any issues with coating both sides of the CMUs?