What is the best paint/product to use to damp-proof a basement. We live in an area that shouldn’t have basements (elevation 21) but the Victorian house has one anyway. The old pilot light on the gas heater used to be enough to keep the basement dry, but the new gas heater is too efficient for that!
mimi
Replies
I think a product called "Dri-Lock" (probably have it spelled wrong) is sort of the standard, but am not sure how well it really works. You might ask this at Breaktime and see what they say.
They will most likely say that paint is not the way to fix damp basement problems.
Yeah, I sort of thought they might say paint isn't the answer, but so far most haven't. But you/they are generally right in that you should find out what is causing the dampness and try to eliminate the cause rather than do the Band-aid approach. But if it's just a little dampness, I figured Dry-lock might work and be cheaper/easier than digging around the outside, waterproofing, installing new drain tile, etc..
After reading "aimless's" reply, about painting not really solving the problem, and not wanting to steer you wrong, I have another idea: since just a pilot light kept it dry before, it is probably just damp from excess humidity. You could put a dehumidifier in the basement and that would probably take care of the problem--perhaps better than Dry-lock because that mainly works to keep moisture from coming through the block from the outside. If the problem is humidity, Dry-lock won't help, but a dehumidifier will. Now I'll be able to sleep at night!
Why not use a dehumidifier? If you don't have a drain in this basement you could put in a sump pump and let the dehumidifier drain to it. ------Just a thought. (We did this when we lived in Pennsylvania.)
Thanks! That has been bought and plugged in. Keeping our fingers crossed...
mimi