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Hello,
I’ve read some of the discussions on finishing basements, but I think my questions are alittle different. Here is my tale of woe.
We have a 70’s raised ranch (don’t laugh too hard, its all we could afford) with a finished lower level 2/3 below grade. When Hurricane Floyd came thru, we got 2 feet of water in there, some of which came back thru the plumbing from the septic system. We have since done some serious rearranging of the water drainage around the house, to hopefully prevent future floods. And now that we’re feeling safer about the water situation, we’re moving on to renovating the downstairs.
The wallboard, paneling, wall-to-wall etc have all been removed, including all non-load bearing framed walls. The space has concrete block walls and a poured slab floor. It is a dry basement, having passed the “tape a piece of foil to the floor and walls test” in several seasons and thru several rainstorms. But before all the interior materials were removed after the flood, they did mold (what a mess!) And previously we did have problems with condensation on the (almost completely uninsulated) basement walls in the summer. So, my questions:
My husband wants to leave the furring strips that are still on the walls and put up the new insulation and walls over them. I worry about them being a source of mold spores which will lead to future problems. The brick walls and the framing on the load bearing walls which we will not be able to remove will also be “mold sources”. I know that the key to controlling mold is to keep the basement dry – but I’m still worried. Should I stop worrying? Is there anything I could use to treat the walls etc that would stop/retard any mold from spreading?
And the key to keeping this basement dry will be preventing condensation on the walls in the summer. We are planning on insulating the walls so that the warm summer air does not come into contact with the cooler foundation, using 1′ rigid styrofoam insulation against the exterior wall and 3 1/2″ fiberglass bat within the framing of the interior wall. Any advice on whether this plan is going to work? And, at the risk of controversy, the placement of a vapor barrier?
thanks for letting me ramble.
Replies
*
Hello,
I've read some of the discussions on finishing basements, but I think my questions are alittle different. Here is my tale of woe.
We have a 70's raised ranch (don't laugh too hard, its all we could afford) with a finished lower level 2/3 below grade. When Hurricane Floyd came thru, we got 2 feet of water in there, some of which came back thru the plumbing from the septic system. We have since done some serious rearranging of the water drainage around the house, to hopefully prevent future floods. And now that we're feeling safer about the water situation, we're moving on to renovating the downstairs.
The wallboard, paneling, wall-to-wall etc have all been removed, including all non-load bearing framed walls. The space has concrete block walls and a poured slab floor. It is a dry basement, having passed the "tape a piece of foil to the floor and walls test" in several seasons and thru several rainstorms. But before all the interior materials were removed after the flood, they did mold (what a mess!) And previously we did have problems with condensation on the (almost completely uninsulated) basement walls in the summer. So, my questions:
My husband wants to leave the furring strips that are still on the walls and put up the new insulation and walls over them. I worry about them being a source of mold spores which will lead to future problems. The brick walls and the framing on the load bearing walls which we will not be able to remove will also be "mold sources". I know that the key to controlling mold is to keep the basement dry - but I'm still worried. Should I stop worrying? Is there anything I could use to treat the walls etc that would stop/retard any mold from spreading?
And the key to keeping this basement dry will be preventing condensation on the walls in the summer. We are planning on insulating the walls so that the warm summer air does not come into contact with the cooler foundation, using 1' rigid styrofoam insulation against the exterior wall and 3 1/2" fiberglass bat within the framing of the interior wall. Any advice on whether this plan is going to work? And, at the risk of controversy, the placement of a vapor barrier?
thanks for letting me ramble.