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adam9280
join:2005-01-02
Rochester, MI

adam9280 to Thane_Bitter

Member

to Thane_Bitter

Re: Black stuff (mold?) on basement wall.

Thanks for the good info. He did put in some foam leaf guards that I witnessed overflowing during a hard downpour. There's no downspout on the corner in question so that and the gutters overflowing must not be helping the 2 story splash-back.

BlueMist
join:2011-01-24
Cookeville, TN

BlueMist

Member

As I see it...

1) Water staining on the outside wall indicating possible water splashing either from a lack of gutters or gutters/downspouts that are too small. Cleaning the outside of the wall and sealing the concrete with a one of those clear waterproofing sealers can help.

2) Mold or mildew buildup due to high moisture on inside of concrete wall. This can be caused by item #1 but in this case it looks like a combination of #1 and a total lack of insulation on an outside wall.

Once Item #1 has been taken care of and all mold was eliminated I would insulate the concrete walls and be sure to include a vapor barrier on the side closest to the room interior.

The best and most likely most expensive is to add either metal stud walls or pressure treated wood stud walls about 1 inch away from the concrete. Then have closed cell spray foam installed on the wall and then cover the wall with the type of sheet rock that has the non-mold surface that is not just the routine plain paper. The closed cell foam takes the place of a vapor barrier as well as providing the needed insulation.

The next cheaper method would be to glue foam insulation sheets on the wall. Then cover the foam with a plastic vapor barrier. Since the foam sheets and most plastic used as a vapor barrier are usually quite flammable most locations require they be covered by something non-flammable unless you want to void your home owners insurance. I would again use the anti-fungus sheet rock on pressure treated (or metal) studs.

No matter what you do, this will keep on happening unless the wall is insulated along with a vapor barrier and if excess moisture continues to seep in through the wall from the outside due to what appears to be excessive water splashing on an unsealed concrete wall.

Tex
Dave's not here
Premium Member
join:2012-10-20

Tex to adam9280

Premium Member

to adam9280
said by Camelot One:

Maybe take a close look at the siding to brick joint, or at the brick expansion joints on either side of the corner. My guess is that exterior is just brick facade over concrete, so water getting through the brick layer is running down until it finds a way through the concrete.

This.