I've never bothered with the floor. As for the walls, if they're dry after ten years it may be unnecessary. Crystalline waterproofing bridges all the little shrinkage cracks and fissures. But if a settlement crack wider than 1/64" develops through the wall, it's not effective. That's why most new homebuilders here use an external membrane, usually a plastic dimpled type that bridges the entire wall. (There's a mandatory two-year warranty against water penetration in Ontario.) I've used Permaquick products in the past. But when I spoke with them last year they were only selling it to qualified applicators. Before applying the coating, the wall must be washed in sulfuric acid. I suspect they fear liability problems if they sell to the general public. I think the permeability of XPS would not make it useful as a radon barrier. Radon can be reduced by venting and sealing. 1, 2 Before undertaking expensive measures to reduce radon, you might want to take another test to be sure. carpet or laminate flooring Laminate flooring manufacturers say their product is suitable for basements. I even saw a new home that sold in November for $1.998 million that had a basement in laminate. However, I wouldn't use it. Aside from the ever present risk of liquid water, water vapour is constantly moving through the floor due to pressure differentials. I doubt the builder used a capillary break to prevent this. However, there is one laminate,Icore,that addresses the issue by using an entirely synthetic backing. I've used carpet successfully for 20 years on my homes. But I only put in low-pile, preferably jute backed, carpeting through which the water vapour can freely move. Whatever you use, Building Science recommends mechanical dehumidfication to keep the relative humidity low, especially during the summer.

DensPlus (and other non-paper-faced gypsum panels) are much more resistant to moisture than the green paper panels. That's why they can be used as tile backers. However, Dens Plus is much harder to prepare for painting than green board; it needs a skim coat. Frankly, other than in a bathroom, I've never used anything other than standard drywall in basements. But I always have a dehumidifier running to keep rh below 50%. And keeping the drywall a few inches above the floor and using XPS under the baseplates protects the wall from minor flood damage. Sealing the interior of a block wall--to the extent that the sealers can even do that--just means moisture accumulates in the wall and possibly causes damage.

All; I am currently in the process of evaluating interior drainage waterproofing companies and I wanted to share my experiences so far. I am not expert in the field but from reading and talking to people over the past couple of years I have learned a couple of things concerning basements that have water problems. (a) first check to see where the water is coming from. Check your gutters, liters, e.t.c and make sure that they are clean. If your gutters are fine make sure that you have extenders at the bottom of your liters to push the water far away from the foundation of your house. If your gutters need replacing replace them. If you have water coming from around your windows putting in a interior drainage system is not going to solve your water problem. (b) the best kind of waterproofing is from the OUTSIDE NOT from the INSIDE. You want to prevent the water from coming into your house. WHERE PRACTICAL dig arond the foundation of your house and seal from the outside. All interior drainage systems do is route the water into your basement them back out via the sump pump. Inside drainage systems are practical when your house sits on a high water table (as in my case)or is below sea level. With interior drainage systems you are more prone to termites and radon gas getting into your home. Since I will be going with an interior drainage system I plan on monitoring the radon levels in my home. (c) Where practical check you walls for leaks. Seal all cracks with hydrolic cement or something similar. Below are the companies that I have met with over the years and my notes on each company. Most of them are bad and one is good. ValueDry - definitely one of the more expensive waterproofing companies. The first time I met with them was in 2008 for both homes. The reps were very informative and polite. When I called again this year (2010) the sales manager said that I could email him some questions since they had come out to see my primary home in NY already. He emailed me back a quote (still expensive) and told me that I had three days to consider (most of the other companies give you 30 days). When I emailed him back a few days later with another question he told me that since the three days has passed the "special price" that I had received was no longer any good! NOTE: turns out company is not licensed in the county of NY where I live. Sounds like the company didn't really want my business. American A-1 - my first time interviewing them. Read allot of good reviews about them on web. Checked references and the references were good. Had a good product at a decent price. Salesman was nice but was probably new on the job and not very knowledgeable. Tried to "con" me into buying stuff that I didn't really need. Really did not know his stuff. Tried to telll me that he had to drill a hole in my foundation BEFORE he could quote me a price and BEFORE we signed a contract. Guys who know their stuff will be able to look at the foundation near the floor and tell you what kind of foundation you have. I told him he could not just drill my floor BEFORE we agree on terms. So the deal was off. NOTE: turns out that American A-1 is under a company is not licensed to do work in the county of NY where I live. They told me that they were. American Dry Basement Systems - definitely has some of the most rude salesmen of all the companies that I have ecountered. My first experience with them was in 2008 in my home in NY. This guy was busy "bragging" about how great the company is but didn't want to leave us any references OR literature. He thought that since he lived in the area that it would be an easy sell. I tried to ask him questions and basically his answers did not make any sense. When I tried to point this out to him he talked all over me. Salesman didn't seem to knowledgeable when I asked him certain questions. Since I didn't have any work done in the basement in 2008 and I called them again in 2010 and thought I would give them a second chance. This time I got a guy that got rude with me over the phone. ADBM, if you are reading this you definitely need to send your guys back to school to learn how to talk to people. NOTE: ADBM is not licensed to do work in county of NY where I live. They told me they were. Vulcan - "The bigboys on the block" that have been around for years. So, since you have been around since 1949 why do you only offer only a 10 year guarantee when the other companies that have not been around as long as you offer 25 years or more? Price came in way less than the other competitors. Is it because your company offers a different kind of conduit for the water (polyethylene) which cost less is not as strong as PVC pipes? Salesman was also prone to bragging. Could not give me an answer why they only guarantee for 10 years. Also, why are you not a member of the National Association of WaterProofers and Structural Repair Contractors. I couldn't get a straight answer on this either. Salesman didn't seem too knowledgeable. Most states require a dedicated line for the sump pump. Salesman who claims to have been in the game for a long time did not know this! Mid-Atlantic - met with them back in 2003. Salesman was very nice but when he saw that we had a finished basement (one part is a office, the other part is a living room area. we also have a tiled floor) the look on his face was "man, is your basement going to get jacked up by the time that we get done with it". He was very honest in telling us that the area would really get messed up with the jack hammering and everything else that had to be done. I believe he quoted me a price of $12,000 back then to do two walls. Good thing I didn't have it done then! Why? (a) that was during the housing boom when prices for everything concerning a home was much more expensive so quotes for waterproofing was also more expensive back then also (b) if I only had two walls done I would have had to call them back to do the other two walls years later because now my entire basement floods in comparison to just one section of the basement. 1st Quality Basements Systems - meet with this salesman about my home in NJ back in 2007 or 2008. Very courteous and professional. I believe he quoted me a price that I thought was too high for me to pay for an investment property that I was already loosing money on (might have been $7000). Ended up just putting a sump pump in the basement. Still have a water problem just not as bad. If I ever do have to waterproof this house I would find this person's business card and contact him. This company is part of Basement Systems Inc which the below company is also a part of. They are totally independent of each other. Basement Systems of New York - very good experience so far. The salesman was very knowledgeable. I met with them a few days ago concerning my home in NY. The salesman broke everything down to me in simple terms that I could understand (now I know the difference between monolithic and two slab foundations). Waiting to hear back from them on a quote. If the numbers add up I will go with this company. Note: all of the companies that were not licensed in the part of NY where I lived wanted to charge me MORE MONEY to do the job than companies that were licensed in NY. That seems real backwards to me. If anything, they should charge me LESS!!! I read a a good article on the Bob Vila website about basement leaks. It is attached below. It is definitely recommeded reading for anyone who wants to understand basement leaks. Feel free to email me with any questions at max4ever69@gmail.com Best, Max

maybe a better question would be: what design "styles" does this 'vanilla' house lend it self toward? If we stain the porch wood, we're craftsman which seems to not fit, right? man, i thought we had an idea of style, but this choice has thrown everything for a loop.