>Plans to build a nine foot basement with only one foot above ground level. The soil boring test came back with high seasonal water table at 100" (8'4"). Any ideas how we can make this work? = Avoid water at all costs. If you are somewhere it could not flood, just high water table... I would build foundation [stem] 5' walls with 4' framed walls on the top. This combo allows for really nice daylight basement hopper windows. The final cost probably will be be the same as 9' stems. Or even go with 4' stems and 5' above. = >Can we get an 8 ft ceiling with two feet above ground level? No I would not go there. Water too close. Dig a sump pump pit and basin will fill in with water. TYP basins are 30" and 36" deep. It is very difficult to set basin in water, that pushes it up. Also heavy rains and your basement will flood, sump pump will burn out as it can not pump a lake. ... = BUT IF THERE ANY CHANCE OF FLOODING ... ABORT AND GO WITH SLAB

The guy that cut out the Sheetrock should have found the vapor barrier when he removed the base boards. Any experienced floor installer/repair guy should have noticed it missing also. The way I do it is lay the vapor barrier out and use thumb tacks to hold the ends approx 6" up on the walls. Small bead of silicone on the seams approx 6" back from the edges then tape the seam. Next the underlayment will go down (in your case foam). Next the flooring. To finish I take a sample of the base board/trim and hold it in place against the wall and use a Sharpie to trace the top edge onto the vapor barrier. Then trim the vapor barrier 1/2 to 3/4" below the line. It leaves 3 1/2 to 5 1/2" of vapor barrier up the wall (depending on trim width). But I have never had to go back to repair damage due to sweating slab syndrome or vapor problems.

Anything that is applied topically has the potential for being overwhelmed by moisture. And yes, you are correct that the moisture content won't change because the slab is still 'holding' onto the moisture. Absolutely correct on that one. Did the ENTIRE BASEMENT receive the treatment? If not, it won't work. Imagine trying to keep a small portion (size of a penny) of a sponge dry by placing a penny sized piece of plastic on top of the sponge. Now float that sponge in a sink full of water. How long will it take the tiny piece of plastic to become 'useless'? Not very long. Water finds the path of least resistance. It will move up/around/sideways and over top of anything in its way. The only way to keep 'office' area dry is to treat the entire basement. Yep. The ENTIRE thing. And that's assuming the SHOT BLASTING and the EPOXY and the PRIMING and the MICROTOPPING are done using an epoxy specialist. A 'good coat' of sealant is probably not going to work. The DIY level of coatings from HD (et al) are some of the epoxy specialist's best friends. These topical products make the professionals a whole heap of money. Because they are called in to 'remove' (ie. spend more time removing the bad 'fix') and then fix the topical sealant that was originally applied. It gains them another $1-$2/sf for the job. They like it (but hate it at the same time...they wish people would simply call them first). In your situation, the BEST solution (warm underfoot) is carpet. I know you don't want that, but it is the honest truth. Carpet and its pad are BREATHABLE materials. Believe it or not, that is the BEST THING for a slab with moisture issues (not 'standing water'....but water vapour moving up through the slab). The water will always have a place to go...which is into the air. It will not be 'trapped'. Trapped water means potential for mold growth. I would go with a low-pile berber with an appropriate pad (most berbers don't need them...but some will accept them) for now. Carpet is cheap to purchase and cheap to install. It is cheap to remove and cheap to dispose of. If you are not overly concerned/pressed to fix the issue, then carpet is your best friend. To get down any other type of flooring (and NOT have mold/mildew issues) you will NEED to fix then entire basement slab with the professional shot blasting/epoxy/primer/microtopping routine.

DavidR, we've checked the outside when it's rained a few times and noticed that water pools on top of the retaining wall and seeps down toward the back window well where the cinder blocks are. So, would putting more top soil at the edge of the retaining wall help? Regarding gutters, a roofer who was supposed to come to redo only the porch area (on the opposite side of house) was going to clean the gutters but then COVID19 happened and we haven't heard back. Curious, do you think cellar waterproofing wasn't done when they built this home or it wore off? Seabornman, the backyard is basically a hill which the house sits on the bottom of. It is not shown in these photos but it is farthest from the camera. In other words, impossible to grade at least in that area. It seems like a bad place to put a house but I'm not sure why they did that. Fortunately our water issue doesn't seem to be a huge deal although I am still concerned and would like to do what we can to make things better hopefully without great expense.