Getting Ready to Finish your Basement in Washington?
Finishing your basement increases the living space and value of your home.
Rainy Day Basement Systems in Northern Washington services Bellingham, Oak Harbor, Burlington, Everett, Marysville, Arlington, Bothell, Lynnwood, Shoreline, Darrington, Marblemount, Richmond Beach and surrounding areas. We have seen thousands of finished and unfinished basements with water problems ranging from dampness to all-out flooding in Washington State. Once you've remodeled the basement, you'll want to fill it with nice personal effects, such as new furniture, quality flooring, or even a tower computer that sits on the floor. One basement flood can ruin all of these things, while also destroying your drywall and wood sub floors. If you're planning on finishing your basement, this is what we recommend to prepare it properly. Even if you've already finished your basement, the majority of these precautions can still be made.
- Install an effective waterproofing system.
- Install a reliable sump pump with alarm and back-up system.
- Guard against floods from frozen sump discharge lines.
- Install a vapor barrier on the walls before you put up finished walls.
- Keep the floor warm, dry and comfortable.
- Protect against common plumbing leaks that ruin your finished basement.
- Inspect your basement windows.
- Dehumidify the space.
- Perform some basic exterior maintenance.
1. Install an Effective Waterproofing System
If the basement has ever had any groundwater seepage at all, then it needs an effective basement waterproofing system like WaterGuard or DryTrak, available from Rainy Day Basement Systems. Basement water problems never get better, they only get worse as the house ages and the drains and coatings that once protected the house, fail. Even if water seepage is a once-a-year occurrence, it needs to be fixed before the basement is finished, as flooding is likely to reoccur in the future. Some cautious homeowners waterproof their basements even if they have not had seepage, because they know every basement will have water - eventually. This makes sense because these systems are far easier to put into an unfinished basement, rather than one that is already finished. It is also highly recommended that this system be installed around the entire perimeter of the basement, in order to keep the whole basement dry!
2. Install a Reliable Sump Pump with Alarm and Back-up Systems
Before investing in a finished basement, you should have the best sump pump protection available to guard your home against flooding from primary pump failure, pump overload from torrential rains, and power failure. The TripleSafe sump pump system is the answer with primary and secondary AC-powered pumps and a third battery-operated DC backup pump in a single airtight sump liner. The TripleSafe system automatically pumps out water in the event that the power goes out or the primary pump mechanically fails to operate. Without this triple protection, your finished basement is only one pump or power failure away from a flood. Ensure a dry basement all the time with triple protection - and protect your investment!
If you do not have a TripleSafe pump system and have a SuperSump, it's a great idea to have an UltraSump Battery Back-Up pumping system. The UltraSump (standard with a TripleSafe system) is a battery-operated back-up system with a DC pump installed within the same sump liner, a special, long-term battery, and a charging/alarm system. The UltraSump is able to pump more than 11,500 gallons of water out of your basement in the case of a power outage or pump failure. This gives you a line of defense should a heavy storm knock out the power, the sump experience mechanical failure, a circuit trips or the pump becomes unplugged. An alarm on the UltraSump will sound off to alert you that you are on battery power. Newer models are available that are compatible with some home alarm systems, allowing for a call on your cell phone to alert you of a problem.
3. Protect Against Floods from Frozen Sump Discharge Lines
If you have a sump pump, it probably discharges outside. In the winter, snow and ice can block the opening, and water in the discharge line can become trapped and freeze solid. When this happens, your pump will be running and the water can't get out, causing your basement to flood and most likely, your pump to burn out. Basement Systems' patented IceGuard, which is standard on most systems, will prevent this problem automatically. By providing a secondary exit point from your home, water has another way out and will flow on top of the ground and away from your home. There's nothing you have to do, the IceGuard works automatically!
4. Install a vapor barrier on the walls
Basement walls can leak higher up off of the floor. Water vapor can also pass through basement walls and contribute to a higher humidity level in the basement. Installing a vapor barrier - preferably a high-quality, extra-durable, mold resistant one - will direct any water seepage down to the drainage system below and keep it away from the studs and finished walls. It will also help to stop water vapor from getting into the basement and lower the humidity levels. If you have a perimeter drainage system in your basement, it's important that the vapor barrier be tucked into it.
Even better, you can install a vapor barrier on the walls that will reflect heat, such as Basement Systems' ThermalDry WALL System, which reflects up to 97% of the heat back into your basement. This will keep moisture and water vapor from being trapped behind your basement wall panels, while the heat-reflecting properties will help save you money on utility bills for decades to come.
5. Keep the floor warm, dry and comfortable
Once you have eliminated any possible leakage problems in the basement from the walls, sump pump, and through the wall/floor joint, the next thing is to prepare the floor for carpeting or other finished flooring. Because concrete is porous, water vapor slowly and continuously travels up through it. If you lay a carpet on top of the concrete floor, this moisture gets trapped under the carpet and padding and causes dampness, odors, mold and rot in the carpet.
The Basement Systems solution is the ThermalDry Basement Floor Matting system. This consists of a specially engineered polypropylene, 17-inch tongue-&-groove square tile that interlock together. Unlike systems that use wood, ThermalDry is totally unaffected by water and provides a barrier for water vapor. The unique grid design on the bottom of the tile creates an air space that insulates the floor and does not cause water vapor to condense. The installation takes away only 3/8" of precious ceiling height in the basement, instead of 4" for other methods.
6. Protect against common plumbing leaks that ruin your finished basement
Any water leakage, whether it be from the ground or not, will have the same damaging effect on your finished basement. Basement Systems has easy solutions for the two most common domestic water leaks, according to homeowners insurance companies.
The first is leaking water heaters. The average life of a water heater is about seven years, and when they fail, they usually leak slowly and unnoticed at first, then burst and flood the basement. Basement Systems FloodRing is the solution! The FloodRing will contain the water seepage and drain it to the waterproofing system through a floor drain and set off a WaterWatch Floor Alarm within the ring, so you know your water heater is leaking.
The second most common plumbing leak is washing machine hoses which can flood your basement, or flood the upstairs and the basement if your machine is on an upper level! Standard hoses are not made to withstand the 50 or 60 psi of water pressure like our hard plumbing system is. There is a valve to shut the water off when the washing machine is not in use, but very few people do this in between loads. Eventually, these inexpensive hoses will leak, rust or form bubbles in them and blow-out completely, leaving an unlimited supply of water flowing into your home! FloodChek hoses are the answer. With a 20-Year Warranty, triple-ply FloodChek hoses are made to take the pressure and will not blow-out, corrode or rust at the end connections.
7. Inspect your basement windows
Will you be happy with your existing basement windows in your newly finished basement? Basement windows are notorious for being hard to open and drafty. Furthermore, the wet environment near the ground or in a window well causes a metal window to rust and a wood window to rot. Many do not have screens and painting them is a constant chore. And once basement windows have begun to rot, rust and decay, they let in cold winter drafts and summer heat, making for an uncomfortable and energy-inefficient home.
Basement Systems can replace your basement windows with insulated, all-vinyl EverLast windows. They feature smooth sliding operation, double-pane glass, full screen, easily removable panes for cleaning or passing long objects into the basement and they never need to be painted! With double thermopaned Low-E glass, their R-2.97 rating makes them much better at keeping the house cool in the summer and warm in the winter. You'll love it!
The right time to replace your basement windows is before you finish the basement. Then the carpenters can trim right up to them for a nice finished look, and you can make the most out of your investment!
8. Dehumidify the space
The SaniDry Basement Air System is a powerful and effective dehumidifier - big enough to do the job and Energy Star rated to do it right - where most standard dehumidifiers are too small to make much difference. This amazing machine is capable of removing as much as three times the humidity of a standard hardware store model, while using the same amount of energy. The SaniDry dries the air and automatically drains the water out of the hose, so you don't have the constant chore of emptying buckets of water. The SaniDry has a powerful blower to draw musty air in and move the dry, clean air back out into the basement. This unit helps to ensure that you won't have high humidity and musty smells in your finished basement. The SaniDry also has a dual stage air filtration system that removes particles out of your basement or crawlspace air, down to an incredible 2 microns in size! (That's the size of dust mites' droppings, the number one household allergen!) WOW!
9. Perform some basic exterior maintenance
You should have your downspouts extended with one of Basement Systems RainChute products to keep roof water away from the foundation. Keep the soil graded away from the house wherever possible, and keep the gutters clean. Keep window wells clear of leaves and debris.