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4 replies
2k views
4 replies
Interior wall basement for "pump house"
Hello,
I need all the wise advice I can get. I've taken over a house with a basement that smells a bit unpleasant. Nothing catastrophic, but it's there. In the basement, the ventilation has been closed, no exhaust air, little heating, and outer walls painted with plastic paint. We are now rectifying this. All the plastic paint is being sanded off and replaced with silicate paint. Ventilation is being opened, and exhaust air will be installed via a Pax fan. 30m2 that includes a laundry room, sauna, two closets, and a "technical room," i.e., groundwater well, electrical panel, and pool pump.
The outer walls look fine and dry, and all "mold" has been superficial and probably came from washing, i.e., from within. Between the laundry room, which is the basement hall, and the "technical room" is an interior wall with wooden studs, insulation, and plaster (!). The previous owner has managed to flood at least twice after backwashing the pool pump when he forgot about it. So 2dm of water has stood by this interior wall on at least two occasions. I started tearing it down yesterday and found black mold everywhere. We've found the real cause of the basement's dankness.
So how should I think about a new interior wall? It's needed because the pump makes a lot of noise, but there are several cables running through the current one, as well as larger pipes, since the pool filter is on the other side of the wall where it doesn't fit in the technical room.
Building a new wall might be best, but it's not something I can do myself and want to try. Wood, insulation, plaster is obviously out. Even if I'm not as clumsy as the previous owner, it's not something you want to gamble on when you have everything down. Steel studs, some non-organic insulation, and then fiber cement board, could that be the best way forward?
I should also say that we will deodorize with ozone treatment before building everything back up, just to be safe.
Suggestions are gratefully accepted!
I need all the wise advice I can get. I've taken over a house with a basement that smells a bit unpleasant. Nothing catastrophic, but it's there. In the basement, the ventilation has been closed, no exhaust air, little heating, and outer walls painted with plastic paint. We are now rectifying this. All the plastic paint is being sanded off and replaced with silicate paint. Ventilation is being opened, and exhaust air will be installed via a Pax fan. 30m2 that includes a laundry room, sauna, two closets, and a "technical room," i.e., groundwater well, electrical panel, and pool pump.
The outer walls look fine and dry, and all "mold" has been superficial and probably came from washing, i.e., from within. Between the laundry room, which is the basement hall, and the "technical room" is an interior wall with wooden studs, insulation, and plaster (!). The previous owner has managed to flood at least twice after backwashing the pool pump when he forgot about it. So 2dm of water has stood by this interior wall on at least two occasions. I started tearing it down yesterday and found black mold everywhere. We've found the real cause of the basement's dankness.
So how should I think about a new interior wall? It's needed because the pump makes a lot of noise, but there are several cables running through the current one, as well as larger pipes, since the pool filter is on the other side of the wall where it doesn't fit in the technical room.
Building a new wall might be best, but it's not something I can do myself and want to try. Wood, insulation, plaster is obviously out. Even if I'm not as clumsy as the previous owner, it's not something you want to gamble on when you have everything down. Steel studs, some non-organic insulation, and then fiber cement board, could that be the best way forward?
I should also say that we will deodorize with ozone treatment before building everything back up, just to be safe.
Suggestions are gratefully accepted!
Building a wall is really not difficult. You can build a base of 4 dm and then a wooden stud wall on top.
However, try to sort all the pipes and get the filter in before you build. Why does the pump have to be so loud?
However, try to sort all the pipes and get the filter in before you build. Why does the pump have to be so loud?
Yes, maybe one should dare to build a base then. But it will have to be steel studs, why not. Sort pipes? They are where they are and not much to do. The filter is enormous and doesn't fit on the right side of the wall. The pump is very loud, but that's how pool pumps for large Pools (5x10m) are, right?
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