Time for drainage or just sand away the paint?

[bennibenasi]

Hello! We have been living in our house for two years now, and we knew at the time of purchase that there were some moisture issues in one of the basement rooms. We had an inspector here who thought it wasn't a matter of poor drainage but rather that the previous owners just painted with the wrong type of paint in that room. As far as we know, drainage has never been done, but it doesn't smell like a typical basement or musty in any way.

But I thought I could bounce some ideas here with knowledgeable people (since we know nothing about this beyond what we can learn from the internet).

Does it perhaps need drainage after all? Or should we just sand off the paint and repaint? The reason I'm writing here is that I'm not really sure what kind of company we should turn to.

The house was built in 1956, it's a split-level with a brick facade. The problem is only in the "gym" which I have marked in red, and then it's green where the basement is below ground but unaffected.

 

[Bart]

The simple way is probably to remove the existing paint and see if it dries up with the help of heat and ventilation. If not, a new drainage system is likely required.

Are there downspouts or other water conductors outside in the problem area?

 

[bennibenasi]

The simple way is probably to remove the existing paint and see if it dries up with the help of heat and ventilation. If not, a new drainage is likely required.

Are there downpipes or other water conduits outside in the problem area?

Yes, there are in the corner! They've also laid gravel next to the facade (I think there was a flowerbed there before).

But yes, the easiest should probably be to try the cheapest option first 😅

 

[Bart]

If the downspout goes straight down, it's a good idea to start by diverting the water, about two meters or so, away from the facade. If the pipe goes into the ground, it's a good idea to check that it connects to a pipe that diverts the water. Simply having gravel or stones under the downspout is ineffective and won't help with removing the water.

 

[bennibenasi]

If the downspout goes straight down, it is a good idea to start by diverting the water, two meters or so, away from the facade. If the pipe goes into the ground, it is a good idea to check that it connects to a pipe that leads the water away. Simply having gravel, stones under the downspout is ineffective and will not help to remove the water.

Thanks for the tips! We will check this out.

 

[Tomture61]

Hello! We have lived in our house for two years now and we already knew at the purchase that there were some moisture problems in one of the basement rooms. We had an inspector here who thought it was not a question of poor drainage but that the previous owners had just used the wrong type of paint in that room. As far as we know, drainage has never been done, but it really doesn't smell like a typical basement or musty in any way.

But I thought I could bounce some ideas here with knowledgeable people (because we know nothing about this beyond what we can learn from the internet).

Does it perhaps need to be drained after all? Or should we just sand off the paint and repaint? The reason I'm writing here is that I'm not quite sure what kind of company we should turn to.

The house was built in 1956, split-level with a brick facade. The problem is only in the "gym" where I've marked in red, and then it's green where the basement is underground but not affected.

The reason for the moisture problem you have on the wall in the gym is that moisture from outside is penetrating through the exterior wall/foundation.
You might sand off and repaint forever, but the problem is on the outside.
Troublesome and costly, yes.
On the outside of the foundation, drainage - Platon matting - insulation for the ground is used.

 

[bennibenasi]

The reason for the moisture problem you have on the wall in the gym is that moisture from outside is penetrating the outer wall/foundation. You can probably sand and repaint eternally, but the problem is on the outside. Annoying and costly, yes. On the outside of the foundation, drainage is used - Platon mat - insulation for the ground.

Yes, I understand that drainage will need to be done in the future. However, I'm considering how urgent it is when only one room is affected. If we sand and paint, maybe it will last for two more years? This is solely a financial question right now. Is it not possible to drain only the walls outside this room? I read somewhere that you don't need to drain around the whole house at once, but maybe you have to do an entire wall at a time anyway?