Type of baseboard for damp basement?

[mecese83]

Just tore out the entire basement due to moisture problems and mold..
The moisture isn’t coming from outside but from the uninsulated slab, rising about 15 cm on all the walls in the basement.

Now we've redone everything and are about to install skirting boards. What should I use?
The previous owners had wood directly against the wall, didn't work well..
We looked at plastic skirting boards but they looked terribly ugly at Bauhaus (worn, scuffed) so it didn’t entice a purchase.
Can I install wooden skirting with some moisture barrier behind? Or install it a few cm away from the wall, however you do that...?

 

[Mattias_Jo1]

Tar paper. Behind/under usually works well.

 

[Malten]

Have you drained properly, have you done it?

 

[mecese83]

Yes, the drainage is OK, the moisture doesn't come from the outer walls but from underneath.. was told it's something we have to live with. So tar paper works? Which do you think is best? Tar paper or placing spacers from the wall?

 

[Malten]

But wait a minute, you drain to keep the water away under the slab, but maybe you have reverse moisture migration if the basement is heated then? Sounds strange at least to me. What do you mean by living with it, then there is a pretty high risk that there will be mold again soon if there is moisture 15cm up in the walls.

 

[mecese83]

I don't know, we had a moisture investigator here who said that the moisture is there because of an uninsulated slab. He said it was fine as long as we don't cover the basement with wallpaper and wood trim like it was before.

 

[sir_erken]

I don't know, we had a humidity inspector here who said that the moisture is there because of an uninsulated slab. He said it's fine as long as we don't cover the basement with wallpaper and wood moldings like it was before..

What kind of floor do you have in the basement?
Thinking both because of the moisture and also for the choice of moldings

 

[mecese83]

Tiles... in two of the rooms (bedrooms) there are tiles with underfloor heating.

 

[pelle242]

Was it Anticimex that did the moisture investigation? What did they do and how much did it cost approximately?

Thinking about doing one myself and therefore a bit curious.

 

[mecese83]

No, it wasn't Anticimex but another company (same hourly rate though, we checked beforehand). I think it was around 1000:-/h + travel time... the invoice ended up slightly over 2400...
If you want it in writing, it'll probably be double. At least.

 

[pelle242]

Okay, but what did they do? Measured moisture and looked around a bit?

 

[mecese83]

Well, what did they do.. =)
Measured moisture everywhere.. in walls, floors, and in the rooms themselves. Checked the construction of the underfloor heating, etc., and tried to determine why we had gotten mold on the wall.
Told us how to fix the problems and prevent them from occurring again..

 

[Flöjten5]

But wait now, you drain to keep the water away under the slab

If there is no capillary barrier under the slab, moisture can rise up that way as long as the adhesion between the water and the concrete is stronger than the water's cohesion. The capillary force can draw moisture from the ground regardless of whether it is drained around the basement walls.

 

[pelpet]

I had screwed regular wood moldings but placed a regular washer 2-3 mm behind the molding so that it comes out from the wall.

 

[Gus5]

Better to tilt the tray down towards the wall in that case so that condensation on the wall doesn't run in towards the wall. It might be worth raising the inner floor and then having tar paper, on top of which you place supporting joists and flooring.

Can mold grow between, for example, tar paper and concrete/cement?

Wood in a humid environment with heat is likely to get moldy regardless of distance. Therefore, the moisture must be continuously removed.