Yet another fool who wants drywall in the basement

[Gavialen]

After reading a dozen threads about thread starters wanting to install drywall in basements and just as many responses saying it's better to plaster, I am making my own little attempt to be convinced that it will probably be fine even though I'm doing it wrong:

I have a basement that is documented to be damp, which I am now tackling from different angles simultaneously. The house is from the early 60s and hasn't been drained since the 80s. The walls have been covered with organic material for 60 years, and nature has done its work during that time. I've now torn all of this out. The basement will be drained and insulated from the outside. I'm going to install new functioning vents in all the rooms, and I've bought an expensive dehumidifier that I hope will do its job. But then we have the walls...

In the room I have started in, there is an exterior wall, and opposite it, a load-bearing basement wall. Then we have two more walls we can call the north and south walls. These are made of lightweight concrete with an ugly fiberglass fabric on them.

I understand that drywall is wrong and that plaster is beautiful, good, and correct, but I tried plastering the wall I just removed material from (the exterior wall), and it didn't turn out very nicely. A professional would certainly do it infinitely better. But now I'm thinking about the north and south wall in my basement room. It would be very nice if I could put drywall on these and thus facilitate neat electrical wiring and make it easier to hang things on the walls.

What do all the experts think about me putting up Moisture-Resistant Drywall on steel studs against these two walls? I thought they could be ventilated with two of those refrigerator vents, one at the top of the wall and one at the bottom.

Is there anyone who wants to give me the confidence to do this? Or tell me the truth that plaster is the only option and that I'll have myself to blame when mushrooms start growing in my risk construction! (Of course, I will start arguing back like all other drywall enthusiasts)

 

[cpalm]

If you definitely want panels, you can use fibercement panels to be on the safe side?

 

[Gavialen]

If you're determined to use panels, you could use fiber cement panels to be on the safe side?

Would you still need to ventilate something like that to avoid condensation, or is it okay to make it as tight as possible with fiber cement?

 

[cpalm]

Would one still need to ventilate something like that in some way to avoid condensation, or is it free to make it as tight as possible with fiber cement?

Good question, regarding the boards themselves you could build with them underwater if you want, but that doesn't mean an unventilated gap is a suitable construction in a larger perspective.