Photo Album: Leaky Basement Wall Resolved in Mount Vernon IN

Most basements in Posey County are like this one--built of concrete block. It can be hard to control wall leakage in these situations because the individual blocks can fill up and leak water slowly, discoloring and aging the walls prematurely. It can make finishing the basement not just challenging, but down right confusing for most homeowners. Thankfully, the Healthy Spaces team has a perfect solution to control wall leakage and create a healthy, beautiful finished basement!

Does this basement wall look familiar?

You may have seen this type of wall in any number of basements in Mount Vernon, or any of the surrounding townships. It's a standard block foundation wall with evidence of wall leakage, mineral discoloration and a couple of attempts to whitewash and seal the concrete. It's unsightly. It's also impossible to finish the basement in this condition because you have to remedy the wall leakage before the interior walls go up.

Removing pink insulation from basement walls

In this picture, you can see where a homeowner attempted to frame in interior walls and start finishing the basement. Unfortunately, the pink fiberglass insulation is not a viable solution because 1. it is exposed to a leaking wall and 2. this insulation when wet, molds. The Healthy Spaces team removed the pink insulation and installed an r11 insulation board that will not mold and installed an interior waterproofing drainage system called Waterguard to keep the basement dry ALL the time so it can be finished.

Creating a Healthy Basement Environment

Here, you can see the extent of the work that the homeowner completed before his basement walls began leaking again. Sadly, a lot of this work was in vain. The insulation was wet and molding in places and much of the wood had warped. The Healthy Spaces team removed all the damaged materials, treated the basement for mold, and installed a waterproofing system prior to moving forward with the finishing. They used Zen Wall panels to direct the wall moisture into the Waterguard system so that the humidity and leaking were no longer a problem.

Installing Zen Wall panels

You can the difference right away that the Zen Walls have made in this basement. The clean, antimicroble surface of the Zen Walls fits into the Waterguard system to direct wall moisture into the french drain and out of the basement through the sump pump system. "It's far less humid and smells much better!" said the homeowner.

Overview of Zen Wall Installation

Here you can see the real difference that the Zen Walls have made in this basement. The clean, smooth white surface has helped brighten the room and the relative humidity in this basement is now below mold growth levels. The homeowner and the Healthy Spaces team will be finishing the basement in no time!