Damp basement

The ground water leakage in a home can be addressed by WaterGuard and a TripleSafe sump pump system. Then the walls are made dry with one of the wall systems such as a WellDuct. This keeps the floor from getting wet, but water vapor can still pass through the floor slab, because concrete is porous. Some builders that care may have installed a water vapor barrier to protect from this, but many builders do not take that extra step.

It’s a slow process when water vapor passes through the slab, it evaporates off the surface of the basement floor, so the floor doesn’t appear wet. However, if we install a carpet on top of the slab, the carpeting slows the evaporation process down and the moisture builds up in the carpeting.

The high relative humidity in the carpeting causes mold to grow, which causes that musty smell that makes basement spaces so unpleasant. Mold that accumulated in the basement can rot the carpet, requiring a premature replacement. If you have any respiratory concerns, or illnesses it is highly recommended that you waterproof and encapsulate your basement.