When you build your dream home, you have many envision of family time and decorating your finished basement. This family never pictured soggy drywall and musty smells in their daughter’s dance studio in the finished basement.
This home was built with a block wall foundation. Block walls have very little resistance when it comes to air or water flowing through them since they are hollow. They leak like crazy! When groundwater gets into the block from the outside it spreads and causes the entire wall to leak. When the water leaks then dry there is a white, chalky, powdery substance left behind called efflorescence. This is often confused with mold, but it is a water deposit showing you there is water in the block wall. When a basement is finished, the block is covered by drywall.
When the water intrusion begins, this damages the drywall causing it to become soggy and moldy. You can continue to replace drywall, but that gets tiring and expensive. You can get a “hole in the floor” sump pump, but it won’t protect your walls.
If your finished basement has damaged wall material or musty smells give us a call.
