Damp in the basement is an unpleasant phenomenon. What to do if it appears? Before you begin to deal with the problem, you need to find out the cause of moisture in the house. Awareness of the reason will help to choose effective methods for a long time, and maybe forever get rid of such trouble as wet surfaces in the room.
What is the danger of damp
Why is it necessary to remove excess moisture from the premises? The appearance of moisture in the basement can lead to unpleasant phenomena, which are difficult to get rid of.. Condensation falling on surfaces causes the following consequences:
- the appearance of mold and fungus;
- violation of the temperature and humidity conditions of the premises;
- violation of the operating conditions of building structures, which leads to destruction in the foundation and other load-bearing elements;
- the appearance in the premises of various microorganisms that are dangerous to humans and lead to serious diseases;
- wet walls and ceilings, violation of the decoration of the premises.
Causes of the problem
The reasons why condensation may occur on the ceiling, floor and basement walls are several:
- Violations of the ventilation of the basement. This may be caused by errors at the design or construction stage. Sometimes it happens that the ventilation ducts provided by the standards are cut by improperly laid floor slabs or clogged with construction waste. The lack of proper ventilation leads to the fact that during colds in the warm basement, as compared to the outside air, condensation forms and windows sweat.
- Groundwater level change. This problem is especially relevant in the spring, when the snow begins to thaw actively, and the soil is saturated with moisture. The issue must be taken into account at the design stage and provide for a drainage system and reliable basement waterproofing. The increase in water in the ground leads to the appearance of puddles on the floor. Their depth depends on the degree of the problem.
- Capillary penetration of moisture from the soil. Why does this occur? The answer to the question will be - violation of the technology of foundation construction. If during construction no attention is paid to vertical waterproofing of the basement walls, then during operation, moisture droplets will appear on them from the inside.
All these reasons why damp appears in the basement are associated with neglect of technology at the stage of building construction.
Ways to fight
To understand what to do with dampness, it is necessary to correctly determine the reason why the surfaces get wet. Further actions aimed at getting rid of excess moisture depend on its source. The cause can be determined by the location of moisture.
- if droplets form on the ceiling and walls - the reason is insufficient ventilation;
- the formation of liquid droplets only on the walls - the lack of vertical waterproofing of the basement walls;
- in the presence of puddles on the floor - the reason is flooding with groundwater.
Further steps are taken depending on the source of the problem.
Inadequate ventilation
If condensation has formed due to insufficient air exchange in the room, it can be removed by arranging additional ventilation. The same situation is relevant for the occurrence of moisture in the attic. This room also heats up, but it directly contacts the external environment.
The contact of warm air with cold surfaces is the main and only reason why condensation forms. With sufficient air exchange in the basement or in the attic of the house, the air heated from the interior is cooled. Condensation does not form.
Ventilation in the basement of a private house or in the attic can be done in two ways:
- natural;
- forced.
Natural includes ventilation and ventilation ducts. According to the norms, the total area of vents should be at least one four-hundredth of the area of the room. Forced involves the use of special equipment, the installation of which will require serious financial costs. The method is relevant only for large premises.
To remove condensation on the ceiling and walls in the basement or in the attic, you must perform the following measures:
- Thermal insulation of engineering networks. Water and sewer pipes pass in the basement, the temperature of the liquid in which is higher than in the room. This causes condensation to form on their surface. To get rid of heat loss, you need to make reliable thermal insulation protection for pipes that sweat precisely because of heat leaks into the cold space. Thermal insulation measures can be performed using special materials. Manufacturers of mineral wool, expanded polystyrene and extruded polystyrene foam produce special products that are easy to put on pipes. Effective materials can remove heat leaks and get rid of the reason why pipes sweat.
- To eliminate dampness in the attic or basement of the house and the appearance of moisture drops on the ceiling or walls, ventilation ducts or pipes are installed. After the construction of the house is completed, it is not possible to arrange ventilation ducts in the walls, so they are attached to vertical structures. To get rid of dampness on the ceiling and other surfaces, two pipes are provided in the room - supply and exhaust. They need to be done in different corners of the room, located at different heights from the floor.
After the reason why condensation appears in the attic or in the basement is eliminated, the room is drained.
Insufficient waterproofing
If the walls of the basement of the house sweat (without a ceiling) - the cause is capillary moisture. You can get rid of it in one of the following ways:
- Wormy waterproofing materials. Presented on the construction market mainly ruberoid, linocrome and hydroisol. They are made on the basis of a canvas impregnated with bitumen. The gluing process is quite a laborious undertaking. It is better to entrust such work to professionals.
- Coating waterproofing. Doing protection against moisture in the walls of the basement of the house is possible with the use of bitumen mastic. In addition to it, polymer compositions and synthetic resins are used. The advantage of the method is the ability to do it yourself. Minus - insufficient degree of protection. It is usually applied together with pasting materials.
- Penetrating Compounds. To get rid of capillary moisture, you can use compounds that penetrate the concrete and increase its moisture resistance. The action is achieved by narrowing the pores in the structure. This method can be called highly effective, since not only the room is protected, but also part of the supporting structure. The composition is able to penetrate to a greater thickness and prevent water damage to the foundation for many years.
- Screens. This method is suitable for high groundwater pressure. The screens are a clay castle, geotextile or concrete.
Work with any material is performed in the following sequence:
- removal of decoration from the walls, their cleaning;
- surface treatment with an antiseptic;
- primer;
- waterproofing walls and floors;
- finish finish;
- Blind device around the perimeter of the building, if it is missing or damaged.
- draining the basement space.
Groundwater level rise
Wet walls due to the high water level in the soil - this is the most serious problem for the house of the presented. If the condensate does not require external measures, then in this case it is necessary to dig out the foundations. Waterproofing is recommended in the following order:
- digging the foundation;
- drainage device along the perimeter of the building;
- if necessary, strengthening the foundation;
- implementation of external waterproofing (use the same materials as in the previous case);
- performance of internal waterproofing;
- backfilling;
- device blind area around the perimeter of the building;
- drainage of the room.
The method will require impressive financial and labor costs, but will protect the foundations and basement from groundwater. The material is selected depending on the pressure of water. Several methods can be used in conjunction, for example, penetrating formulations together with adhesive waterproofing.