Insulating basement block walls and sheet rock wall

la Machine · Jan 20, 2022

Hi a newbie here, looking for insight on building my first grow room in a basement 55' x 16' with open rafters ceilings. Whats the best way or suggestions to insulate the blocks or is mixing white mold resistance paint with germicides good enough for the block and whats good ideal for the sheet rock wall... also the floor is concrete, should I but a sealer or epoxy base down. thanks for any input.

myke · Jan 20, 2022

Frost walls is the norm,pending I guess your location.

hotrodharley · Jan 20, 2022

I would put foam board on the wall for insulation. Furring strips. Vapor barrier. Greenboard. Use in areas with moisture.

Yes to epoxy paint. You'll have to etch the existing concrete floor with a muriatic acid wash before doing it. The kit will inform you. I would recommend buying the traction particles. Do this before doing the walls. If you don't have a sump you might consider making one before starting anything.

Edit add: consider painting the block with waterproof paint.

bam0813 · Jan 20, 2022

Drylok is good stuff.

rmax · Jan 20, 2022

I'm in the same boat.... basement.

I foamed all the air leaks in the basement. This helped out a lot.

Then I bought a space heater for my tent. If you don't have a tent you might want to just cut to the chase and build a room down there..

la Machine · Jan 20, 2022

rmax said:
I'm in the same boat.... basement.

I foamed all the air leaks in the basement. This helped out a lot.

Then I bought a space heater for my tent. If you don't have a tent you might want to just cut to the chase and build a room down there..

did you use regular foam out the can or commercial foam

ComfortCreator · Jan 20, 2022

hotrodharley said:
I would put foam board on the wall for insulation. Furring strips. Vapor barrier. Greenboard. Use in areas with moisture.

Yes to epoxy paint. You'll have to etch the existing concrete floor with a muriatic acid wash before doing it. The kit will inform you. I would recommend buying the traction particles. Do this before doing the walls. If you don't have a sump you might consider making one before starting anything.

Edit add: consider painting the block with waterproof paint.

Very helpful.

I have noticed one corner in my room that meets the outside and is not well insulated. It causes some moisture where the cold outside meets the warm wall inside. I have been wondering how to fix this when it warms up a bit. I can pull the drywall but have no idea what is behind it...sounds like foam and vapor barrier will help?

hotrodharley · Jan 20, 2022

ComfortCreator said:
Very helpful.

I have noticed one corner in my room that meets the outside and is not well insulated. It causes some moisture where the cold outside meets the warm wall inside. I have been wondering how to fix this when it warms up a bit. I can pull the drywall but have no idea what is behind it...sounds like foam and vapor barrier will help?

Drylok

DRYLOK Extreme 1 gal. 219 Gray Flat Latex Interior/Exterior Concrete Sealer Basement and Masonry Waterproofer 21913 - The Home Depot

DRYLOK Extreme latex base masonry waterproof coating is ideal for interior, exterior, above or below grade masonry walls, basement walls, foundations, landscape walls, cinder blocks, concrete blocks, bare concrete swimming pools, stucco and brick. Features Flexible Encapsulated Polymers for a...

www.homedepot.com

hotrodharley · Jan 20, 2022

If the moisture is coming from the outside, as it almost certainly is, recommend painting the walls. Moisture building behind insulation and vapor barrier could get ugly.

Herb & Suds · Jan 20, 2022

hotrodharley said:
If the moisture is coming from the outside, as it almost certainly is, recommend painting the walls. Moisture building behind insulation and vapor barrier could get ugly.

I was thinking they were gonna have mold issues if they didn’t seal it

ComfortCreator · Jan 20, 2022

hotrodharley said:
Drylok

DRYLOK Extreme 1 gal. 219 Gray Flat Latex Interior/Exterior Concrete Sealer Basement and Masonry Waterproofer 21913 - The Home Depot

DRYLOK Extreme latex base masonry waterproof coating is ideal for interior, exterior, above or below grade masonry walls, basement walls, foundations, landscape walls, cinder blocks, concrete blocks, bare concrete swimming pools, stucco and brick. Features Flexible Encapsulated Polymers for a...

www.homedepot.com

I believe in my case it is only the really cold air behind that corner. Where I had painted and sealed it originally, I could see a few small holes that had reformed where the baseboards meet. It was never sealed properly before and nobody cared because it was just a storage room and not getting hot or humid.

Very cold air seeps in and was mixing with the hot humid air in veg and condensing in the corner along the wall and floor. I sealed the holes and it has helped a lot...but on really cold days it still has this issue and I can see the moisture on the wall itself as it forms. .I think something needs to go behind the drywall....insulation or something? Thx in advance for any tips! I know I will have to cut out the corner to find out.

hotrodharley · Jan 20, 2022

ComfortCreator said:
I believe in my case it is only the really cold air behind that corner. Where I had painted and sealed it originally, I could see a few small holes that had reformed where the baseboards meet. It was never sealed properly before and nobody cared because it was just a storage room and not getting hot or humid.

Very cold air seeps in and was mixing with the hot humid air in veg and condensing in the corner along the wall and floor. I sealed the holes and it has helped a lot...but on really cold days it still has this issue and I can see the moisture on the wall itself as it forms. .I think something needs to go behind the drywall....insulation or something? Thx in advance for any tips! I know I will have to cut out the corner to find out.

I would make sure to paint. Whatever the cause or source any moisture building behind an insulated wall is going to cause either mold or structural damage over the long run. Just my 2 cents worth having fought black mold before and lost.

thumper60 · Jan 20, 2022

ComfortCreator said:
Very helpful.

I have noticed one corner in my room that meets the outside and is not well insulated. It causes some moisture where the cold outside meets the warm wall inside. I have been wondering how to fix this when it warms up a bit. I can pull the drywall but have no idea what is behind it...sounds like foam and vapor barrier will help?

Air flow will dry up that condensation

Go go n chill · Jan 20, 2022

I wouldn’t do Anything to the walls except paint them white, drylok is good. If the floor is just bare concrete I’d paint it also and throw some sand in the paint for nonslip surface. Spend your money I’m making the room safe electrically. Just my opinion. I would still grow using tents

bam0813 · Jan 20, 2022

Agree w hotrod. Depending how long it’s been happening not sure airflow will do anything to dry studs at this point until it’s opened and dried then fixed,remidiated or replaced.

Go go n chill · Jan 20, 2022

Yeah man a leaky basement can lead to all kinds of problems. Throwing up foam insulation is a bad idea. You could have mold behind the insulation and you’ll never know it and you’ll never smell it. You’ll just get sick and wonder why in the hell am I sick! Black mold is nothing to mess with.

la Machine · Jan 20, 2022

Thanks, as this is my first build, I not looking to create any problems to fix later. All advice and Ideals are greatly appreciated.

And the walls in the basement, are all dry with not sweat or dampness that shows. So, I should insulate block wall sides, vapor barrier and green board if possible and mold resistance white paint. What would be a solution if I cant use green board.
I'm gonna see If I can get some pictures of the walls.

Go go n chill · Jan 20, 2022

The

ComfortCreator said:
I believe in my case it is only the really cold air behind that corner. Where I had painted and sealed it originally, I could see a few small holes that had reformed where the baseboards meet. It was never sealed properly before and nobody cared because it was just a storage room and not getting hot or humid.

Very cold air seeps in and was mixing with the hot humid air in veg and condensing in the corner along the wall and floor. I sealed the holes and it has helped a lot...but on really cold days it still has this issue and I can see the moisture on the wall itself as it forms. .I think something needs to go behind the drywall....insulation or something? Thx in advance for any tips! I know I will have to cut out the corner to find out.

yeah I would stop that infiltration first. If I’m reading it correctly there is drywall there? I will take all of it out and just have bare walls that way I can see what’s going on. I had paneling in my basement and I tore ALL of it out so I could see. I mean what we are doing is a drastic change of environment compared to most living spaces. All the air in my grow room passes through a uv light. Take you time, spend money wisely

la Machine · Jan 20, 2022

Go go n chill said:
I wouldn’t do Anything to the walls except paint them white, drylok is good. If the floor is just bare concrete I’d paint it also and throw some sand in the paint for nonslip surface. Spend your money I’m making the room safe electrically. Just my opinion. I would still grow using tents

So, just the block with drylock would be goo enough?

bam0813 · Jan 20, 2022

In my opinion unless heats an issue I’d probably seal the blocks proper and leave it open

Insulating basement block walls and sheet rock wall

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