A friend in Mill Woods called my first basement framing job 'a future mold farm'

I was so proud of my first basement framing job in my 1978 bungalow, using cheap lumber right against the concrete walls. A buddy who does this for a living came over, poked the wood, and said, 'You didn't leave a gap? That's a future mold farm, man. The concrete sweats.' He was right. I had to take it all apart. Now I always use pressure-treated wood for the bottom plate and leave a half-inch air gap between the framing and the concrete wall. I also put down a proper vapor barrier on the floor first. It added a full weekend of work and about $200 more in materials, but it's bone dry down there now. Has anyone else had to fix this kind of rookie mistake, and what did you use for that gap?

2 comments

2 Comments

faithb749d ago

Good call on the pressure treated bottom plate, that's key. Just a heads up though, a full vapor barrier on the floor under a wood framed wall can sometimes trap moisture if the concrete slab isn't fully sealed underneath. A lot of guys just use a strip of dimpled plastic drainage mat under the plate instead, it lets any moisture breathe out to the room.

emery189d ago

So that dimpled mat strip, does it go under the whole plate or just the front edge? I've seen it done both ways and I'm not sure which is right for letting the wall breathe properly.