Waterproofing Basement Walls | Finished & UnFinished Basement

Waterproofing interior basement walls with paint, tar, or drylok can be a big mistake. Concrete waterproofing is a science. In this video, Peter O'Shea will show you a basement in Middlebury, CT, with accelerated wall damage and a useless perimeter waterproofing system. He will explain how it happened and what is necessary to fix the problem.

00:00 Bad Waterproofing Ideas
00:25 Deteriorating Wall
01:44 How Does Water Deteriorate a Wall [Animation]
03:06 Gutter System vs Our SuperDry System
05:13 Gutter System Sacrifices Structural Stability
06:19 Comparing Interior Walls With and Without Tar
07:37 Removing a Gutter System
09:00 Useless Floor Drains with Standing Water
12:39 Avoid Purchasing the Wrong System

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You can call our office directly at 888-748-2002

Since 1997, American Dry Basement Systems has been waterproofing basements, encapsulating crawl spaces, installing sump pumps and battery backup systems, and repairing foundation cracks throughout Connecticut and Westchester, New York. Our mission is simple: We ensure that every customer who installs our basement waterproofing system will be water-free for life.

Keywords: American Dry Basement Systems, basement waterproofing, crawl space waterproofing, Peter O'Shea, sump pump installation, foundation crack repair, crawl space sealing, home improvement, french drain, basement waterproofers, basement waterproofing installers, sump pump installers, contractors

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[chrisclouds]

Ol dude is passionate about water damage, and I'm here for it.

[romansafiullin]

Who the hell makes these videos for a 30k subs channel? The quality from sound editing, to camera, to animation(!) is great! Like I wouldn't write a letter home about it, but holy hell is it refreshing for a home makeover YT channel!

[ncnuggets]

This was probably the most informative video I've ever watched for a particular subject. Thorough explanation without unnecessary filler. Really, good job.

[familymariano]

I don't even know why i'm watching this, we don't even have a basement 😅

[mrjceo]

Love the open explanation of the design and the mechanisms that cause damage. Really appreciate your insights. It’s completely changed my understanding of the water issues in my basement.

[preston]

Nothing I do is related to construction but this channel is so interesting. Peter is great at making this stuff understandable.

[TheProtocol]

This video was a master class for the layman's understanding of how basement walls, footings and floors are supposed to work. Great job, thanks!

[BradBrother]

No idea how or why i came across this video but I loved watching and learning. I dont even own a home... BUT I am an insurance agent.. and water claims are the 2nd most common claim (roofs #1). And learning about water tables and hydrostatic pressure is really good to know

[ericnelson]

Nice to see someone doing the job the right way. I work for a basement waterproofing company up in New Hampshire and have removed quite a few of those gutter style systems. They never work.

[tbird]

This guy is legit. I see so many videos on Youtube where people are sealing their walls from the inside and saying their basement is "waterproof". He is showing us a real example of why that is a bad idea. Thanks!

[usaloveme]

Great info! I live in California but am considering a house with a finished basement in Georgia. This helps and educates me on basement water issues

[otiss]

Great, informative video on how to properly waterproof your basement with the correct drain pitch, products for a dry basement! I love it and I'm excited about having my basement done! I'm thinking of doing it myself since I have the equipment and tools to do so. I'm in Maryland. I have been ripped off twice by two different people claiming to know how to do basement waterproofing. I'm out of $5, 000-and my basement still is excavated and incomplete! The house was built in 1915. There is dampness in the basement properly because of several things:(1) there isn't a sump pump system in place to take the water away from the foundation(2) the backyard is also excavated in preparation for a newly poured concrete backyard. When removing excess dirt from the basement area, I noticed there was water underneath the foundation once excavation begun, tree roots from a tree growing two houses away and hundreds of oyster shells as the digging continued!!! I was beyond shocked by all of this. I had no idea! I couldn't believe my eyes to what I was seeing. Now the question is how do I go about fixing this correctly and properly even if I have to do it myself? I'm willing to put it the work and do just that! Remember, I been ripped off twice by two different people already. Thanks for these informative videos! You have no idea how much of a great help and inspiration you are and how the videos inspire! Kudos to American Dry Basement Systems!! P.S.I still think you should consider expanding to my area(Maryland/ Baltimore County; Nottingham/ White Marsh area). You'd love us here and we'd love to have you!!

[jenmb]

this is so informative and thorough. My basement leaks in my basement when it rains and our maintenence dont know how to fix it, or anything else for that matter, and im always fixing up things with my own money.


I have unfinished basement, i have A. D. D. But this was so good i watched the whole video. I was actually looking for a video showing how to waterproof my basement, but this is good to know.thnks

[MrNayo]

This guy CLEARLY KNOWS what he's talking about. Love how he explains things in such a way that is easy to understand. And he doesn't only explain it clearly but also shows you right on the spot. I would def hire him to work on my basement. A

[korndawggy]

Someone used deck paint on my basement floor and part of the walls before I bought it. I have a couple of spots where water seeps in. Putting new and wider gutters with a leaf guard really helped alot.

[donaldoyler]

In Puerto Rico most houses don't have basements but the walls do that. Most people put a small sidewalk around the house to make the water fall away from the wall

[psyience]

This is great information every one should hear. I tell people all the time, first step to meliorating water in the basement is to deal with drainage above. Gutters, down spouts, pitch, drains etc. Get that water away from the excavation zone

[Jodyrides]

The only time I got water in my basement from rain, was when hurricane Ivan dumped over western Pennsylvania here, and my gutters were filled with leaves. I got about a quart of water in one corner of my basement.. The gutters and downspout were not carrying the water away from the house like they should. The water was overflowing out of the gutters, and down into my lawn.. since then, I have been up on my roof using a leaf blower to keep the gutters clear whenever a multi day heavy storm is threatening in the fall when the leaves are falling..
if you want to keep water out of your basement, make sure your gutters are clear and the downspouts send the water away from your foundation, first..
here in western Pennsylvania, we average about 55 inches of rain every year..
my house is built on a half acre wooded lot on a slight hill side. It was a construction class project for students in the 1950s. It’s a 62’ ranch were the main/1st floor is at ground level in the front of the house, and the rear of the house, because the house is built on a slope that is Terraced, around the rear the basement and garage are level with the ground. So from the front, my house looks like a one story ranch, but from the rear at looks like a two story ranch. all brick, the foundation block is a very hard type of block they used back in the 50s. I had to have a door cut in because there was no man door in the basement to go outside. To get in and out of the basement, I had to keep opening the garage door when I first bought the house in the 80s. The acquaintance I hired to cut in a door which was what he did for a living, he was a specialist door installer on new construction..he said, that is the hardest block he has ever seen. After about an hour of cutting with his usual block cutting saw, He had to go and rent a more powerful saw and buy a diamond blade to cut this block. It took him 2 days, and there was so much dust.. I didn’t really know this guy that well, he was One of the guys I rode dirt bikes with on the weekends, and I could see he was frustrated because it took an extra day, so I paid him $300 more for a total of $900 including the new door And renting the bigger saw and buying a new bigger blade.. that was in 1989 dollars…
I know how fragile regular cinderblock is. You can easily break i with a ball peen hammer. I had to cut a vent for our clothes dryer and 2 holes for our new condensing furnace pipes in this block. Using my compressor, a heavy macho drillgun, and a pneumatic air chisel, It took me more than two hours to cut each hole.. my point is, this is some tough block that doesn’t seem to be very porous. Maybe that’s why I don’t get water in the basement unless my gutters are clogged and a hurricane slowly passes over dumping over 5” of rain on already saturated ground from the previous week of rain ..
they don’t build them like they used to

[briantheprion]

This guy is legit. His explanation is thorough and makes sense. I wish I saw him first before I got JES to install my french drain system but live and learn I guess

[aquaticborealis]

Type of soil and the landscape plays a big role. Our house is on compact fine sandy soil. And we are on a hilly street. Water seems to drain very well. However, we did install a weeping tile under our basement floor. It runs all over under the floor, and along the outside walls. We also put a loose dimple board membrane on the inside brick walls that leads down to the weeping tile. So the brick breathes, although not a lot. The membrane had spray foam insulation sprayed over it, to a depth of about 4”. I honestly think it’s better for brick or concrete to just be able to breath freely into room, but we needed the living space in our basement.

It would be great if we could monitor the amount of moisture in the walls.