ᐅ The basement walls look terrible!

My son and his wife are determined to buy an old bargain house from 1955. Overall, it’s still in fairly good condition, but in my opinion, the basement walls don’t look good at all!

I wanted him to bring a real expert, but only a carpenter friend came along and said that, considering the age and price, it was acceptable. The boy won’t listen to any advice.

I don’t know much about this myself. The basement walls feel slightly damp, but not excessively. However, there are dehumidifiers placed everywhere.

What do you think about this?

It’s not dramatic, but it does cost money if you want it to dry out. Dig around the entire area with a mini excavator. Renew the perimeter drainage, if there is any at all. Let the walls dry. Apply bitumen waterproofing. Close it up. I can’t estimate the cost, but it’s definitely in the five-figure range. Karsten

Thanks Nordlys for the reply. Digging up will be difficult, as the house is located directly on the property boundary on one side and directly adjacent to the sidewalk on the street side.

It looks to me like everything above the dirt line is dry. Has the house ever been cut open? If so, I would consider the basement situation manageable, as long as it doesn’t have to serve any specific purpose.

Yes, the upper area is relatively dry, although I cannot assess this with certainty. The house cut through? For heaven’s sake, why would anyone do that? No, unfortunately, that is not known. But it is strange that the ceiling height in the basement is only 1.85 meters (6 feet 1 inch), while the old plans show it as 2.20 meters (7 feet 3 inches).

patrikmueller schrieb:
The house cut through? For heaven’s sake, why would anyone do that?

Cute.
If an isolation layer is installed between the basement and the upper floors to prevent moisture from the basement from rising into the upper levels, the house is effectively "cut through." This is often the case in older houses.