ᐅ Damp Basement: Which Renovation Method Is the Most Effective?

Hello and good evening,

We own a house built in 1950 and have a damp basement. The basement smells musty, there are salt deposits on the walls, and you can also see dark spots on the walls.

By now, we are really at a loss because we don’t know what the best renovation approach for the house is. Several companies have already been in the house, and each one tells us something different.

- Waterproofing from the outside
- Drilling holes into the wall (inside) and sealing them with special material
- Waterproofing only from the inside using special plaster and doing nothing on the outside

Can anyone here perhaps share their own experience on what would be the best solution? We really don’t understand the options anymore, and the costs range wildly from 12,000 to 30,000.

We would appreciate any advice.
Good luck, Petra

Maybe you can post a picture. It will probably be easier that way.

Hello,

Oh, I forgot to post the pictures. Here are the pictures now.

Good luck, Petra

It doesn’t look that bad at all.
Of course, a 60-year-old basement is no longer waterproof; maybe it never was.

Two options:
- Live with it and use it accordingly. Potatoes and wine will probably do fine down there, but textiles and some other items definitely won’t.

- Renovate: the only reliable and thorough solution is to completely excavate the basement and properly waterproof it from the outside. Everything else is just a temporary attempt and might help to some extent, but no one can guarantee it.
This will certainly cost a significant amount of money, although you can save quite a bit with your own labor. You will at least need a mini excavator.

Thank you for your response. We are now considering excavating the driveway and applying waterproofing from the outside. If we do it from the inside, the problem on the outside remains, and we are worried that moisture will continue to rise further into the masonry.

The cost for interior basement waterproofing has been estimated at 26,000 euros, which is obviously quite a significant amount.

With two children, we would like to use the basement to store toys or outgrown clothes. Unfortunately, no one here drinks wine...

Best regards,
Petra