Many cellar owners believe that repairing such premises is no less difficult than building new ones. As a rule, this point of view is due to the fact that the owners do not know how the house was built. Another option is possible: a person carried out construction work “a million years ago” and simply forgot about some of the key nuances of basement renovation.
The most common basement renovation works with your own hands
Most often the basement renovation is conceived in connection with the need for a new waterproofing. According to statistics, this is the most common problem everywhere have to solve the owners of different types of basements.
Ideally, waterproofing work should be carried out from the outside walls, as the device insulation inside the basement is much less effective.
Another very common reason for repairing basements – the destruction of the floor and walls. These essential elements of the basement, as a rule, require systematic repair. If you find any significant holes and cracks in the walls – it is recommended to immediately make them lubricated with cement mortar. It happens that visually the walls look normal, but to the touch you can understand that they are wet through – this means that a lot of moisture got into the material.
After the winter cold, this situation can lead to the destruction of the wall.
About basement renovation of the waterproofing
So, as we have already said, waterproofing of the basement often requires “upgrade”, because it is affected by very serious negative factors in the form of groundwater and sedimentary water. In this regard, it is replacement of waterproofing layer is usually the main “headache” during the repair of cellars.
First of all, it is necessary to thoroughly examine the room. It is very important from the outset to determine the type and features of the previous waterproofing system. It should be emphasized that a type of new waterproofing layer should correspond to the “old” in a number of basic characteristics. In the event that the homogeneity of the coatings will inevitably reduce their protective characteristics.
Once we have decided on the type of waterproofing – should be organized thorough drying of the basement. Wall masonry made of concrete or bricks will have to be carefully plastered, and then rubbed until the surface becomes smooth. For floor leveling we will use cement mortar (it is best to give preference to cement sand mortar, the ratio of 1 to 3).
After the room is completely dry, start gluing roll insulation, layer by layer, using bituminous compositions for fixing. This will be explained in more detail. The required number of sheets of roll waterproofing fix, on a pre-primed surface, using hot insulating bituminous composition.
Gluing the cloths is made from floor to ceiling. We recommend ironing the surface of the material with a wooden bar.
Prepared by this method of waterproofing will require protection in the form of thin brickwork (it is also called a pressure wall).
Now you can do the final finishing of the walls, for this is better to use paint.
About the elimination of leaks and other defects. Basement renovation in Toronto.
If leaks are detected in the basement room, first of all, you should expand each of the cracks to about 50 millimeters. Garbage, dirt and broken concrete are then removed from the cracks. Then we treat the cracks with the help of pre-prepared cement mortar (better to use M-400 cement) with the addition of “liquid glass”.
Rub the required amount of mortar into each of the cracks, layer by layer, until the wall surfaces become homogeneous. We remind you that any kind of work with cement mortar should be done with “protection” (gloves, gloves).
Repair work related to the basement often involves the planning of areas around it and the equipment of the junction. These “procedures” are carried out with the purpose of removal of sedimentary waters from underground storage. The optimal solution is to construct a junction with a large width (up to one and a half meters) and a small slope away from the basement.
At first, it will be necessary to carry out consecutive dismantling and renewal of the destroyed sections of the former structure (junction). Here we are also likely to encounter cracks, for their removal we will need a bituminous composition or cement mortar. With special attention should be paid to the extent to which the boards are tightly sealed junction with each other (if the structure is not monolithic) and the surface of each wall.
About repairing ventilation. Basement renovation in Ontario.
If for many years ventilation in the basement was provided with asbestos cement pipes – most likely it is time to change them. You can judge about this by the dampness and serious accumulation of condensation in the basement.
So, we make a complete removal of old pipes and installation of new ventilation ducts. If previously the basement was ventilated with a single pipe, but now the room is better equipped with two: exhaust and supply. Supply pipe should be installed so that the lower end of the duct is located close to the floor. The lower end of the exhaust duct is placed at the ceiling itself, to maximize the removal of warm and humid air from the basement.
In the variant with a large basement, the optimal solution is to equip the forced ventilation system. Currently, there is a very large range of equipment on the construction market that can provide optimal humidity and temperature in the basement, regardless of the season.
About solving problems with ground subsidence
In cases where we observe ground subsidence in areas located close to or above the basement, it is very likely that groundwater or sediment is to blame.
In this scenario, first of all, we should dig the ground in the damaged places. Then we start to backfill into several layers. To create a perfect “backfill” mix the soil with fine crushed stone and sand. Backfill the resulting space, carefully compacted and trampled each layer.
There are ways to reduce the probability of ground subsidence in areas located close to the basement. For example, you can strengthen the soil in advance by planting small shrubs and grass on these areas.
But all these tips only for a short time will help you. And if you do not want to know the problems for several decades, then for the basement renovation is worth contacting specialists, such as our company “Captain Handy”.