Water in basement

[Steve]

I bought a Cape Cod built in 1948 a year ago. I have a sump in the basement. It is unfinished, but I am thinking of finishing it in the fall. I don't usually get any water in the basement as long as the sump is running, but earlier in the week we had 2 bad storms that made my pump run about every 5 minutes. Kept the basement dry, except in 1 area I got a puddle. Basement also has tiles down, and along the seams of the tiles it is moist there when I get heavy rain. What can I do about this? I am almost positive the water is coming up from under the flooring, not in from the walls. Thanks

[Jay Stootzmann]

The moisture in the basement has to be COMPLETELY addressed before you even consider steps to finishing a basement.

Check

-- study basements and related issues regarding mold.

[Tom The Great]

I've seen a show on TV where the water wasn't standing, but to provide for those rare accasions where it tries to, in a to be finished basement, they used something like this:

It seems to keep a space above the orginal basement floor, and below the finished floor for ventilation and draining of water. When I looked to it, I was told this was a DIY application of a builder's solution. They would lay down some plastic with channels for drainage, and then overlay it with regular sub floor panels. It is suppose to be cheaper than these tile like items, but I don't know the plastic grid stuff.

I'm just a DIY'er too, trying to find a good solution too.

later,

tom @