Lots of plastic
Plastic Covered Walls
Now that the foundation is exposed, we are ready for the plastic sheeting to cover the walls. We hired a waterproofing company to do this. They worked fast (a little too fast, in fact). They covered the walls in plastic, sealed the tops and seams in the plastic sheets with a gooey acoustic caulk (who knew there was such a thing?), simply because it had the right consistency for sealing the plastic to the wall (not because it would help make a quiet basement).
Tape
Then they tucked the plastic behind the dimpled plastic sheet and sealed it with wide tape (see photo).
So, in theory (and hopefully in practice), the plastic should now encapsulate the walls. When a radon mitigation system is connected to the drain tile (where the dimpled plastic sheets are coming from), it should suck the plastic against the walls.
We have a radon mitigation guy coming tomorrow, so we’ll see. I’m skeptical.
Ray on 01 Sep 2009 at 10:41 am #
So how does one afix wallboard or studding to put in a wall without wrecking the plastic seal on the foundation?
dave on 01 Sep 2009 at 12:26 pm #
Good question! You are correct that we don’t want to puncture the plastic. We are being told that the next steps would be to put up foam board insulation on top of the plastic. Then, the studs would be built on top of that. I don’t think there will be any need to nail anything to the foundation. Does that answer your question??
Ray on 10 Sep 2009 at 8:21 am #
Sorta,
Leaves me hanging out in space as far as the studs being anchored. Can picture getting anchored at the top but the bottom? Cement anchors in the floor?
hmmmmmmmmmmmmmm!