Mold (and mildew which is a type of mold) forms in environments with high humidity and substances that can be decomposed by the mold. Being fungi it requires both water and food like any living organism. Because some fungi are extremely sensitive to light, dark, ill-kept and humid basements tend to be the first place in the home that will experience Mold besides a bathroom.

Water, in any form, gas or liquid, can increase the amount of over all humidity your basement has. With this increased level moisture can permeate, slowly, all the objects that can absorb water in the basement.

Cardboard boxes, shirts, clothes, blankets, wood, dry wall, plywood, and pet food bags are all just some things in your basement that can hold and trap moisture. They are also all great food sources for mold to eat.

Mold’s food is anything that can be broken down organically, or decomposed. A perfect example is wood. In the great outdoors you can see fallen trees covered in mold, moss and mildew. These fungi help to decompose the tree to recycle it back into the soil. Molds will do the same to any of the wood that gets wet in your basement as well. The wood will create a natural food source and the humidity will provide the moisture it needs to live.

Molds in the basement are typically found behind finished walls in a basement that’s not properly waterproofed first. The mold itself can find its way into your basement in many ways, on your clothes, shoes, through your bulkhead door when it’s open, from leaves you bring in after raking or even from bad storage practices of the material used to build your finished space. Mold in the wild gives off air born spores which can travel once attached to an object, or be blown through the wind to hopefully land on a fruitful area to eat.

The combination of drywall and wood studs in the basement is a recipe for disaster. With all the ways mold spores can get into your home, with all the ways that leaks and moisture can enter your basement, you need to consider waterproofing and solid dehumidification with HEPA filters to capture and trap mold spores.

Waterproofing your basement eliminates the moisture source, controls the humidity level, and the dehumidifier regulates it on a day-to-day basis while cycling the air and filtering it at the same time.

Steve Andras talks about sump pumps. He also mentions something that's been recently happening more and more as the business environments change throughout the United States.

It's so important to make sure that your protected. Not just from water in your basement but also from being taken advantage of by people who don't hold the proper paperwork required by states to operate.

Originally Posted by FEMA.gov Request identification from anyone that visits your home. Actual officials will be able to provide their name and identification. Do not provide credit card or banking information to anyone who comes to your home unannounced. If you have a concern about a person claiming to be a contractor, contact your state Attorney General's office.

Crack repair and foundation repair are essential to the health of any home’s foundation. Repairing a crack can maintain the foundation’s integrity. Having a proper inspection can help to diagnose the proper method of crack repair as well as foundation repair. Having an inspection can ensure that your foundation is getting the proper correction to maintain stability and there are quite a few options for cracked foundations, bowing and leaning walls.

What my blog here is intended to do is to open up the misconceptions of the style of repair that you’re doing research about.

Repairing a crack in your foundation won’t completely solve any water issue. It can stop the "bleeding" but it won't cure the cause. Water is just using that crack because it’s the “path of least resistance”. By filling the crack up there is always the chance that another avenue will open for the water to get in.

Crack repair is strictly a minor foundation repair that is meant to reconnect the slowly splitting walls.

Crack appear for many reason and can be diagnosed properly depending on the crack, how it’s spreading, age of your home, soil type, etc. Crack repair may not be the proper solution for the wall. It might require being piered and brought back to it’s original position before receiving crack repair.

Bowing walls up to 2inches (normally block walls) can be repaired with type of wall bracing. But anything over that need to have wall anchoring done in order to truly stop the wall from hemorrhaging beyond it’s half way point. (Anything over 3 inches in horizontal movement in or away from your basement is considered a typical “point of no return”. Meaning that it’s so close to the halfway point that it requires a more rigid application of a wall anchor rather than wall bracing.)

There’s a lot to consider when talking about the simple idea of just “repairing a wall” and sometimes we make it sound too easy. However, foundation wall repair isn’t always as easy or as simple as going to Home Depot and picking up some caulking.

Be safe and call an expert.

When I think of finishing the basement my major concern is always the long term effects and conditions of the finished area. The one company that I’ve come across that uses materials those are suited for basement construction is Pioneer Home Basement Finishing (www.homebasementfinishing.com).

An approach, or system if you will, passionately called BasementShield is a proven combination of moisture control and moisture resistant products.

Ceiling tiles, full wallboards, studs, insulation, moisture control and dehumidification and air circulation are all included in whatever finishing project they take on. Since its “conventional construction” you can become as artistic or conservative in your design plans, as you’d like.

Customers of theirs have had bars, gyms, bedrooms, play rooms, and even home theatres installed in their new-finished areas.

No mater what you want to have done in your basement, no matter what you want to be doing in your basement, if you’re going to be spending time there often moisture control and moisture resistant healthy materials are needed.

The BasementSheild system won’t absorb water or moisture, studs won’t rot, and the walls are just as strong as the walls on your 1st and 2nd floors but are made with material that will not allow mold or mildew to grow on it. By using materials that won’t foster molds, mildews or dry rot, your air is cleaner and your experience in your new space is safer.

Ceiling tiles that won’t sag will mean you’ll have to replace them less often than with regular drywall ceilings. You’ll have constant access to your pipes and wires for maintenance or new installations. And they’ll add additional acoustical dampening for those choosing to have their fun upstairs.

Other systems can cost literally tens of thousands of dollars more, with no moisture protection and with materials used that have huge environmental and long-term health related impacts. With Pioneer Home Basement Finishing you’re receiving the best price, protection and future for your basement and for your family.

Call today to schedule an inspection and design consultation with one of their Project Managers today: 1-800-439-0788 or visit them online: www.homebasementfinishing.com