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Hi,
we would like to transform our basement into an apartment for our daughter.The problem is it is a wet basement. Prior to our buying the house holes were drilled into the wall I am assuming to allow water inside to avoid the wall caving in since our house is built into a hill. I have no clue why someone would think this a good idea but now we are concerned that if we try to patch these holes it will weeken the wall.
Any advice??
Do we have to replace basement walls to rectify the problem?

'cuse,

Hard to say from here, there are many things you can do to help dry out the basement. You first need to determine are you getting actual water into the basement or just high humidity from water vapor coming through the walls and/or floor. You can test for water vapor by taping a 1' square piece plastic or aluminum foil to the walls at several places around the basement. Seal all 4 sides with Duck tape. If after a few days you have water trapped between the plastic/foil and the wall you have water vapor coming in through the concrete block. A product like Thoro-seal or Dry-lock can help solve that problem, but won't solve a high ground water problem where liquid water is coming through the walls or floor.

A dehumidifier will help dry the air in a damp basement as will an air conditioner.

If you have actual liquid water coming in it sometimes can be fixed by regrading the land around the house to make sure the water drains away from the house and by extending the downspout pipes further away from the house. Though sometimes you have to dig away all the dirt and apply a water proofing sealer / membrane to the walls and installing new weeping tiles that run into a sump pump or out into daylight and drain away from the house. A high water table can be lowered with a sump pump.

There are many causes of dampness in basements, we can only offer ideas. You really need someone on the ground in Syracuse to take a look. I doubt you would need to replace your basement walls. You do need to fix the dampness problem before you start to finish the basement. Since this is in a hillside I assume it is a walk-out and you have a door or an egress window for the bedroom you'd like to build. Also, you need to make sure your zoning will allow an apartment in your basement. And of course you'll likely need to pull permits to do this work.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Sparky,

One other thing to consider with your basement apartment. If you're on a septic system it may not be rated for the extra kitchen and bathroom use. If you're on public sewers no worries.

If you're on a septic and haven't had it serviced lately, now would be a good time.

Here is a good white paper on dealing with insulating your basement. Link is a pdf.

http://www.buildingscience.com...t-insulation-systems

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Sparky,