Got told my basement refinishing plan was backwards...

About 4 years ago I was gonna paint my basement walls directly with Drylok. A guy at the hardware store in Columbus stopped me and asked if I even had a sump pump or drainage tile. I didn't even know what that stuff was. He basically said paint is useless if water is just sitting behind the wall. So I ended up spending about $300 on a little drain system and a pump. That winter we got like 8 inches of rain in two days and the basement stayed bone dry. It saved me from what could've been a huge mold issue. Has anyone else had a hardware store employee save them from a bad DIY decision?

3 comments

3 Comments

felixlane13d ago

@alice_allen5 You overpaid for that drain system and a dehumidifier would have worked fine on its own for half the price.

kai_chen213d ago

And here I thought the only thing hardware store employees were good for was trying to upsell me on the expensive drill bits, haha. Turns out they're actually out there saving people from their own DIY delusions.

alice_allen513d ago

Oh man, that hardware store guy basically saved your whole house! I had a similar thing happen when I was about to put down $200 on some fancy waterproofing paint for a cinder block wall in my garage. This older guy at the counter was like, "Hold up, that's just gonna peel in six months if there's any moisture coming through the block." He talked me into just getting a dehumidifier and doing a proper French drain outside. Cost a bit more upfront, but the wall's been dry as a bone for three years now. It's wild how much bad advice is out there for basements, huh?