5 Tips on How to Waterproof a Basement Interior

Sep 28, 2022

One of the best ways to ensure that you don't have any water seeping in through the foundation of your home is to use sealant. Sealant is a liquid that is typically applied to the inside of your home. Small cracks that have been caused by age or a change in weather should be detailed prior to coating with our reinforcement fabric or caulking. This will help your home to become more durable and water resistant. What follows are some helpful DIY tips on how to waterproof a basement using sealant.

Liquid Rubber provides products designed to help you seal and waterproof a basement. If you are looking for tips on how to waterproof your basement, this DIY guide is designed to help you out. Keep in mind if you are not familiar with using these types of products or working on these types of projects, you might be better off hiring a professional. If that is the case, make sure you contact a licensed contractor in your area to get a quote on professional services.

When searching for the products you will require, make sure you are using the best basement interior wall sealing products currently available. Remember, you won't want to combine foundation sealant or color waterproof sealant during this process. Instead, use each one for its intended purposes, ensuring that your foundation sealant is only applied to the foundation and that your color sealant is only applied to the walls and baseboards, window frames and door frames.

Things to Know Before You Get Started

One thing that you will want to consider before you start waterproofing a basement using sealant is: Why is the basement wet in the first place?

A few elements to consider include:

Water possibly seeping in through cracks in the foundation of the basement or from the walls.
Improperly installed windows that are not allowing the water to seep out of the frame as intended.
Poor drainage system that results in not enough flowing rainwater being redirected from the foundation of your home.

If any of these aforementioned issues are suspect, make sure you have a qualified inspector visit your home before attempting to waterproof your basement using sealant.

How to Waterproof Your Basement with Sealant

While foundations are built to be rugged and resilient to the elements, the earth settling beneath them can result in cracking. As time passes, it is possible for water to penetrate via these small cracks.

In most cases, the good news is that these cracks are easy to repair using the right basement waterproofing solutions, like Liquid Rubber’s Basement Foundation Sealant.

Getting Started: Cleaning The Areas

Before you get started, you will want to thoroughly clean the areas being treated. If there are any existing coatings that you have on your basement flooring, these will need to be removed using a variety of methods that can include paint remover, sandblasting, and other variants.

Make sure that the foundation is free and clear of any coatings, dirt and dust.
After you have done this, ensure that you thoroughly clean the walls that you intend to seal as well.
If you find areas that have mold growing, you can use bleach and a water solution (about 12 ounces of bleach to every gallon of water, mixed well). Make sure you clean the wall areas that you wish to apply sealant from top to bottom, then lightly rinse them with warm water and a towel and allow them to dry out completely before you apply any sealant.

Sealing Holes & Cracks

Your next step is to make sure any holes or cracks in your flooring are sealed.

To easily repair any small cracks and holes you come across in the foundation, you will want to use a product called hydraulic cement; this is a synthetic form of cement that’s intended to fill in and seal smaller areas where there is cracking or small holes. It typically sets in about 5 minutes, and it’s easy to apply.
Make sure you are using a trowel to ease it into the affected areas, and make sure to wipe all excess away quickly as this product seals and sets very rapidly.

Seal Openings to Windows & Doors

You can use Liquid Rubber Sealant & Adhesive Caulk to seal the areas that surround your doors and windows. Make sure that you follow the instructions on the product before using it, including cleaning any areas that are to be sealed and removing debris; allowing the product 24 hours to skin and set, and ensuring that there are no holes or punctures in the set product.

Apply Coating to Waterproof Basement

After you have properly sealed your door and window frames, and after you’ve also filled any cracks and plugged any holes in the foundation, you can move on to the next step: priming the surface and waterproofing basement and interior walls. For primer use 1 generous coat of our Liquid Rubber Multi-purpose Primer.

Using the right waterproof coating for basements is critical here. You won’t find an easier or better reviewed product to consider than Liquid Rubber’s Foundation Sealant. This product contains no solvents, emits no VOCs and is nontoxic.

Using a nylon bristle brush or a nap roller (3/8" or 10mm), you can begin to waterproof basement flooring.
Make sure to use even strokes as you apply the sealant, working your way from one end to the other in a straight line, then reversing to come back the other way in a straight line.
By making strokes of the sealant go in both directions as you cover the foundation, you’ll create a stronger seal and increased protection against water penetration.
Allow 12-24 hours for the basement sealant to set before applying additional coats of sealant.
Once the sealant has fully cured, you can move on to finishing your basement walls (if desired).

Apply Liquid Rubber Color Sealant to Basement Interior Walls

If you are interested in sealing your basement’s foundation with a colored product, we have another option. For this project you will need Liquid Rubber Color Sealant.

For interior walls, you will want to apply roughly 1 gallon per 50 square feet of space.
For the best results, you will want to apply at least two, preferably three, heavy coats to create a waterproof membrane on your basement's interior walls. Be sure to follow the recommended coverage.

As you can see, waterproofing your basement's foundation and interior walls will require that you put in some elbow grease. But it's not rocket science and most people can certainly do this on their own. For even more tips on DIY projects that you can do at home using Liquid Rubber products, make sure to check back often.