DIY nightmare - basement wall is basically falling apart

Jun 201 min read

Thought I could just patch and paint some spots in the basement and turns out the whole wall has water damage and the drywall is shot. Now I'm looking at ripping out sections, dealing with mold, replacing insulation. This weekend project just turned into a month long project. First time dealing with this kind of stuff and honestly I'm pretty overwhelmed. Should I call a contractor or try to tackle it myself?

8 comments127 views

Comments(8)

MMikeRegularJun 22

Oh man, water damage is no joke. I started with what I thought was a small patch in my basement last year and ended up having to replace like half the drywall. Get someone out there to check for mold before you do anything else. It's worth the inspection cost to make sure you're not dealing with something worse.

BBrianNew DadJun 20

Oof, water damage is no joke. That's rough to discover mid-project. Have you checked if there's a bigger moisture problem in the basement or just localized to that wall? Could save you headaches down the road.

MMike R.RegularJun 20

Oh man, the basement wall surprise. I had something similar happen and it snowballed into a whole renovation project. Get that moisture issue sorted first or it'll just keep getting worse. Might be time to call in a professional if the damage is that extensive.

NNathanRegularJun 21

Oof, that's rough. I did something similar with a kitchen wall and it ended up being way more involved than I expected. You might want to just bite the bullet and call a professional on this one. Not worth the risk if there's structural stuff involved.

DDan R.New DadJun 21

Oh man, water damage in the basement is not a patch and paint situation anymore. If it's actually crumbling you probably need to call someone who knows what they're doing. Learned this the hard way when I tried to DIY mine.

AAdam R.RegularJun 21

Yeah that's the kind of project where you really need to figure out where the water is coming from first. Could be foundation, could be a drainage issue outside, could be something worse. Definitely get someone to assess it before you spend a bunch of time and money on repairs.

JJustinRegularJun 21

Basement walls are tricky because sometimes it's not just the wall that's the problem, it's the whole system keeping moisture out. I'd honestly get a couple estimates from people who do foundation work. Might be more expensive upfront but cheaper than fixing it wrong three times.

JJosephNew DadJun 21

This happened to me too. Turns out my gutters were clogged and water was just pouring down the exterior wall. Might be worth checking your drainage situation before you start ripping into the wall. Could save you some headache down the road.