Unfinished basement with painted walls. One wall section was a slightly different shade of white, had obviously been repainted, and the texture was rough with bumps. Ive seen this before with moisture intrusion but in other instances, the “bumps” were soft where moisture had bubbled it. These bumbs were firm.
I’m guessing they painted right over the efflorescence that was on the wall.
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Not enough info here to lean in, I assume areas above and below had no indications of water intrusion, whats on the other side and if outside how was it landscaped…curious how you will call it out in the final deliverable as a risk that should be monitored or something more significant?
Do you have a moisture meter?
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Yes, it did not measure higher than surrounding wall areas. I should have mentioned that.
Had proper slope on the exterior. The pictures don’t show it well, but it looks greatly different thant the surrounding wall areas. I am suggesting for them to inquire of the seller about repairs/sealing that have happened in that area or any knowledge about what it appears so different. If no satisfactory answer is furnished to them, then I recommend further evaluation by a qualified basement waterproofing contractor. My rationale is that the some sort of work has been done on that wall for some reason.
Morning, Steve.
By painting/sealing the inside foundation CMUs’, one is literally locking in moisture in the CMU unless the outside wall was not sealed.
IMO, proper basement moisture prevention starts from the outside of foundation walls with anti-damp spray, Blueskin or flexible plastic dimple board.
The coarseness and shapes lead me to believe that wall was not prepped prior being sealed. All excess mortar should have been scraped off the walls.
To analyse an accurate reading humidity dew point and CMU moisture is required I believe.
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Was there any staining, bowing, or cracking that you noticed in any of the the foundation walls?
Do you have any pictures from further back?
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What was the average moisture reading of the concrete, please?
Where did you take readings?
Personally, I would start take ‘moisture readings’ starting at the slab/wall intersection, and then move my moisture meter, set to masonry/concrete, every 12" to 18" inches vertically going up the wall.
Note: In most cases there would be a moisture differential. Higher moisture readings at the bottom of a wall to lower moisture readings at the top or at grade level.
yes
no
So?
In my opinion, those do not represent a typical moisture or efflorescence problem or pattern. The paint could be strictly cosmetic. As some noted above, what else is visible that may support your concern? Right now, all you have is fear to support it. Calling out a contractor is strictly CYA.
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There was heavy efflorescence on this same end of the house in the crawlspace area. For clarity, the original house is on a crawlspace, and there was an addition added that has a basement.