The Mold War Challenge: Comparing Basement Finishing Materials

hi I'm Larry janeski I'm a building scientist and president of total basement finishing and dr. Energy Saver in an effort to show what happens when common organic building materials get wet in a basement we conducted an ambitious project this video is a short summary of what we show in our detailed 25 minute conclusion video we tested for flooring assemblies and four wall assemblies for flooring we tested an old-fashioned wood subfloor consisting of sleepers or lumber laid flat with plywood on top then we tested a subfloor panel made and sold for basement sub floors at big-box stores its chipboard with a dimpled plastic matting on the bottom of it to hold it off the concrete floor then we tested our thermal dry insulated floor decking which is made of foam insulation with channels on the bottom and an inorganic magnesium oxide board and finally a pure PVC flooring we call Mill Creek flooring put directly onto the concrete we weighed each of the materials before the test so we could weigh them after and see how much water they absorbed the wall panels we tested were first wood studs fiberglass insulation and drywall with a wood baseboard this is the most common building assembly in North America next we substituted metal studs for the wood ones used fiberglass insulation and a moisture and mold resistant drywall with a pre primed wood baseboard third we used our total basement finishing ever last wall panel this consists of foam insulation instead of fiberglass a cement board instead of drywall a vinyl finish so no paint is required and PVC baseboard the final wall assembly is a variation of the total basement finishing ever last wall panel called TBF smart wall system it has a continuous foam insulation against the wall metal studs in front of the insulation and a never last wall panel with cement board vinyl finish and PVC baseboard we weighed all the wall panels before the test this test is all about how materials behave and last in a basement environment the critical variable in a basement is water and water vapor we simulated a water leak and kept the floor wet for several weeks that we ran the test you know a home has lots of pressurized supplied pipes and a drain pipe system with openings such as sinks toilets wash machines vents and other openings overtime leaks will happen and the water will wind up in the basement since the basement is basically a pit under the house what will happen to a finished basement when a wedding event occurs will the basement floors and walls be ruined and get moldy and have to be ripped out and refinished or will some materials survive and stand the test of time in a basement environment that they were installed in with this test like the others we have done we were going to show the answer to this question look at this incredible time-lapse video we returned and began assessing the results flooring first the wood framing and plywood subfloor section was growing mold and gained three and a half pounds of water nearly half a gallon of water absorbed into the wood the chipboard and dimpled plastic subfloor had swelled was growing mold and gained over half a gallon of water per panel nearly 50 percent more again its original weight we found the plastic dimples facing up to be cups for catching water from a leak when swollen chipboard dries out it does not return to its original dimension the thermal dry insulated floor decking which is made of foam and inorganic magnesium oxide gained very little water weight and showed no mold growth or warping or swelling at all the Mill Creek PVC flooring with the wood grain look gain no weight at all and was completely unaffected by the water the wall systems were examined to see how they fared the wood baseboard was moldy the drywall grew a dramatic amount of mold of all colors on the front and back the wood studs grew mold as did the fiberglass insulation one sheet of drywall gained eight pounds of water weight a full gallon of water absorbed into a sheet of half-inch drywall the moisture and mold resistant drywall panels were next the pre-primed wood baseboard got moldy right on the paint the moisture resistant drywall was moldy at the bottom although it did perform better than regular drywall but it was still moldy when weighed however the panel sucked up over 7 pounds of water or three-quarters of a gallon the fiberglass insulation behind the mold resistant drywall got moldy halfway through the test we wanted to see what happens when paint is introduced we painted these materials and put samples in to test the total basement finishing panels do not need paint well as you can see mold grows on paint quite easily we then looked at the total basement finishing ever last wall panel the panel only gained several ounces of water and had no mold no swelling or distortion at all front or back the TBF smart wall was next and again no mold and no damage at all since there is no fiberglass insulation no wood or wood products and no paint there was nothing for mold to grow on as we have demonstrated with our splash video in the past where we threw these building materials into a pool for a half hour to see what happens this test shows that conventional wall systems using any kind of drywall or paint or wood should not be used in a basement environment even if there is not a flooding event yet basements have high relative humidity particularly between the back of the wall and the foundation wall this is because of water vapor diffusion through the porous concrete from the ground and because it's cooler in this space because the ground is cool you know when we cool air by one degree fahrenheit we raise the relative humidity by 2.2 percent when interior or exterior air gets into a basement it is cooled the relative humidity goes up above 65% on for mold to grow this is the say you don't need a water leak for multi grow just damp air when a basement is finished and develops a musty smell well that smell is the airborne seeds of growing mold just what people with allergies and asthma react to by using total basement finishing no organic materials are used in your basement and mold cannot grow on your walls or floor and you will not have to replace them when you do have a temporary flood or leak if you'd like a mold free and odor free finished basement call total basement finishing with dealers across North America

Channel: Total Basement Finishing

Views: 147,377

Keywords: Basement, Mold (Disease Cause), Basement Finishing, Basement Walls, Basement Flooring, Flooring (Industry), Drywall, Design, Repair, Home Improvement (Interest), Building Material, Installation

Id: e3vtxO9oo3g

Length: 7min 20sec (440 seconds)

Published: Wed Nov 18 2015