Making my Basement in2 a snake room

[DeesBalls]

SO the wife and I are planning on having children soon, and i want to move all my snakes down to the basement.. other than being cold, i am worried about the flooding.

the basement only floods a few time a year, and it is never more than an inch or MAYBE 2 of water in just a few small areas.. the back corner never floods where i plan on putting them... anyway...

i am just wondering what all i could/would have to do to help with this goal, (Wayne, I'm hoping you can help me out since Chompers new cage looks to be like it is in your basement..)

any way, i will do whatever i have to!

thanks in advance!

[infernalis]

Just make sure the lowest viv in the stack is at least a foot off the floor.

Some old carpet will help block the cold floor from sucking away all your heat, there is a lot of creative ways to insure your herps will be safe.

[Gungirl]

Depending on how the basement is laid out. I would dig out a small section of floor and install a sump pump. I would also invest in a dehumidifier to help with any mold that might form due to the water issue. Next I would seal any and all concrete with a drylock water sealant to help keep out the dampness. Build any and everything for your set up out of pressure treated wood and seal that also( added protection for longevity) to save it from soaking up the moisture. Another good Idea would be to frame out your walls and add at least an R30 insulation. This will help on heating it and insulation isn't that expensive.

[DeesBalls]

Thanks you 2... as for the sump pump and dehumidifier we already have one.. and it is only 1 side that leaks, the corner where ill put my snakes dont leak...
i was thinking of having a new floor put in, have it put in 8'' up off the ground and sort of building like a "room" with in the basement. and keep it away from the walls.. also i would have a heater down there as well.. like a little electic one.. I have over a year or so to get this finished.. so i have plenty of time.

[Terranaut]

Why not just fix the foundation from the outside???
That way the flooding is fixed and your eventual mold problem with it.
If your having kids you want this done as mold spores can be very bad for developing lungs.
Black mold can actually be toxic and cause long term health issues.
I would put my money into the leak before I ever considered anything else.
Just my opinion.

[Jay]

Why not just fix the foundation from the outside???
That way the flooding is fixed and your eventual mold problem with it.
If your having kids you want this done as mold spores can be very bad for developing lungs.
Black mold can actually be toxic and cause long term health issues.
I would put my money into the leak before I ever considered anything else.
Just my opinion.

x2 I would fix everything.

[DeesBalls]

Why not just fix the foundation from the outside???
That way the flooding is fixed and your eventual mold problem with it.
If your having kids you want this done as mold spores can be very bad for developing lungs.
Black mold can actually be toxic and cause long term health issues.
I would put my money into the leak before I ever considered anything else.
Just my opinion.

who said anything about mold? there is NO mold in the basement.. let me say this...

when it rains for a few days straight, it will flood a little bit when i say a little bit, there is usually about LESS than an inch and the sump pump will take care of it...

there is no mold, it could be a funished basement, other than the flooding problems...

this whole summer/fall, it has had water in it only about 4 times ....

how would i go about fixing the foundation fromt he out side...?

thanks guys, really appriciate the help! again, i just want to say, there is no mold!

[Terranaut]

Mold isn't always visible. Flooding of even 1/4" for me would warrant fixing it. Just google or youtube foundation repair. Would be money well spent.

[DeesBalls]

Will do that, but we just had our whole house checked out and inspected when we started building/re modeling... I however will check and see..

[Gungirl]

To fix it from the outside you would have to dig a trench around the entire house and add layers of water proofing to it. Normally it's a rubber type cement along with a fiberglass matting. Its by far not even close to being a cheep project. If you have the money to do this it would be well worth it in the end.

[bighillreptiles]

Why not just fix the foundation from the outside???
That way the flooding is fixed and your eventual mold problem with it.
If your having kids you want this done as mold spores can be very bad for developing lungs.
Black mold can actually be toxic and cause long term health issues.
I would put my money into the leak before I ever considered anything else.
Just my opinion.

true enough fix then add on a sub floor insulate a room for your pets safer for the pets and the children you plan on having

[Gungirl]

While we are at making suggestions. Win the lottery and build a new house... :p

While redoing the outside of the basement is a great Idea as well as adding on rooms all together you have to think about the over all cost of this. He can do a few things in the basement right now at a decent price to make it work. Doing a few of these other things would bring the cost up by $10,000-$20,000 which is a LOT to most people.

[DeesBalls]

While we are at making suggestions. Win the lottery and build a new house... :p

While redoing the outside of the basement is a great Idea as well as adding on rooms all together you have to think about the over all cost of this. He can do a few things in the basement right now at a decent price to make it work. Doing a few of these other things would bring the cost up by $10,000-$20,000 which is a LOT to most people.

yes, especially some one who is a full time student with a part time job :)

[Terranaut]

You can do this without doing the entire house. Find the leaky area, dig outside that area until you see the crack or whatever the problem is and fix it with apropriate material. Won't cost $1000 if you do it yourself. Just a pain in the butt.

[Gungirl]

If the issue was just a crack that would be great but in most cases it is more than that. If you live in an area where there is ledge running under your house or around it you need to seal ALL of the concrete that sits below the ground. The water saturates the concrete and seeps in.

[Jay]

If the issue was just a crack that would be great but in most cases it is more than that. If you live in an area where there is ledge running under your house or around it you need to seal ALL of the concrete that sits below the ground. The water saturates the concrete and seeps in.

Which you can do, just win the lottery... It's easy :p

[Gungirl]

Which you can do, just win the lottery... It's easy :p

:yes::p........

[Jay]

:yes::p........

Yea I match my numbers once a week I just choose not to collect all that money, it would be a burdon lol

[DeesBalls]

This may be alot more expensive than i can handle.. like i said i have a minimum of a year! (at least 9 months LOL) but ....

1. i know there is NO Mold...
2. it only floods 3-4 times a YEAR, and when it does, it is just small amount running down to our sump pump...
3. there is one corner, (by our furnace) that does not get any water and it is about 5x9 or so area...

i was thinking of making a floor about 6 inches off the concrete. put up walls (with insulation) and a ceiling... then having an essentially 5x9 foot room for my snakes... with heat and some electrical outlets in the room

everything will be up, off the floor so IF it does get up in the corner, it will be off the water...

[Terranaut]

I still can't believe it passed a home inspection with a leaky foundation.
The digging is by far the worst part. If you do the digging you save thousands.
Applying sealant can be done by anyone who can paint a wall with a roller.
We had this issue in our home 3 yrs after we moved in. It was a visible crack you could see from the interrior. I dug it out 12' along that wall about 2.5' from the house and painted on foundation sealer after filling the crack with epoxy based foundation crack filler.
Problem gone but the digging was horrible and time consuming. Cost me about $300 total.

[DeesBalls]

I still can't believe it passed a home inspection with a leaky foundation.
The digging is by far the worst part. If you do the digging you save thousands.
Applying sealant can be done by anyone who can paint a wall with a roller.
We had this issue in our home 3 yrs after we moved in. It was a visible crack you could see from the interrior. I dug it out 12' along that wall about 2.5' from the house and painted on foundation sealer after filling the crack with epoxy based foundation crack filler.
Problem gone but the digging was horrible and time consuming. Cost me about $300 total.

.... i respect your opinion and your help... when i say flooding, like i said it is ONLY not even an inch, as soon as my phone charges, i will take pics...

however.. i also listen to what people say and i think i have enough friends and family to help dig if i have to go that route...

later tonight i will do a lil research on how to do all this and see what i need to do..

i dont want everyone to think it floods like 4 foot of water every time it rains...

only about less than an inch when it rains for days straight... (like this week)

and the house is my father in laws house, and they had a "family friend" inspect the house to check for the important stuff.. (mold and hazards ) the house has always flooded and it is probbaly over a 100 yr old house... (maybe 85 or so)

i will upload some pics inabout an hour so everyone please stop back!

[Gungirl]

I still can't believe it passed a home inspection with a leaky foundation.


It's not uncommon for a house to have a leaky foundation with an unfinished basement.( at least in the US) I have seen many. There is no reason it should fail a home inspection as long as the home buyer is made aware of the issue. I looked at houses for sale that sat right on ledge and had a small stream running through the basement. These all past the inspection. For people that don't know about construction it can be scary but for those of us that know the ropes it's not a big deal.

[SpOoKy]

you should look for a product called Blue Skin. It is a rubber type sheet that you cut to size and stick on to the outside with a spray adhesive. it can be cut to size to fit the leak you have. I found a video just to give you an idea.

2009 04 - Blueskin foundation prep.MPG - YouTube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n2VVAn2fGMA)

[Norm66]

If basements weren't ever expected to leak then why do so many of them have sump pumps installed? I really don't see a little water a few times a year after a crazy-hard rain as a big deal at all. Especially in 100+ year old house (or even 80+ such as mine). Sure we'd all love to have nice finished basements that were just as dry as our living rooms, but depending on the house, the local geology and a thousand other factors it's not always possible.

All that said, mine used to flood all the time until I did a pretty neat (if I do say so) drainage project along the side that flooded so much. I put 18 tons of sand/topsoil down sloped away from the house about 2' and away from the property line into a trench (you can't really tell it's a trench now that the grass has grown) and sloped it toward the front and tied into the PVC pipe where the gutters drain through the curb to the street. I still get a bit of water now & then (from the other side of the house) but not the major flooding I used to get.

[Terranaut]

Here where I live a foundation leak is a huge deal considering the gound temps in the middle of winter. Every spring thaw that leak will be worse than last year until you do have a foot of water in there one day. So here we almost all do have leak free basements. If its not such an issue where you live and your comfy with it I guess its ok. Just something we don't do here. We mistly have finished basements here too.

[DeesBalls]

well where i am from is a poor-er type town... no one is rich and we all are low-middle income...

this thread is about what i need to do for my basement, my wife and i spend well over 40,000 to have this house redone, and yes, it has a leaky basement, all houses where i live do.. i done like in beverly hills, or out in L.A in a mansion, so having a leaky basement is going to be a part of my life, i simply cant spend $20,000+ on this...

i appreiciate all the advice and help, i will loook into everything that everyone suggested, even doing all the digging and all that...

but please aside from fixing the leak, what can i do with out fixing the leak, it ONLY LEAKS ABOUT 3-4 TIMES A YEAR!

it is not like it floods every day and last for weeks...

thanks:)

[DeesBalls]

you should look for a product called Blue Skin. It is a rubber type sheet that you cut to size and stick on to the outside with a spray adhesive. it can be cut to size to fit the leak you have. I found a video just to give you an idea.

2009 04 - Blueskin foundation prep.MPG - YouTube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n2VVAn2fGMA)

that looks liek it would work perfectly, i mean.. it will require a LOT OF DIGGING!! but that stuff looks like it is easy to work with.

[DeesBalls]

It's not uncommon for a house to have a leaky foundation with an unfinished basement.( at least in the US) I have seen many. There is no reason it should fail a home inspection as long as the home buyer is made aware of the issue. I looked at houses for sale that sat right on ledge and had a small stream running through the basement. These all past the inspection. For people that don't know about construction it can be scary but for those of us that know the ropes it's not a big deal.

yes, wherei am from too, a leaky basement is just the "thing" to have... we have sump pumps and all that... actually the town i live in is really bad for flooding...

Back in the day they built the town over some sort of lake/pond type thing... i really dont know what they are talking about, since i have only lived her for about 7 months. but that is what some of the people i have met told me about...

[SpOoKy]

Sorry this thread did get off topic. If i were you I would section off the area that I wanted to keep the snakes and frame it 2 or so inches off the ground. Insulate and drywall it so you can maintain temps and humidity better. Basically build a little snake room. Shouldn't cost you too much in materials and IMO would be a easier way to maintain them in the long run.

[lady_bug87]

Kat, you're so handy lol love it

[Gungirl]

Kat, you're so handy lol love it

Haha thanks! I love these types of discussions and projects.


To the OP just stick to the basics. Build your reptile room up 12" so that you are better safe than sorry and add some insulation to it to help retain the heat. Use pressure treated wood for everything you can and seal it all well with an exterior deck sealer.

[DeesBalls]

Haha thanks! I love these types of discussions and projects.


To the OP just stick to the basics. Build your reptile room up 12" so that you are better safe than sorry and add some insulation to it to help retain the heat. Use pressure treated wood for everything you can and seal it all well with an exterior deck sealer.

this is what i originnaly plan on doing... all cages will have their heat, plus i will have a small electical heater in the room for the winter... (not for summer since it stays pretty decent in the basement)

[Terranaut]

Sorry wasn't trying to compare class of living or anything. Just that where I live a slightly leaky basement is something to fix asap if its the norm there then spend your money on the renos ;) they will be a lot more enjoyable than a big hole and slimey slick mess.

What are your typical seasonal temps where you live?
This could determine much of your spending.

[DeesBalls]

i understand you wernt comparing.. i was just letting you know that here, a leaky basement is nothing...

winter - low of 0 with temps going into negatives..
summer- up to 100

lol we get a HUGE range of temps in Ohio... example, last friday it was a 65, and just today it was down to around 40 and raining..

temps in Fahrenheit

[presspirate]

You can do this without doing the entire house. Find the leaky area, dig outside that area until you see the crack or whatever the problem is and fix it with apropriate material. Won't cost $1000 if you do it yourself. Just a pain in the butt.

Difficult this time of year once the frost sets in. De humidifier(s) and heaters. for the time being. Maybe frame up a room in the "dry" corner of the basement. Address your foundation issues in the spring.

[DeesBalls]

Difficult this time of year once the frost sets in. De humidifier(s) and heaters. for the time being. Maybe frame up a room in the "dry" corner of the basement. Address your foundation issues in the spring.

that would be a good idea.. i really think i am going to take this project on, with the help of my brother and dad, who are both, or were both in construction.. maybe in the spring ill look at my foundation..

[DeesBalls]

so i just went and measured the area i would be using for the "room"

it measures around 7.5 foot long, 6 foot deep, and only around 5 foot tall.... (im 6 foot tall :( )

any way that would be the area

[Gungirl]

Smaller area = cheaper to heat, insulate, build. Bad thing is its short for you... that's no fun.

[Terranaut]

Is that the basement height? Or is that built up if it is just go to the floor and make the bottom of the walls water resistant. I'm over 6' and a 5' room would ruin it a bit IMHO.

[DeesBalls]

that is the height... its really like 5 foot and maybe 6 inches, but since im building it up off the ground a little bit, it will be around 5 foot tall... it sucks, but oh well

all the houses i have lived in i have NEVER been able to stand up in so i will be use to it...

if all this does get done, i will have a chair to sit in and do everything :)

[Gungirl]

I used to be the only one in the family that could walk in our basement with out bashing my head off of something :)

[DeesBalls]

I used to be the only one in the family that could walk in our basement with out bashing my head off of something :)

haha that is my mom and wife, they are like 5 foot tall! i hate the fact that i can never stand up in a basement.. :)

[lady_bug87]

my husband almost gave himself a concussion on our honeymoon he kept bashing his head off of everything he's 6'4 and a bit