Hi y'all. I'm under contract for a 1925 house with a sandstone, brick, and some other stone-type foundation. Old cement floor. The house is located in Western PA where we see a lot of rain, humidity, and in general, the forecast is always some form of uncomfortable.
The laundry hookups are in the dungeon-like and terrifying basement. There's really no other decent place to put the laundry hookups. So my goal is to make the basement brighter, cleaner, and not so terrifying when I do the laundry. I've never owned a house with basement walls like this, and I'm not entirely sure what to do and am looking for some pointers from more experienced people.
First of all, I'd like to keep the sandstone walls exposed. They look very cool, rustic industrial. My understanding is that you want to leave sandstone uncovered so it "breathes." It looks like someone at some point applied parging cement to the walls, but this has broken down substantially and I don't know if it's worth it to reapply.
What to do with sandstone basement
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Re: What to do with sandstone basement
Hi there Athena - great post - we have never had a stone foundation with a dungeon basement either. My first consideration would be is the foundation stable and dry as in non leaking- and the slab floor is it dry - I would remove all suspect parging/mortar and do a thorough job of cleaning then repoint neatly and thoroughly (I like using a hydraulic concrete mix like Rockite to seal the cracks and gaps…..also can be used for cracks in the slab floor as well as where the slab meets the foundation (a classic leak spot). I have used a mini ginder with a concrete cutting blade to chase all cracks/open them up then vacuum out and then pour rockite in (or xypex patch n plug) . You have to wear a good respirator and seal off the room (complete dust storm when doing the cutting lol even with vacuum going. I like using a subfloor tile like Barricade that has a plastic dimple underside in case of some leakage down the line…. Makes the floor feel warmer and then I would put down say a vinyl strip click flooring again something that can survive a damp event in the future….. we like the rock look also but will be covering it up with a vapour barrier, then 2 lbs spray foam insulation, an interior perimeter drainage line and sump pump to try to get our humidity under control- if your walls leak it’s pretty tuff to keep them exposed and natural looking and sealed too I think- and hey, it’s a laundry room in the end and better to not need therapy for the trauma of the scary basement itis 
Re: What to do with sandstone basement
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