Water Barrier?

[crokett]

So with the recent washer episode, I am thinking about what kind of water barrier I can use to prevent the water from flowing under the wall if there is ever another oopsie, or the pump fails or something. The wall in question is a standard wall, 16" studs OC with PT sill plate. It runs lengthwise down the basement. There is a door in the wall (never used) that I put there for access to the central air so I am not all that concerned about a trip hazard. The shop side of the wall is currently bare studs so whatever I use needs to be flat enough that drywall or ply could be laid over it.

[pelligrini]

I'm just guessing here, we've never tried anything like it.

Maybe treat the utility room like a built up shower pan. You'd still have to cover the membrane. If I was going to go that far I would build the floor up and slope it to a drain. Seems like a too much work though.

There are some peel and stick products that might adhere enough to concrete floor to prevent seepage and wrap up the framed wall a little. Some of the Jiffy-seal products come to mind. Even that 9" wide roll of stick on flashing I got from Lowes might do the trick. Covering it would be a little strange. If you nailed on base trim you'd be putting holes in your seal.

[just started]

On a recent DIY show Amy Mathews was using a new paint-on waterproofing membrane for under wall tile in a shower.

[Ed62]

On a recent DIY show Amy Mathews was using a new paint-on waterproofing membrane for under wall tile in a shower.

This has been around for some time, although the one referred to might be a new formula. It seems to work very well.

Ed

[pelligrini]

I don't think a paint on would work that well for what David wants to do. A roll on works well for a surface, sort of ok as a anti-fracture membrane. It doesn't work very well for joints, especially 90 degree joints of dissimilar materials. There might be some new products out that I haven't seen.

[Mr__Bill]

The real question is, How deep do you need to contain the water?

If you have a water sensor that will shut things down then you only need to keep it from migrating under the wall. However if you are expecting several inches, that is a swimming pool issue. For a surface skim of water sealing the base of the wall with some foundation sealer, the plastic that dries soft and does not stay sticky, may do it. With a 2x4 threshold at the door.

Another idea is to replace the washer with a front loading one. Put both the weahser and dryer on a 1 foot platform and make the underside of the platform like a holding tank. It should hold all the water that a wash load can generate and can be emptied with a shop vac should the need arise. The front loader uses less water, and the platform makes it easier on the back to load and unload both the washer and dryer. Just be sure the overflowing drain overflows into the tank.

Another option would be to empty the washer to a laundry sink that holds as much as the washer does (both wash and rinse).

Bill, been there, done that, don't think the basement ever dried out properly.

[Woodshark]

How about installing a floodsaver?

http://www.floodsaver.com/index.html

Or, if your not worried about more than a few quarts of water, this option is much cheaper.
http://www.amazon.com/Oatey-34051-Wa.../dp/B000H5SHWG

[crokett]

Mr Bill, I only expect to keep it from migrating under the wall. The foundation sealer is a great idea. I will look into it.

Woodshark, I considered something like that but it would not have helped in the last incident and it probably won't if a washer line bursts or something. What I did do when I replumbed was upsize the drain from 1.5" to 2" until it gets to the pump, so more volume there and I added a spillover setup back to my drywell. So in theory if the pump fails, the water will back up and then go down the drywell. I do not put the washer down the drywell because I've had the drywell back up a couple times before with other stuff.

[just started]

I had a washer hose burst overnight and 2 feet of water in the basement many years ago. Ever since then I've used the hoses that are covered in 2 layers of metal woven mesh.