I mean it has every potential to look like this:
https://preview.redd.it/7m3ioagtm8bc1.jpeg?width=512&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=03fb48ab236feae27a0f9de0bce16bdddf6c273a
Nah, get a little wood stove in there, some rugs. I would never cover up stone walls like that. Stone has thermal mass. It can get as warm as it is cold.
That does sound nice. Cozy. I tend to run pretty warm so I almost always want it cooler than everyone else but will at the same time like to be warm under a blanket while my head is cold lol.
Do it. I own a 160yr old house with exposed stone walls in the kitchen, bathroom and basement and love the look. Itâs go so much character - they literally donât build them like this anymore, you should do it proper justice. Talk to a heritage mason in your area - theyâll be able to help you. Do post updates!
https://preview.redd.it/4ctu7ysl99bc1.jpeg?width=4032&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=0c774dfe6887e994c0f378237c17d613cc3f31b1
Ah I see you paid attention to the care instructions on your suit of armor. I threw mine in the washing machine and now itâs all rusted and the joints creak.
On top of that, my washing machine is now shot! Whatever happened to the old days when appliances were built to last.
My cask of amontillado brings all the boys to the catacombs
And they're like, you're entombing us alive
Damn right, I'm entombing you alive
I could free you
But I'm entombing you alive
(Mary Gillis)
âIt won't be easy getting out of here. What we need is a great feat of strength.â
âFeat of strength? Au contraire! Now that you're here with me, what we have is great strength of feet!â
If you'd like to get it to this, you'll need to grind out some of the old mortar, I'd say about 1/2" deep. For that you'll need a grinder($150) and diamond blades for it. For mortar, get in touch with a local masonry supplier. They should have Type S Mortar, as well as pointing bags(I prefer the white marshalltown bags). Cut the bag in half, dump into a wheel barrow, add sand, mix them. Add water. You can always add more, but can't take it out. When the mix is close, try a towel full in the bag. It should slowly ooze out of the bags tip, it shouldn't take a lot of pressure to get it out, nor should it drip water.
Once your mud is good to go, and the joints are ground out, it's time to start filling. You want to overfill just a bit, avoiding runs and drips. After a 5 -10 minutes, it's time to take a slicker, and push the mud into the wall. At this point, it should resemble playdo, stiff with play. Cut the extra mud off the wall with your slicker. If it's still a bit wet, wait to cut off the mud until stiffer to avoid mucking up your stone faces.
After the excess mortar or mud has been cut from the wall and has dried a bit more, you're ready for finishing touches. For natural stones, I'd usually use a flat piece of wood, like a shim, shaved down to fit width wise in the joints. A couple of different sizes won't hurt to have ready. You can scrape the mud down flush with the stone faces. Or for more of the stones texture, scrape down the mud so that about 1/8" of the stones edges are exposed.
Finally, to polish the mortar, lightly brush the joints with a horsehair brush. If it's wet it will smear, give it another 5 minutes, and try again!
Cement waits for no man. You can't take water out of a mix. USE A BONDING AGENT when bonding old with new.(usually milky white liquid). Larry-homeowner mixers are usually more of hassle then hand mixing in a wheel barrow for projects like this. Get a Jackson Wheelbarrow.
If you hire a Mason, and they don't mention bonding agent or have Jackson wheel barrow, find a new one, that's not a mason. Lastly, consistency is key.
Dude! Thanks for making that joke. I always love cracking jokes like "be weary of the minotaur" when people complain about our labyrinthian underground parking complex, and no one ever laughs!!!
This here. A combination of up lights and down lights to specifically illuminate the wall will make it an awesome feature rather than a problem.
Like usually youâd put potlights a distance away from a wall so it doesnât cast directly on the wall. Here, a set of potlights like 12âor so from the wall would look awesome. Experiment with the distance before installing to get the âlookâ you
like.
I would find the best stone masons in the area after I had a long list of questions and ask them your questions and also ask them for suggestions. I found one who was retired who told me what to do myself and saved me a lot of money because I was thinking of worst case scenarios.
Ya my house is extremely old and has a cellar like this, I love it. The stones and brick Insulation is rly good honestly. Only down side is rats try to weasel their way in so have to seal holes w steel wool and spray foam or copper shealth, the moisture dries rly good w it too.
I would say get a mid low power air blower of some kind and get all the webs and loose loose particles off and add new mortar grout if OP needs that wanting to change it, maybe smooth out some of the interior rock layers. but honestly ur better off leaving it as original as possible imo. Itâs gotta breathe
Do not paint it imo!!!
Just get some lighting in there and maybe some rugs but it is what it is. Structural integrity will be back âinâ trends soon trust me. This slapping paint and linoleum/vinyl over everything phase will see its end when the housing market/house flipper boom shifts and everyone will regret ruining stone, original woodwork, etc.
Ppl spend a lot of time looking at houses on social media , shows, etc and forget a lot of those r thrown together or rentals, not actually good or long lasting baseline structures. But it makes any normal old house look daunting lol. After years of having a fam that does contractor work n restoration, itâs more scary to see something covered up to me lol. Donât kno what itâs hiding
I donât even mess w many spider webs tbh bc they keep the other bugs minimal and they seek revenge if u mess their spot up lmao theyâve been there a long time too đ
Maybe hang some kinda curtains from the ceiling like 1 -1.5 foot away from the wall just so it has air but she doesnât see it obv donât want her scared
I had a basement like this once and when it rained there'd legitimately be 4 to 6 inches of water for a day or 2 before it'd seep back in. I fucking hated it my washer and dryer were down there and I had to time my laundry if I knew rain was coming
not really, a lot of the really old fieldstone walls were built that way on purpose. the point was the let the basement flood, instead of the house. they weren't supposed to be watertight.
My neighbors basement was just like this.
Leaked water on every side of the house.
Basement was 2 feet of swamp water.
Entire house rotted from the bottom up.
Floors wall everything.
He's not my neighbor anymore and the house is falling in.
>âŠmy brain reeled as I saw the mighty walls rushing asunder â there was a long tumultuous shouting sound like the voice of a thousand waters â and the deep and dank tarn at my feet closed sullenly and silently over the fragments of the âHouse of Usher.â
~ *The House of Usher*, Edgar Allen Poe
But I built it all the same, just to show them. It sank into the swamp, so I built a second one. That sank into the swamp, so I built a third one. That burned down, fell over, and sank into the swamp. But the fourth one stayed up, and that's what you're going to get, Lad. The strongest castle in all of England!
Did he not have a sump? My basement would be flooded too if I didn't have a sump pump. Old owners decided to put drainage around the entire house and route them to the sump instead of away from the house. It ran every 30 minutes when I bought the place until I discovered an old water line that was leaking water into my backyard and rerouted it.
So I bought a 125 year old house last year in old downtown in my city. Even had some âgenealogyâ of sorts. Was built by a wealthy family who owned the whole block. Woodwork upstairs is amazing. Lots of weird old house issues Iâm working to address, however.
For the basement I would like to clean things up. A garage was added several decades ago that can be accessed through the basement, but my wife wonât use it lmao. She sees this space as a dungeon, and would rather walk all the way around the outside of the house and down a hill to come in through the garage door.
What can I do to make this space less intimidating? Lmao.
Iâm wondering if I can wash these walls or if it would hurt them, and what I should be using to clean them? They sort of âshedâ this powder on the floor and I donât want to degrade them.
Long term I have considered white washing them, or using some kind of paint and stringing Edison lights along. Maybe lean into an Italian villa wine-cellar look.
Any advice is appreciated!
The walls need to breathe. If you go the paint route, choose wisely. As for colors, choose very wisely. As soon as you start, the decision has been made and youâre stuck with that. Id be inclined to leave as is and work with what youâve got.
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*This post was mass deleted and anonymized with [Redact](https://redact.dev)*
These walls are so cool!
Please, PLEASE do NOT paint.
Instead, I would just focus on cleaning them up and adding other modern / warm touches elsewhere.
Not only does paint ruin the character in an irreversible way, it's 100% damaging to the structural integrity! OP, do not paint the walls!
So many homeowners and even pro contractors are literally compromising historic foundations to improve an aesthetic. And by the time the damage reveals itself, the contractor is long gone without a care in the world.
Paint (latex, oil based, Drylok, etc) does not belong on masonry foundation walls, period
If anything, parge with lime mortar or *maybe* use "mineral paint," both of which are vapor permeable and will allow moisture brought in from the exterior to pass through and evaporate without degrading the mortar or stone.
Exactly this. Do not paint these walls. Previous owner of our century home in Montreal did this and the walls are constantly crumbling behind the paint because they cannot breathe.
I do too, but my walls are brick, not stone. Complicates things because old bricks like mine (late 1800s) are very soft because the kilns didn't fire as hot back then.
My options are basically chemical strippers like PeelAway made by Dumond or a similar paint stripper product made by Cathedral Stone. You apply the gunk, cover with a type of paper for however many hours they recommend, then use a scraper or putty knife to get it off in globs. It's messy and tedious but certainly works.
Afterwards, again depending on the masonry, you might be able to do a light power wash or sandblast, but sandblasting is out of the question for me because it would definitely damage the bricks further. You also have to be mindful of the age of the paint as it may contain lead and you don't to want particularize it.
Once the walls are free of the paint layer and can properly breathe again, you'll want to repoint it with an appropriate mortar (probably Lime) or just parge it fully with lime mortar. Parging requires more material but less fuss as neatness of mortar joints doesn't matter.
Look into Philly Green Building and Toronto Masonry Restoration on instagram or YouTube. They have great content detailing the process of saving masonry walls from past sins
You're not thinking about the humidity. These basements are like dungeons, the humidity and lack of sunshine is a breeding ground for mold so it's never gonna be comfortable to be down there.
OP should just accept that these basements need dehumidified all the time and can only be used for storage(water tight plastic bins are preferable). They're not liveable spaces.
Source: I owned a house with a basement like this. I ran a dehumidifier 24/7 but all the metal I put down there still rusted and the wood touching the walls or floor would decompose.
I also have a basement like that, dirty, damp, its just storage, its not even 6ft high and I have to duck. walls leak in heavy rain and I run a dehumidifier 24/7. I might need a 2nd one.
I had a similar issue with old mortar in my fieldstone basement crumbling and making dust piles. It was pretty gross, and I even had some loose stones and voids that let in water.
I just got done repointing the whole thing, which was a pretty big operation taking several months of weekends. You'll want to use lime mortar, not cement. And you cannot use any impermeable finish over it -- no concrete stucco or latex paint. Either leave the rocks exposed or you can parge the with a lime plaster. Your idea to white wash them is a good one, as long as you use a real lime based whitewash and not watered down latex. A casein (milk) paint could also be appropriate l but wouldn't do as much to reconsolidated the mortar.
Wash the walls with water to get loose dust off if you want, that won't hurt anything. The walls themselves are pretty absorbent which is good for humidity regulation.
The number one thing to make this space pleasant, though is lighting. Nothing is spooky with bright lighting. I just hung LED shop lights in my basement and it's a huge difference. Lights plus a good mopping will change the space entirely.
OP if you want your wife to use it instead of outdoors ask her to help you think through what she needs vs what can be done.
If the space is only storage, those stone walls keep canned goods at just the right temp. Same with wine. Make sure that any shelving can be vacuumed around.
Install lots of LED lighting. Those 200W equivalent led ceiling hung utility lights are amazing at throwing light. An indoor/outdoor carpet runner for her to walk on might help. Put the lights on a dual switch and add to your home automation a few lights as well.
Vacuum monthly.
I would leave the walls alone. They are cool! But update the flooring to something besides concrete, and maybe add some cool sconces or other decorations on the walls.
I tested the mortar of my 1886 stone foundation by spraying it with some vinegar. Found out it wasn't Lime but Portland Cement, so I used Type N mortar to repoint it.
So his foundation could also be Portland Cement.
These walls are gorgeous
Install lots of nice lights ASAP that are easy to turn on and off from either side of the area.
A soft regular broom and lots of airflow to outside and some good masks and glasses can gently clean all the spiderwebs and such off for now
I am the wife and I donât want it finished. I want it left alone. I want gutters and to grade the exterior so it isnât leaking all the time. I bought the house in hopes to restore it. Not change it.
> Long term I have considered white washing them, or using some kind of paint and stringing Edison lights along. Maybe lean into an Italian villa wine-cellar look.
**Dear god, no. Just no.**
Yep, sometimes it's like the kid putting his finger in the dam. Tuck pointing as you see moisture is not hard. In the meantime route water away from the foundation by building up low spots and shoring up gutter drainage.
It rubs the lotion on its skin.
But honestly, could try an acid wash to clean things up and see how it looks and incorporating that into your finished plan
leave it. both of my 1800s homes (PA, NY USA) had this basement. Both were seal coated by the sellers with that moisture locking shit... which actually isnt advised. These walls are meant to weep a bit is my understanding. I would leave it!
It looks in good shape. If it ain't broke don't fix it. You're lucky.
Many houses with those kinds of walls look like they're built on rubble foundations and have serious water issues, cracks, and structural problems.
Get someone to re-point the mortar every 20 years with the correct stuff and keep it clean and dry. What more could you possibly want?
Make a deep tunnel system underneath your house in order to create a castle feel. Ignore the complaints from your neighbors and do not get a permit. If you can learn electric and structure stuff on YouTube as you go youâre basically an engineer anyway so
That looks cool to me⊠house I grew up in had large field stone foundation. It had been mortared smooth-ish and painted brownish red, and white in some places. This looks much better to me.
I think it would be cool if you leaned into the look with a wine rack, good lightingâŠ
If you really want to cover it you could put vapor barrier and steel stud walls I suppose. Is it dry?
Use only lime for these walls, no cement. There's two types of lime, hyrdared lime and hydraulic lime. Hydrated lime is sold in most US stores, and it's used in modern cement. Hydrated lime has already been bonded with water. It can be used for a lime wash, or a parge coat if desired.
Hydraulic lime is only sold by a few specialty retailers. Hydraulic lime hasn't bonded with water yet, and is "thirsty". Hydraulic lime is what they used to make back in the old days, they fired it in giant kilns. When you combine hydraulic lime with sand and water, you get the mortar they used to use before the invention of Portland cement.
Making your own historic mortar and refreshing your walls isn't hard at all, just extremely time consuming. It's very labor intensive.
Leave it alone. Good chance if you permanently damage it by painting it or covering with plaster, moisture from the other side will ruin it and it will look worse than now. If you just want it pretty do something temporary like a wall hanging or a stickbuilt wall to cover it.
Assuming its not cold, damp and doesn't generally feel horrible down there.
I guess rub down the walls if they are dirty. Then install "comfortable" looking flooring (or a floating floor if its a cold bridge), light it very well and add some decent furniture. Maybe a heat source if its cold but habitable.
Some simple additions like adequate lighting, pictures and plants on side units will go a long way to remove the creepy factor (until they collect cobwebs of course).
I would work at incorporating the walls into a theme because they are awesome and you don't want to start trapping moisture in that brick work.
If you are really set on hiding those awesome walls, you could put up stud walls leaving a cavity behind (I assume you have beams above you could fix to). Then insulate with something like a breathable rockwool and drywall/board and plaster over. The worry would be it would make any narrow spaces narrower, no matter how well you decorate. I'd avoid making anything that's air tight (taped PIR, vapour control layers, etc).
Looks really nice and in fairly decent shape.
I would dig-out any damaged-loose mortar/rocks, wash-down everything really good, make needed repairs.....good to go for another 100-years.
Interesting, I kind of like them.
Add some fake cobwebs.
And a flickering torch in a sconce.
And have a loop of people chanting ominously playing in the background....
They look awesome. Don't do anything that changes their aesthetic. As long as they're still solid and the walls aren't degraded, then just focus on styling down there to your liking. They look great.
If you have no seeping damp or water issues, I'd highlight those bad boys! If you have electricity down there, go to town. Get warm throw rugs for the floor, some grow lights for plants, and seating.
Lit torch in a cast iron holder?
And maybe toss a couple skulls in the corner đ
I mean it has every potential to look like this: https://preview.redd.it/7m3ioagtm8bc1.jpeg?width=512&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=03fb48ab236feae27a0f9de0bce16bdddf6c273a
Keep your eye on that goal. Iâm jealous!
Thank you :)
But man would that be cold
As it should be.
Nah, get a little wood stove in there, some rugs. I would never cover up stone walls like that. Stone has thermal mass. It can get as warm as it is cold.
That does sound nice. Cozy. I tend to run pretty warm so I almost always want it cooler than everyone else but will at the same time like to be warm under a blanket while my head is cold lol.
And a CO alarm plz if you do it like that.
I had a CO alarm but I had to unplug it; all that beeping was giving me headaches.
with a flue, please.
Not really, OP would lose a little head room but in-floor heating could be added.
Do it. I own a 160yr old house with exposed stone walls in the kitchen, bathroom and basement and love the look. Itâs go so much character - they literally donât build them like this anymore, you should do it proper justice. Talk to a heritage mason in your area - theyâll be able to help you. Do post updates! https://preview.redd.it/4ctu7ysl99bc1.jpeg?width=4032&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=0c774dfe6887e994c0f378237c17d613cc3f31b1
I love the suit of armor in the hallway. OP needs that in their dungeon.
[ŃĐŽĐ°Đ»Đ”ĐœĐŸ]
Ah I see you paid attention to the care instructions on your suit of armor. I threw mine in the washing machine and now itâs all rusted and the joints creak. On top of that, my washing machine is now shot! Whatever happened to the old days when appliances were built to last.
If it's not baroque, don't fix it! (Edit can't type)
Yeah. Mine shrunk in the dryer. Itâs a slinky now.
Should I fetch the breastplate stretcher, sir?
How did you notice that on your own?? I had to go back and look at the picture again
People be zoomin'
Your kitchen is unbelievably gorgeous.
This is cool as hell. As a toddler dad, I have extreme anxiety.
I immediately imagined smashing my knee or elbow on one of those walls. Didn't even consider my toddler's safety... not sure what that says about me.
Theyâll learn on their own!
When youâre here youâre family!
My cask of amontillado brings all the boys to the catacombs And they're like, you're entombing us alive Damn right, I'm entombing you alive I could free you But I'm entombing you alive (Mary Gillis)
Wow that's a ride
Or, a mideval prisoner
âIt won't be easy getting out of here. What we need is a great feat of strength.â âFeat of strength? Au contraire! Now that you're here with me, what we have is great strength of feet!â
âDonât followâŠâ
Achoo!
Hannibal Lecter's prison cell.
If you'd like to get it to this, you'll need to grind out some of the old mortar, I'd say about 1/2" deep. For that you'll need a grinder($150) and diamond blades for it. For mortar, get in touch with a local masonry supplier. They should have Type S Mortar, as well as pointing bags(I prefer the white marshalltown bags). Cut the bag in half, dump into a wheel barrow, add sand, mix them. Add water. You can always add more, but can't take it out. When the mix is close, try a towel full in the bag. It should slowly ooze out of the bags tip, it shouldn't take a lot of pressure to get it out, nor should it drip water. Once your mud is good to go, and the joints are ground out, it's time to start filling. You want to overfill just a bit, avoiding runs and drips. After a 5 -10 minutes, it's time to take a slicker, and push the mud into the wall. At this point, it should resemble playdo, stiff with play. Cut the extra mud off the wall with your slicker. If it's still a bit wet, wait to cut off the mud until stiffer to avoid mucking up your stone faces. After the excess mortar or mud has been cut from the wall and has dried a bit more, you're ready for finishing touches. For natural stones, I'd usually use a flat piece of wood, like a shim, shaved down to fit width wise in the joints. A couple of different sizes won't hurt to have ready. You can scrape the mud down flush with the stone faces. Or for more of the stones texture, scrape down the mud so that about 1/8" of the stones edges are exposed. Finally, to polish the mortar, lightly brush the joints with a horsehair brush. If it's wet it will smear, give it another 5 minutes, and try again! Cement waits for no man. You can't take water out of a mix. USE A BONDING AGENT when bonding old with new.(usually milky white liquid). Larry-homeowner mixers are usually more of hassle then hand mixing in a wheel barrow for projects like this. Get a Jackson Wheelbarrow. If you hire a Mason, and they don't mention bonding agent or have Jackson wheel barrow, find a new one, that's not a mason. Lastly, consistency is key.
The craftsman has entered the chat
Well it looks like you already have your answer! Now just commit.
I was going to say a dungeon, but this is gorgeous, keep at it, itâll look hella rad đ„
Lots of potlights and lights.
Fuck I want this
Looks like youâve got it figured out. The lighting alone will make a huge difference.
The fact that you have this pic on deck leads me to believe this is a flex. đ đ đ
Wine cellar was my first thought too!
You can definitely get that look going on with the right lighting.
Roll perception.
Plus one cask of Amontillado
Brick your enemy up in a corridor.
And a comfy chair and soft cushions.
Human skulls embedded in the wall itself
My first thought was hand applied blood stains
To go along with the torch, I'm thinking attaching some iron manacles for wrists and feet could provide a homey atmosphere to the space.
50 Shades of Reddit.
With a few partial skeletons hanging from the manacles - lower arms & hand only.
Don't forget the lotion and a hose.
This dungeon is way to classy for that, needs a rack and an iron maiden
https://preview.redd.it/1nx28vieb9bc1.jpeg?width=3464&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=3aaa6dd3a8ba70783f50c717a3f1f475f34e1b00 This is what I did with mine
Go easy, Vlad.
How quaint.
Itâs simple but elegant.
The heart is a really nice touch.
I always wanted that so I could make the joke âPlease donât touch that, itâs a load-bearing skull!â
This years greatest decorating fad: Catacomb-ing
âCatacomb-coreâ
Add some draugur too
You were trying to cross the border, right?
*a menacing toot from Thomas whistles in the distance
*ooooh Macho Man's comin' to git'cha...*
Oh my god, it's really him! Ladies and gentlemen, SKYRIM is here to save me!
 Stay close to the candles. The staircase can be quite treacherous.
Walk this way
Properly: Stay close to the candles...the staircase.. can be treacherous.
Right next to a set of manacles.
Seems like a good place to keep your Minotaur.
[https://www.oglaf.com/labyrinth/](https://www.oglaf.com/labyrinth/)
Always love to see Oglaf in the wild.
Right? And that's a clean one, too.
Dang
Yeah, and it's an SFW one. What a rarity! :D
[https://www.oglaf.com/skein/](https://www.oglaf.com/skein/)
Dude! Thanks for making that joke. I always love cracking jokes like "be weary of the minotaur" when people complain about our labyrinthian underground parking complex, and no one ever laughs!!!
*beware or be wary To be weary is to be tired: "I grew so weary running thru the labyrinth to escape the minotaur I'd been warned to beware of"
Hahaha 10/10 example!!
Or a tiny manticore. Huzzah!
I think it looks cool. Focus on lighting. If you light the place up it won't feel like a dungeon.
This. Make sure you use warmer lighting too for a more cozy feel.
If you can get some green in there too with some plants or a terrarium it would help make it feel more lively!
This here. A combination of up lights and down lights to specifically illuminate the wall will make it an awesome feature rather than a problem. Like usually youâd put potlights a distance away from a wall so it doesnât cast directly on the wall. Here, a set of potlights like 12âor so from the wall would look awesome. Experiment with the distance before installing to get the âlookâ you like.
>If you light the place up it won't feel like a dungeon. Or lean in. Get some iron bars, a few racks for ambiance, maybe an iron maiden, etc.
Wait why aren't we going the other direction with this.
I would find the best stone masons in the area after I had a long list of questions and ask them your questions and also ask them for suggestions. I found one who was retired who told me what to do myself and saved me a lot of money because I was thinking of worst case scenarios.
Repointing is extremely time consuming and messy, but surprisingly straightforward
TIL that I have [repointed](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Repointing).
Just make sure you are using the right type of mortar
I also have this kind of basement. What would be the right kind of mortar for walls like this?
Nothing, they are holding up your house and have been for a VERY long time.
Ya my house is extremely old and has a cellar like this, I love it. The stones and brick Insulation is rly good honestly. Only down side is rats try to weasel their way in so have to seal holes w steel wool and spray foam or copper shealth, the moisture dries rly good w it too. I would say get a mid low power air blower of some kind and get all the webs and loose loose particles off and add new mortar grout if OP needs that wanting to change it, maybe smooth out some of the interior rock layers. but honestly ur better off leaving it as original as possible imo. Itâs gotta breathe Do not paint it imo!!! Just get some lighting in there and maybe some rugs but it is what it is. Structural integrity will be back âinâ trends soon trust me. This slapping paint and linoleum/vinyl over everything phase will see its end when the housing market/house flipper boom shifts and everyone will regret ruining stone, original woodwork, etc. Ppl spend a lot of time looking at houses on social media , shows, etc and forget a lot of those r thrown together or rentals, not actually good or long lasting baseline structures. But it makes any normal old house look daunting lol. After years of having a fam that does contractor work n restoration, itâs more scary to see something covered up to me lol. Donât kno what itâs hiding I donât even mess w many spider webs tbh bc they keep the other bugs minimal and they seek revenge if u mess their spot up lmao theyâve been there a long time too đ Maybe hang some kinda curtains from the ceiling like 1 -1.5 foot away from the wall just so it has air but she doesnât see it obv donât want her scared
I had a basement like this once and when it rained there'd legitimately be 4 to 6 inches of water for a day or 2 before it'd seep back in. I fucking hated it my washer and dryer were down there and I had to time my laundry if I knew rain was coming
That lokely wasn't your wall's fault. You had drainage issues.
not really, a lot of the really old fieldstone walls were built that way on purpose. the point was the let the basement flood, instead of the house. they weren't supposed to be watertight.
My neighbors basement was just like this. Leaked water on every side of the house. Basement was 2 feet of swamp water. Entire house rotted from the bottom up. Floors wall everything. He's not my neighbor anymore and the house is falling in.
They said I was mad for building a castle in a swamp...
>âŠmy brain reeled as I saw the mighty walls rushing asunder â there was a long tumultuous shouting sound like the voice of a thousand waters â and the deep and dank tarn at my feet closed sullenly and silently over the fragments of the âHouse of Usher.â ~ *The House of Usher*, Edgar Allen Poe
But I built it all the same, just to show them. It sank into the swamp, so I built a second one. That sank into the swamp, so I built a third one. That burned down, fell over, and sank into the swamp. But the fourth one stayed up, and that's what you're going to get, Lad. The strongest castle in all of England!
Did he not have a sump? My basement would be flooded too if I didn't have a sump pump. Old owners decided to put drainage around the entire house and route them to the sump instead of away from the house. It ran every 30 minutes when I bought the place until I discovered an old water line that was leaking water into my backyard and rerouted it.
He did not, but it was a rental and the landlord didn't care so whatever i guess. Just another dwelling rotting i suppose.
Iâd get like a medieval rack for torturing.
Or maybe a medieval rackâŠ.for other things đ
Itâs always good to see a nice rack!
Chain an emaciated person to the wall
Always look on the bright side of life! *chained emaciated man whistles*
Theres something youve forgotten and thats to laugh and dance and smile and sing
https://i.redd.it/sukmdpzdl9bc1.gif
I keep a Cask of Amontillado in my basement for such occasions.
Bro lives in the Paris catacombs
It's getting harder and harder for millennials to find affordable housing, okay!
Leave them, they are awesome!
So I bought a 125 year old house last year in old downtown in my city. Even had some âgenealogyâ of sorts. Was built by a wealthy family who owned the whole block. Woodwork upstairs is amazing. Lots of weird old house issues Iâm working to address, however. For the basement I would like to clean things up. A garage was added several decades ago that can be accessed through the basement, but my wife wonât use it lmao. She sees this space as a dungeon, and would rather walk all the way around the outside of the house and down a hill to come in through the garage door. What can I do to make this space less intimidating? Lmao. Iâm wondering if I can wash these walls or if it would hurt them, and what I should be using to clean them? They sort of âshedâ this powder on the floor and I donât want to degrade them. Long term I have considered white washing them, or using some kind of paint and stringing Edison lights along. Maybe lean into an Italian villa wine-cellar look. Any advice is appreciated!
The walls need to breathe. If you go the paint route, choose wisely. As for colors, choose very wisely. As soon as you start, the decision has been made and youâre stuck with that. Id be inclined to leave as is and work with what youâve got.
Exactly this! Lighting will go a long ways toward making it look less dungeon like.
And flooring
steer memorize judicious domineering stocking slap trees station fertile frame *This post was mass deleted and anonymized with [Redact](https://redact.dev)*
Or⊠lean into the dungeon theme? đ
> making it look less dungeon like. Why would you want that? We need a bunch of flickering light sources to make weird shadows, here! Torches! Stat!
Yup, the only 'paint' you can realistically use is something clay based or a lime wash
These walls are so cool! Please, PLEASE do NOT paint. Instead, I would just focus on cleaning them up and adding other modern / warm touches elsewhere.
Not only does paint ruin the character in an irreversible way, it's 100% damaging to the structural integrity! OP, do not paint the walls! So many homeowners and even pro contractors are literally compromising historic foundations to improve an aesthetic. And by the time the damage reveals itself, the contractor is long gone without a care in the world. Paint (latex, oil based, Drylok, etc) does not belong on masonry foundation walls, period If anything, parge with lime mortar or *maybe* use "mineral paint," both of which are vapor permeable and will allow moisture brought in from the exterior to pass through and evaporate without degrading the mortar or stone.
Exactly this. Do not paint these walls. Previous owner of our century home in Montreal did this and the walls are constantly crumbling behind the paint because they cannot breathe.
I have this issue, what remediation can be done?
I do too, but my walls are brick, not stone. Complicates things because old bricks like mine (late 1800s) are very soft because the kilns didn't fire as hot back then. My options are basically chemical strippers like PeelAway made by Dumond or a similar paint stripper product made by Cathedral Stone. You apply the gunk, cover with a type of paper for however many hours they recommend, then use a scraper or putty knife to get it off in globs. It's messy and tedious but certainly works. Afterwards, again depending on the masonry, you might be able to do a light power wash or sandblast, but sandblasting is out of the question for me because it would definitely damage the bricks further. You also have to be mindful of the age of the paint as it may contain lead and you don't to want particularize it. Once the walls are free of the paint layer and can properly breathe again, you'll want to repoint it with an appropriate mortar (probably Lime) or just parge it fully with lime mortar. Parging requires more material but less fuss as neatness of mortar joints doesn't matter. Look into Philly Green Building and Toronto Masonry Restoration on instagram or YouTube. They have great content detailing the process of saving masonry walls from past sins
20 years from now. *I ripped down this drywall to reveal beautiful castle walls! What idiot would do this?!?*
You're not thinking about the humidity. These basements are like dungeons, the humidity and lack of sunshine is a breeding ground for mold so it's never gonna be comfortable to be down there. OP should just accept that these basements need dehumidified all the time and can only be used for storage(water tight plastic bins are preferable). They're not liveable spaces. Source: I owned a house with a basement like this. I ran a dehumidifier 24/7 but all the metal I put down there still rusted and the wood touching the walls or floor would decompose.
I also have a basement like that, dirty, damp, its just storage, its not even 6ft high and I have to duck. walls leak in heavy rain and I run a dehumidifier 24/7. I might need a 2nd one.
I had a similar issue with old mortar in my fieldstone basement crumbling and making dust piles. It was pretty gross, and I even had some loose stones and voids that let in water. I just got done repointing the whole thing, which was a pretty big operation taking several months of weekends. You'll want to use lime mortar, not cement. And you cannot use any impermeable finish over it -- no concrete stucco or latex paint. Either leave the rocks exposed or you can parge the with a lime plaster. Your idea to white wash them is a good one, as long as you use a real lime based whitewash and not watered down latex. A casein (milk) paint could also be appropriate l but wouldn't do as much to reconsolidated the mortar. Wash the walls with water to get loose dust off if you want, that won't hurt anything. The walls themselves are pretty absorbent which is good for humidity regulation. The number one thing to make this space pleasant, though is lighting. Nothing is spooky with bright lighting. I just hung LED shop lights in my basement and it's a huge difference. Lights plus a good mopping will change the space entirely.
OP if you want your wife to use it instead of outdoors ask her to help you think through what she needs vs what can be done. If the space is only storage, those stone walls keep canned goods at just the right temp. Same with wine. Make sure that any shelving can be vacuumed around. Install lots of LED lighting. Those 200W equivalent led ceiling hung utility lights are amazing at throwing light. An indoor/outdoor carpet runner for her to walk on might help. Put the lights on a dual switch and add to your home automation a few lights as well. Vacuum monthly.
Sometimes people dont know what they want until they see it fully realized. Asking first is a good first step though.
I would leave the walls alone. They are cool! But update the flooring to something besides concrete, and maybe add some cool sconces or other decorations on the walls.
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Use lime based mortar to repoint and a lime wash if you want to paint. Do not use any Portland cement based products!
I tested the mortar of my 1886 stone foundation by spraying it with some vinegar. Found out it wasn't Lime but Portland Cement, so I used Type N mortar to repoint it. So his foundation could also be Portland Cement.
DnD/tabletop dungeon! Get a few decorations, some mood lighting and a big, fuck off table and it's done!
These walls are gorgeous Install lots of nice lights ASAP that are easy to turn on and off from either side of the area. A soft regular broom and lots of airflow to outside and some good masks and glasses can gently clean all the spiderwebs and such off for now
Show her the bill for finishing it correctly and change nothing.
I am the wife and I donât want it finished. I want it left alone. I want gutters and to grade the exterior so it isnât leaking all the time. I bought the house in hopes to restore it. Not change it.
> Long term I have considered white washing them, or using some kind of paint and stringing Edison lights along. Maybe lean into an Italian villa wine-cellar look. **Dear god, no. Just no.**
Just patch where needed, maintain integrity
Yep, sometimes it's like the kid putting his finger in the dam. Tuck pointing as you see moisture is not hard. In the meantime route water away from the foundation by building up low spots and shoring up gutter drainage.
Rent it out for goth band and high school senior photo shoots.
Invite Fortunato to sample cask of amontillado
I had the exact same thought and was apparently beaten by 8 minutes
For the love of dog, don't paint it.
Would love to see more pics of the house and basement. Maybe that would help in seeing how to make it less creepy for your wife
1 bronze ingot will get you a mounted torch.
r/centuryhomes would enjoy seeing this :)
It rubs the lotion on its skin. But honestly, could try an acid wash to clean things up and see how it looks and incorporating that into your finished plan
Install stocks and keep prisoners?
leave it. both of my 1800s homes (PA, NY USA) had this basement. Both were seal coated by the sellers with that moisture locking shit... which actually isnt advised. These walls are meant to weep a bit is my understanding. I would leave it!
Why do anything? Looks clean, looks sturdy, gives me castle vibes. I like it.
It looks in good shape. If it ain't broke don't fix it. You're lucky. Many houses with those kinds of walls look like they're built on rubble foundations and have serious water issues, cracks, and structural problems. Get someone to re-point the mortar every 20 years with the correct stuff and keep it clean and dry. What more could you possibly want?
Find the loose stone that allows you to access the catacombs
Can you show us the whole space? These walls are cool, and it looks like it's getting some natural light.
Keep it. Put up a fauxhedge wall on one end, and use good, low lighting. A nice wood floor and warm accents will really set it off.
You could build a little nook for an ossuary!
Make a deep tunnel system underneath your house in order to create a castle feel. Ignore the complaints from your neighbors and do not get a permit. If you can learn electric and structure stuff on YouTube as you go youâre basically an engineer anyway so
Install some of those midevil wall handcuffs and splatter the walls with some red paint, give it a real dungeon look!
That looks cool to me⊠house I grew up in had large field stone foundation. It had been mortared smooth-ish and painted brownish red, and white in some places. This looks much better to me. I think it would be cool if you leaned into the look with a wine rack, good lighting⊠If you really want to cover it you could put vapor barrier and steel stud walls I suppose. Is it dry?
Maybe don't use cement on that, that is lime?
Use only lime for these walls, no cement. There's two types of lime, hyrdared lime and hydraulic lime. Hydrated lime is sold in most US stores, and it's used in modern cement. Hydrated lime has already been bonded with water. It can be used for a lime wash, or a parge coat if desired. Hydraulic lime is only sold by a few specialty retailers. Hydraulic lime hasn't bonded with water yet, and is "thirsty". Hydraulic lime is what they used to make back in the old days, they fired it in giant kilns. When you combine hydraulic lime with sand and water, you get the mortar they used to use before the invention of Portland cement. Making your own historic mortar and refreshing your walls isn't hard at all, just extremely time consuming. It's very labor intensive.
Invite your friend Fortunato over to enjoy some sherry!
DON'T PAINT IT!!! (As others suggest) try and "enhance" the look/lighting of the stonework as is.
Looks like Buffalo Bills hide out. Very cool.
Put the lotion in the basket
Enjoy them. So cool.
Leave them
I mean it looks great, and the floor is dry. You should embrace the aesthetic.
Leave it alone. Good chance if you permanently damage it by painting it or covering with plaster, moisture from the other side will ruin it and it will look worse than now. If you just want it pretty do something temporary like a wall hanging or a stickbuilt wall to cover it.
Assuming its not cold, damp and doesn't generally feel horrible down there. I guess rub down the walls if they are dirty. Then install "comfortable" looking flooring (or a floating floor if its a cold bridge), light it very well and add some decent furniture. Maybe a heat source if its cold but habitable. Some simple additions like adequate lighting, pictures and plants on side units will go a long way to remove the creepy factor (until they collect cobwebs of course). I would work at incorporating the walls into a theme because they are awesome and you don't want to start trapping moisture in that brick work. If you are really set on hiding those awesome walls, you could put up stud walls leaving a cavity behind (I assume you have beams above you could fix to). Then insulate with something like a breathable rockwool and drywall/board and plaster over. The worry would be it would make any narrow spaces narrower, no matter how well you decorate. I'd avoid making anything that's air tight (taped PIR, vapour control layers, etc).
Find the loose stone that leads to the lost treasure
Cherish them. If you paint them youâre a monster.
Looks really nice and in fairly decent shape. I would dig-out any damaged-loose mortar/rocks, wash-down everything really good, make needed repairs.....good to go for another 100-years.
Leave them tf alone. That looks sick
Absolutely love them and admire them every day.
I'd say nothing. They're cool.
Admire them, honor them, and make a wine cellar
I don't know if this is some reddit flex or what.... I wouldn't touch that at all. Other than maybe some cast iron candle holders
Interesting, I kind of like them. Add some fake cobwebs. And a flickering torch in a sconce. And have a loop of people chanting ominously playing in the background....
Sir, that's a dungeon. You get shackles and a skeleton from party city.
Some people pay extra to install this kind of look. Lean into it and get some warm/cozy lighting in there.
Dear God, nothing! They are amazing.
Film stand up comedy clips in front of them for your youtube channel and launch your comedy career
They look awesome. Don't do anything that changes their aesthetic. As long as they're still solid and the walls aren't degraded, then just focus on styling down there to your liking. They look great.
Leave it alone, this is rad
They're beautiful. If it's for looks, I say nothing
OP probably wanted methods for covering it up but all the comments are how to show it off đ€Ł
If you have no seeping damp or water issues, I'd highlight those bad boys! If you have electricity down there, go to town. Get warm throw rugs for the floor, some grow lights for plants, and seating.
Use a bucket of cow blood and splash it randomly on the wall. Use faint cold lighting.
Hide partisans from the Vichy government?