Dirt Floor Basement Problems

Mistakes during construction can also show up as your house settles and ages.
Dirt floor basement problems. Many houses have dirt floor basements it s considered an unfinished basement. Installing a vapor barrier over a dirt floor basement is an instant way to block moisture and insects from entering the basement space. Crawl spaces are also sometimes preferred in construction when a basement is too costly. A vapor barrier will help keep the levels of moisture down in the basement which can either compromise the home s foundation or increase the humidity level in the basement.
The soil next to the house is often backfilled without proper compaction and later settles. Some areas have big slabs of rock on top of the dirt but they can get a little slick too. If the soil gets damp during the rainy or snow melt season it might smell funny like wet dirt and it could. Basement floors sinking or cracking any problems related to your basement floor are serious issues that need professional inspection.
Two common and easily handled problems are condensation dripping off an uninsulated pipe or water leaking through a basement window. Dirt basements are often found with large rocks uneven floors or a shelf of stone on one side. Other basements may have old fashioned stone or brick foundation walls. This is especially true under stoops where water can collect next to the basement wall.
Homes with dirt floors in the basement are more common than we realize. You local basement systems dealer can waterproof basements and crawl spaces of all types including basements with dirt walls and floors large boulders or with stone walls. Also assume there are windows in the foundation below the floor plate so natural light enters the basement. The soil under and around your home can erode because of water leaving little support for those parts of the foundation.
The basement has one section that is dirt floor w stone walls. Installing a crawl space is cheaper than installing a basement. The dirt basement floor seems permanently damp and gets slick in spots. We have lived here for 8 years w o any problems until last spring the main drain had gotten plugged up and it backed up through all 3 rooms with sewage and yucky water since the basement if not finished we do not use it except to change furnace filter or something.
It just seems like a very unhealthy environment down there and i m wondering if there is something i could do about it. Many basements have exposed pipes running along the ceiling or.