How to finish your basement and avoid toxic MOLD problems 

I'M incredibly happy to hear about this all from someone who isn't trying to sell me expensive basement products at the same time. thanks.

This gentleman knows what he's doing. What a great explanation no other contractor explained this subject so well. Great work thank's

So glad I came across your video. We are about to finish off a crawlspace. Using metal studs and keeping an air space makes a lot of sense. Appreciate your expertise on preventing mold.

Five years later, I'm watching this as I'm getting my half-finished basement demolished for mold remediation. I couldn't have found this at a better time. Thank you!

So glad I found your video! We just purchased a house and I’m looking into finishing it and your video was so helpful.

This is the best video ive found on basement design and moisture mitigation. Thanks for sharing.

Wow! Thank you. We’re grateful for all your time, expertise and generosity. We finally decided to finish our basement. Been watching a bazillion videos. So fortunate to find this incredible video.

Thank you so much for all the good advice. My husband and I are going to try to finish the basement.. and as I read your description I was very happy to discover that you are actually saved, so I trust what you have to say. God bless

Hey Sean! I am in Maryland and working on a basement, this is super great information. I was planning on doing metal studs and going with the tile as well. I love the idea of space between the studs and the exterior wall, thanks so much!

Thanks Sean I've been following you for a long time and just purchased a home and researching basement finishings which is the project I'm about to do I have done working other other houses in my own basements and I can see how this would exactly be the best way to do the job right but also it is more costly

An excellent video on the topic. The best one I've seen on the topic. Five 👍's up! Ron

I'm planning to finish my basement in the coming year. I'm working on the exterior (gutters and grading) now since I do get some infiltration during heavy rains. Although you've given me a lot to think about, you *completely* converted me to metal studs. Great info. Great video. Thanks for sharing your experience!

This is fascinating, you really seem to know lots about mold. I am sure there are lots of mold in people’s houses that they don’t know about. Mold is a very dangerous thing. Need to rethink some of things i do in the basement.

This video is super for a complete finished basement remodel! He is also the first person out of all basement video to address....you have to fix the water problem on the outside/exterior FIRST!

Wish I had seen this about 14 years ago, before renovating my basement. Great info though!!! Glad my apartment will be mold free!

Very informative! A basement is a must have for me when i finally get a house one day. Most houses here on Long island dont have them, but i had one while i was out west and i couldnt imagine not having one now lol. Also, just wanted to say I really enjoy your ministry/spiritual videos. I find myself looking at/thinking of things differently in a positive light after listening to your words, so i just wanted to say i appreciate it!

I was randomly looking at some videos on finishing the basement, happened to click on yours and how pleasantly surprised was I to find a fellow Penn Stater! We Are... Thanks for the video brother!

Wow! I honestly did not want the video to end! It was so insightful and you just seem like a good dude. God bless and thank you for all the tips!

I'm very happy I ran into this video. Thank you for taking the time to make this video. It was very informative and I will be taking into account all your tips as my dad and I finish our basement.

Thank you soo much, first time home owner which is in Pittsburgh and we were soo excited that we almost looked over mold caught between plastic and the mason wall where they . . . were trying to get every inch.... on their floor space in the basement. Ima need to watch this multiple times to get all the info you share but I am greatly appreciative for this video, God bless

Outstanding video - very informative - thank you.

Dude... your a genius. I’ve been battling mold in my home for a long time. I’m now trying to do whatever is necessary to get it done right and I had no idea the level of research required to do it right. Thank you. I’m currently having a company bring in dirt, dig up around the outside of my house, and install proper drains, which is the biggest part, but I still have mold in the corners of my basement.

Thank-you very much for taking the time to share with us your knowledge! I thoroughly enjoyed your video and it has given me several great ideas on how to improve my basement! Thanks again!

Glad you went into depth & subbed. This video regarding mold was very in depth, Mold is one of the most dangerous thing that most people don't know about thanks for going into detail. Looks like you have suffered in your line of work always good to see someone explaining it from experience.

Thanks for the helpful info!!

I'm also a mold professional. Your video is spot on. Thanks for the info!

We are moving and one of projects I will be doing is our basement. This video found me at the prefect time. Thank you

This was an excellent, informative, unbiased video. Thank you so much for sharing this information!

Glad I found this video! Thanks Sean! Planning to finish my basement, wondering how you made those foam boards stick between those metal studs especially when you leave 3 inch gap between concrete and framing.

Best video Ive found. Also from Pa so even more informative. Great job

Thank you for publishing this video. It has helped educate me on mold related issues. I am currently experiencing black mold in a cold cellar of my home that I am trying to tackle before we get it water proofed.

Thanks so much for taking the time to video this Sean. I learned much for our basement reno here. Cheers!

Thank you for this extremely detailed video! Did you lay the tile directly on the concrete floor or did you use backer board of some sort?

Can you please please make more videos of how to repair your house.. great video

Thank you for this information. I REALLY needed to learn this information and have not found anyone else with your expertise.

This was a very thorough and informative video, I was searching on putting insulation in my basement ceiling because my floors are cold. We added tile floors in the living room and kitchen and didn’t finish grouting yet, but I put an area rug down for now till we get back to finishing it, however I noticed the floors and whole house are so cold even though the thermostat says 68. I think it’s because since we took the carpet out and put in tile and also there is no insulation in the basement ceiling, just in one small area. The walls are all cinder and not finished. The metal framing is a really good idea for when we finish it. Thank you and God bless from a fellow Pa.resident near Pittsburgh.

Thank you!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! This video is so informative and amazing!!!!!!!!!!!

Very informative and attention to detail. People like yourself are rare to find. Great video! I’ve been having an issue with a musty smell coming from my bedroom. It’s been a nightmare looking for the source. I think it’s coming from the crawl space underneath and to the floor upwards. Can I do DIY for removing insulation and maybe mold? Can you recommend anyone? I would greatly appreciate your expertise.

Thanks for this informative video. I live in PA as well (Westmoreland Co). We just bought a house out in the sticks too. First order of business was gutting the finished basement. It was a disaster. They firred out the block walls with 2x4’s tapconed flat. Then finished the walls- and ceiling with 7/16” OSB. They used “great stuff” in every conceivable gap- even along the floor where the OSB was flush. This house has a good internal French drain system with dual sump pumps. But they totally sealed off the venting that runs around the perimeter. Some of the spray foam even got into these vents in areas. To make matters worse, the rim joists and sill plates were never flashed and they even had decks on the front and rear with the ledger boards lagged directly to the rim joists with zero flashing! So several feet of the rim joists and mud sills need replacing as well due to rot. With the basement ceiling being “finished “ with the OSB, these areas were actively wet and allowing for a perfect atmosphere for mold to grow. The bottom 20” or so of all the OSB had mold on the inside as well as behind several of the 2x4 firring. The walls would sweat but no place for the water to go along with the rotting rim joists the mold was thriving. We remediated the mold with the best stuff I could find. We did paint with 2 coats of industrial strength dry lock. We are in the process of replacing all the rotted rim joists and sill plates right now. The house will be properly flashed and house wrapped before we install the new vinyl siding. Future plans do call for finishing part of the basement, and I will be utilizing your methods shown here. This is the only video I’ve seen that really addresses these issues properly. Thanks again for sharing!

Great piece, thanks for your time and effort. It's very informative.

Awesome info! you should do some mold remediation videos too!

Best video on basement framing! Thanks for sharing the knowledge. Quick question, since you have a gap between wall and framing, how will insulation hold without falling back into the air space between wall and framing?

Absolutely informative video. I learned so much! Thank you for all your knowledge.

I must say you have the best method of preventing mold.

You just reminded me the real purpose of RU-vid.

Great video! Im thinking of finishing my basement and this really got me rethinking my options. I have a completely dry basement with block walls which have drylok. The basement was dry before the drylok fyi. Can I get away with: 1) foam insulation glued to the block. Followed by 2)METAL furring strips attached on top of foam insulation held via tapcons 3)then polyethylene vapor barrier between metal studs and drywall?

Great job with this video, Sean. I was on the fence about finishing our basement because of moisture/mold concerns. And although I will always have those concerns, I'm more confident going forward in minimizing the risk with the knowledge gained from your presentation. God Bless.

Appreciated this video. I’m about to finish my basement as a DIY project, and since we live in PA too (and I’m a PSU alum too), it was nice to have tips for my part of the country!

Learned about closing all vents at crawl spaces long time ago. Why introduce humid air into your home?

As a fellow PA resident I'm always looking for experts in the region I live. Thanks for your insights and willingness to share.!!!

Thank you for this! Your knowledge and expertise are very much appreciated!

Great points and information. Thanks for making the video! I pray good things come from your ministry.

Thank you Sean! best basement finishing video i have seen. very informative

Thank you Sean. I’ve been a general carpenter for most of my life and agree with most of your ideas and have come to many of your conclusions myself. One thing you touched on, services, I’ve found to be best organized centrally or within accessible chases so that’s another thing to think about when doing any renovation. Great stuff.

Good stuff. True stuff. Proper drainage under and around a foundation is key. I run a dehumidifier most of the year as well.

Well done. Very informative. Thank you for a thorough presentation. One thing I would add to the project since there is an air gap behind the wall is a method to circulate ozone through the gap all the way around the perimeter. Running ozone around the gap a couple times a year would kill any mold or mildew before it got very far.

Thank you so much for this video! Huge help.

Great video, thanks for the lessons in mold avoidance.

You have an amazingly wide variety of skills and knowledge and the fact that you share your knowledge is greatly appreciated.

Yo thank you for confirming all the thoughts I have in my basement remediation project

Great video, very informative. I look forward to seeing more videos relating to home improvements.

In process with our basement, a lot like yours including the bumpouts. I've been wondering what's the best way to do the walls. Thanks for the info!

Thank you for sharing your valuable knowledge with us!!

Great information in this video. Thank you for sharing your experience!

Thank you brother GOD Bless you and your family

Sir, I truly I appreciate you taking the time to share this knowledge and experience. I've been looking for this and finally found it. Thank you very much sir.

Came across your video at the start of our basement finishing effort. I'm in Colorado where the humidity is quite often around 15%-20%. I've seen it this summer down around 5%. (Guess that's why all the fires lately!) We have a walkout basement, poured foundation with water proofing on outside, structural floor (wood joists with t&g floor sheeting) that has a humidistat below the floor which I have set to 40% (intake on south side of house, vents to north side with a 6" exhaust fan), 2 fresh air ducts to the furnace area. I've started with some of the walls, so I'm not too deep into the work. I'm using wood 2x4s set about 1" from the concrete foundation. I planned on insulating with non-faced fiberglass between the studs and cover with plastic as you show in your video being placed on the room side of the studs. in the winter, we turn on the furnace humidifier and try to hit 25% humidity. Today, it's 85 outside and 13% humidity and 78 inside with 34% humidity. All that said, do you need any more information to make any recommendations as I proceed with my project?

I live in north west pa... good explanation for someone not in Canada with different building codes

this is a fantastic video with great info I hadnt even though of. Thanks!

Glad for your expertise and perspective. I’m about to finish my basement and I’m searching for advice.

I just watched your video and it was excellent. I know you put the video out several years ago but I'm just seeing it now while gathing information for a new presentation I'm developing for Baement Gurus out of Philly and Delaware. I've been seeling finished basements for over 15 years actually started in 2004 selling the Owens Corning Basement Finishing System. I became the #1 salesman in the nation and had the honor of being fetured in a Owens Corning Infomerfcial. Then in 2009 moved over to being a salesman for the Basement Living Systems by CHAMPION basement finishing products. To this day still I make a great living selling basement waterproofing, Egreeses, and finishing projects. I just wanted to chime in to answer your question about why code requires the back of the stairs to be drywalled? It's actually called fireblocking and there is a thicker denser drywall product that is specifically made to hinder the flames long enough to escape a fire. Reason is God forbid there were to be a fire in the basement; the fire could easily travel up the back of the stairs and into the framing of the house. Also making exiting the basement up the stairs dangerous or impossible if it takes hold of the stairs. Thank you again for the video. I live in South Jersey. If you ever want to talk basements or business orf both. My email is philipthistle@gmail.com

Thank you so much for this. I appreciate your thorough approach.

Omg you are awesome! I've never ever watched anyone's loooong video without fast forwarding it a bit. I literally watched all of yours without attemping to fast forward because you are so informative. I'm going to go through your other videos, to see what else I can learn, but if you don't have one about an attic, maybe, hopefully, you can someday do one on attics, and provide information about, drafts, insulation, frost damage, bathroom vents out the attic, Lol.. I need an attic tutorial as you did this basement one..... I just bought a house and I'm literally going to tear down all the wood in my basement and do it as you did... So, I hope you make an attic one because I'm sure many of us want to finish that off correctly as well. Thank you for your video and I hope you continue with them and that you become a successful RU-vidr. God bless!

Sean just saw your toxic mold basement problem excellent explanation thanks Robert ct big Fan

Thanks so much for the great information. Your video provided me with the information that I have been looking for. I'm going to also check out your other channels.

Sean you're a good man, thanks for the great basement tutorial.

I just bought a house in Landenberg PA with an unfinished basement - we will DIY as much as we can!

This video is incredibly informative. Thank you.

Love it! I’m about to finish a basement but it has mold and although I’m going to remediate it I’m afraid it will come back. The mold abatement company said to keep a dehumidifier down there and to move the downspouts away, but my contractor told me that the problem is the way the house is built, that it needed some type of plastic cover on the exterior of the foundation. I’m hoping that I can keep my basement dry if I follow your method!

I have the same type of basement walls as you, mine are 55’ long below ground to. I hope to start next spring doing the same thing as you did

Very good video! More people need to know this! Thanks

Great advice! Thank you.

You are a very helpful with you comments and informational information God bless you and your family

Thanks very helpful god bless you and your family

Sean, thanks for covering this from so many aspects. I had a plumbing leak in the basement wall that I just took care of and found my 2x4 wall has virtual no air gap with fiberglass insulation acting like a sponge. I'm planning to rip out all fiberglass and sheetrock use foam board and cedar in place of sheetrick. Now I am thinking I should frame out further to provide the air gap. I wish I had the funds and time to rip it all out and put in steel studs. Thanks again.

Thank you Sean, very helpful and insightful!

First class video Sean. Thanks a million. You do excellent work. Your finished basement turned out beautiful. Youre very knowledgeable and this important information is very helpful to me. I know youre in Iowa now and im in the Poconos. You know how damp it is up here.

Great job explaining how to avoid mold

I’ve had mold illness, all mold is toxic. Thanks for bringing this up 😊

Iv finished basements using metal studs iv done it for about 12 years now and what iv found to help with keeping your walls from getting mold is using concrete board 48 inches up using tile about 48 inches all the way around the room and the rest ceiling drywall now some people don't want half there walls tiled but if you pick the right tiles it looks really good and they have some tile now that looks just like wood but every thing you have said is completely correct I live in Ohio not too far from where you're at and we have cold and hot days and mold is one of our most biggest issues thanks for the video maybe I will do one the show how you can used tile

Your video was very educational!! Thank u so much

Great great video I guess what I gathered from your video and others is don't finish a basement unless you absolutely have to due to so many moisture problems but if you do use only synthetic materials.

I’m very happy to hear great information thank you 🙏 God bless you more.

Great information! I've had six foundation companies give me bids on water coming where the wall meets the floor & to encapsulate the crawlspace & not one of them knows the information you have provided. I've asked about removing the paper backed insulation in the crawl & removing the mold, not one of them even looked at the insulation or suggest any mold remediation which I know there is mold. I guess I'm going to remove the insulation myself & figure out how to remove the mold. Thank you for all the helpful information.

@34;30 "That's where I'm gonna video my ministry stuff..," I could just tell. Hard to hide that when you're such a straight shooter. Great video too.

Wow! Everything anyone needs to know!

Man you are the best, really good explanation worth to watch

Great video. Thank you for sharing!

Vented crawlspaces are a must in flood prone areas like here in South Louisiana. If the flood waters get in, not only do they need to get out, but they also need to be able to flow freely in order to not put undersigned stresses on your piers and/or chain-walls. In these cases, it is common (though I'm not certain if it is good practice) to apply a vapor barrier to the underside of the house.

Excellent video by a smart guy. Thank you.