About Peak Basement Systems

The Mold War Challenge: Comparing Basement Finishing Materials

 

This video will show you how different basement finishing materials react in the event of a basement flood, leak, a water accident, or just by being exposed to typical basement humidity.

Larry Janesky, owner and president of Total Basement Finishing and Dr. Energy Saver, recently conducted this experiment to compare how these different basement walls and flooring solutions behave when exposed to moisture.

To do this, they created an environment that simulates a basement plumbing leakage incident, and tested four flooring assemblies and four wall assemblies.For the floors, they compared:

  • Typical wood decking under carpet or regular laminate.
  • A basement subfloor product sold in hardware stores consisting on a chip-board with a dimpled plastic mat on the bottom.
  • The ThermalDry Insulated Floor Decking, developed by Total Basement Finishing, which is an inorganic magnesium oxide board insulated with rigid foam insulation.
  • The MillCreek Basement Flooring, also available through the Total Basement Finishing network, which is a 100% waterproof, inorganic flooring option that mimics hardwood floors and can be installed straight against the slab without a subfloor.

For the walls, the following assemblies were tested:

  • Wood studs, fiberglass insulation and drywall, with a wood baseboard (the most common wall assembly in the U.S.)
  • Metal studs, fiberglass insulation, water and mold-resistant drywall, and a pre-primed wood baseboard.
  • Total Basement Finishing EverLast Wall panel, which is vinyl-finished cement board insulated with rigid foam, and a PVC baseboard.
  • Total Basement Finishing Smart Wall System, which is a variation of the EverLast system, consisting of continuous rigid foam board insulation installed against the wall, with attached metal studs over the foam board, to hang a vinyl-finished cement board, and a PVC baseboard.

The time-lapse video shows how these different assemblies perform in contact with water, in terms of water absorption and mold growth.

Total Basement Finishing products clearly outperform all the typical assemblies because they were specifically developed for basements by the world's authority in basement environment specialization.

Call or visit our website to learn more about our products or to schedule a Free Design Consultation.

Serving OH including the Greater Canton area
Our Ohio Service Area
Cities in Ashland County, OH
Ashland
Jeromesville
Loudonville
Perrysville
Polk

Cities in Belmont County, OH
Alledonia
Barnesville
Bellaire
Belmont
Bethesda
Bridgeport
Flushing
Jacobsburg
Martins Ferry
Piedmont
Powhatan Point
Saint Clairsville
Shadyside

Cities in Carroll County, OH
Carrollton
Dellroy
Malvern
Mechanicstown
Sherrodsville

Cities in Columbiana County, OH
East Liverpool
East Rochester
Hanoverton
Homeworth
Kensington
Lisbon
Salineville
Wellsville

Cities in Coshocton County, OH
Fresno
West Lafayette

Cities in Guernsey County, OH
Byesville
Cambridge
Kimbolton
Lore City
Pleasant City
Quaker City
Salesville
Senecaville

Cities in Harrison County, OH
Bowerston
Cadiz
Freeport
Hopedale
Jewett
Scio
Tippecanoe

Cities in Holmes County, OH
Big Prairie
Glenmont
Holmesville
Killbuck
Lakeville
Millersburg

Cities in Jefferson County, OH
Adena
Amsterdam
Bergholz
Bloomingdale
Brilliant
Dillonvale
Hammondsville
Irondale
Mingo Junction
Rayland
Richmond
Steubenville
Tiltonsville
Toronto
Yorkville

Cities in Knox County, OH
Brinkhaven

Cities in Mahoning County, OH
Beloit
Sebring

Cities in Monroe County, OH
Beallsville
Clarington
Graysville
Jerusalem
Lewisville
Sardis
Woodsfield

Cities in Stark County, OH
Alliance
Beach City
Brewster
Canal Fulton
Canton
East Canton
East Sparta
Hartville
Louisville
Magnolia
Massillon
Minerva
Navarre
North Canton
North Lawrence
Paris
Uniontown
Waynesburg
Wilmot

Cities in Summit County, OH
Clinton

Cities in Tuscarawas County, OH
Baltic
Bolivar
Dennison
Dover
Dundee
Gnadenhutten
Mineral City
New Philadelphia
Newcomerstown
Port Washington
Stone Creek
Strasburg
Sugarcreek
Uhrichsville

Cities in Wayne County, OH
Apple Creek
Burbank
Creston
Dalton
Doylestown
Fredericksburg
Marshallville
Orrville
Rittman
Shreve
Smithville
Sterling
West Salem
Wooster

Our Locations:

Superior Basement Systems
6628 Roy Andrews Road NW
New Philadelphia, OH 44663
1-330-423-4426
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