Moisture problem: why make a casing?

Are you having moisture problems in the basement of your home? Has your basement become impractical due to water seeping through its walls? If nothing is done to reinforce the sealing of these, your home can suffer from the capillary rise and structural damage.






Several solutions have been developed in the field of construction to prevent or remedy this often dangerous problem. The casing is one of the most used techniques against the influence of humidity on the basement of a dwelling. Discover here all the reasons to carry out a casing in the cellar of your house.

What is casing?

The casing is a technique used in the field of home renovation to deal with humidity problems in the basement of homes. Its purpose is to extend the sealing period of a room by applying a water-repellent coating to the floor and walls of the room. Well-made casing guarantees the waterproofing of your cellar and therefore ensures better living comfort.


This technique also protects you from mold and puddles caused by liquid rising from the water table. The casing is indicated, not only for the cellars of the dwellings but also for all the constructions whose walls are exposed to an abnormal pressure of the water table.

How to identify a humidity problem in your cellar?

It is important to be well informed about casing to determine if it is the solution your home needs. Before that, you must first know the signs that can lead you to the diagnosis of an excessive humidity problem. It is necessary to be attentive to these signs in order to discern them as soon as possible since too high a level of humidity can seriously affect the health of everyone living in the house.

Indeed, respiratory diseases such as asthma, and several other allergic conditions can be caused by inhaling the molds produced by excessive humidity. The identification of a moisture problem, therefore also takes on an urgent nature that should not be trivialized. Here are some signs that may suggest a need for casing:

• Degradation of the coating of your walls and the floor of the room,
• The presence of water droplets on the ceiling or walls,
• The gradual appearance of saltpeter at the base of the walls,
• The presence of mold on the walls or furniture of the room,
• A persistent musty smell, despite all your attempts at deodorization,
• The appearance of halos on the walls and ceiling of the room.

The identification of only one of these signs is sufficient to conclude that there is a problem of excessive moisture. Once this diagnosis is made, you must then call on a housing professional to offer you casing solutions adapted to the needs of your home.

What are the different types of casing?

For waterproofing your basement, there are two main casing methods for which you can choose: exterior casing and inner casing. These two techniques require the intervention of a renovation specialist, because of the precision and professionalism they require.

The exterior casing

This is the most effective casing method because it acts on the face of the wall that is in direct contact with the moisture source. In other words, the exterior casing radically eliminates any risk of water infiltration into the walls of your room, tackling the heart of the problem. It consists of the construction of a thick and watertight reinforced concrete caisson that can effectively serve as a barrier between the water table and the wall. This box will therefore be able to prevent water from entering the walls. The exterior casing is in some cases associated with the installation of a drainage system, in order to prevent the rise of moisture to the surface.

Although exterior casing is the most effective method, it cannot be performed on the floor of a room because the outside part of the floor is not accessible. For the waterproofing of the floor, it is, therefore, necessary to opt for other waterproofing methods, including among others the interior casing.

The inner casing

While the outer casing has the advantage of being more efficient, the inner casing gains points in terms of speed and cost. This casing technique can be practiced in two different ways, depending on whether it is a habitable room or a non-habitable room.

For living rooms

These are the rooms such as the bedroom, the dining room, the living room... The interior casing in this case consists of coating the interior wall or floor with a waterproof concrete screed, having previously been mixed with epoxy resin or any other hydrophobic product.

For non-habitable rooms

The rooms concerned by this technique are the cellar, the garage, and the basin of a swimming pool ... The interior casing here consists of brushing the inner face of the wall or the floor, with a hydrophobic mortar of thickness greater than or equal to 12 mm. This thickness is necessary to allow the mortar to effectively withstand hydrostatic pressure to ensure a good seal.

Regardless of the type to be waterproofed, do not drill into the wall after casing. Instead, cover the walls with a partition so as not to cancel the effectiveness of your operation.

What are the steps of a casing?

After determining the type of casing that suits you best, proceed with the operation itself. Whichever method you choose, the different steps are as follows:

• strip the cladding of the walls and floor of the room,
• fill holes and cracks with cement,
• lay the first layer of coating, known as hanging and whose role is to allow good adhesion of the following layers,
• apply 24 hours later, the second layer of coating to achieve continuity between the floor and the walls of the room,

Coat 24 hours later with a third layer, thicker than the first two, and let stand until completely drying. After the third coat, you can apply a finishing coating