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JDberlin Has anyone attempted to cover the walls with this flooring material? My basement is in a brick walled building over 100 years old and the PVC may help to control the dampness which masonite and wall board will not do? ....... My greatest concern is getting it to hang flat against the walls without wavy ripples-unless of course this makes for more realistic scenes. All help is appreciated.
Has anyone attempted to cover the walls with this flooring material? My basement is in a brick walled building over 100 years old and the PVC may help to control the dampness which masonite and wall board will not do? ....... My greatest concern is getting it to hang flat against the walls without wavy ripples-unless of course this makes for more realistic scenes. All help is appreciated.
Well, I'm assuming when you say "controlling dampness" you are referring to the PVC itself not absorbing moisture, unlike masonite, rather than using it to limit dampness in your entire basement.
While the PVC will likely not absorb dampness, I think that if you were to use furring strips or a similar wood product, those would expand and contract with humidity and temperature and anything attached to them, even PVC flooring, would get wavy as it moved with the strips.
Perhaps something like flooring adhesive or liquid nails would work, but then the backdrop would take on the waviness of the wall....which I guess prompted your second concern.
Maybe if you went with the thicker, 1/4 inch PVC, it would be more rigid and stay straighter along the wall. I don't think it would be a big scenic problem if the backdrop bowed broadly, but yes, little waves would not look right, IMO.
- Douglas
Don't forget the possibility of running a dehumidifier in the basement to keep it dried out.
The PVC-though it is likely to be unaffected by the dampness-is not going to prevent the moisture transmission into the basement. In fact, depending on the intensity of the moisture, the presumably wood furring strips you intend to use might deteriorate. The relatively impervious PVC might trap and condense the water vapor into free water behind it. If you cannot damproof the exterior of the wall, you can at least coat the interior with something like UGL Drylock.
It is impossible to give you solid advice on what will work best without observing your actual conditions. If you can build your layout and backdrop so that they stand free of the brick walls and allow air circulation along the wall, that will at least mitigate possible condensation. And though it is true that moisture vapor travels from high humidity conditions to low humidity conditions, its travel is also dependent on temperature differentials, the moisture vapor traveling from warmer areas to cooler areas. Can you heat the basement?
Dante
JDberlin:
I hate to be the bearer of bad tidings but if you only cover part of the wall the moisture will not stop. You will have to seal the whole thing. There are many products available - I can't recommend anything specific. The point is that moisture will move from an area of high humidity to places of low humidity. If part of the damp wall/floor is left exposed it will continue to supply moisture to the whole basement.
I'm not saying that there is anything wrong with using continuous flooring for backdrops. As has been said, if you mount it properly it will be fine, but the moisture will still come through the uncovered parts of the wall. This is one home improvement project that needs to be done properly IMHO.
Dave
I'm just a dude with a bad back having a lot of fun with model trains, and finally building a layout!
Why don't you just use the Green drywall that is used in bathrooms. Mold, moisture won't affect it. That is what it is made for. Completely different mixture of chemicals in the making of it, compared to just drywall.
Take Care!
Frank
I don't know if it will help control the dampness in the basement. As far as a backdrop, I have used rolled vinyl flooring mounted with the bottom toward the layout. It wanted to sag, so needs very good support. On the plus side there were very few seams. The bottom side took paint well and made a serviceable backdrop.
Jim
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Has anyone attempted to cover the walls with this flooring material? My basement is in a brick walled building over 100 years old and the PVC may help to control the dampness which masonite and wall board will not do? I am planning to install a backdrop of PVC floor covering from the table top to the ceiling using strips approximately four feet in height. I will be using the smooth backside which has no pattern. The cheapest material is a little over 1/8th of an inch thick, but can be almost 1/4th of an inch thick with more foam padding added if necessary. The run width, or length in this case, can be from 7ft to 16ft which eliminates many seams and it curves corners very easily. My greatest concern is getting it to hang flat against the walls without wavy ripples-unless of course this makes for more realistic scenes. All help is appreciated.