Basement Cold Room Wall finishing

[Dilip]

Wondering if anyone can advise on how best to finish the concrete wall in the cold room which is located directly under my porch. There are some brown water stains on the wall, but they were there when I moved in. Do I complee it with regular studs, insulation and drywall or is there anything I should do first?

Any input would be greatly appreciated.

[HayZee518]

use pressure treated studs as the humidity in that room will always be high. use the "blue-board" sheetrock

[Dilip]

Originally Posted by HayZee518

use pressure treated studs as the humidity in that room will always be high. use the "blue-board" sheetrock

Do I treat the walls with anything? Is R12 ok or do I go higher? The room will be used for storing canned/dry foods, beer, wine, veggies etc.

Also is VCT ok for the floor, or should I just use grey basement floor paint?

[HayZee518]

I don't think so as the walls will "sweat" from the humidity. trapping the moisture will create mildew from airborne spores. any good silicone based paint would be ok for the floor

[Drywall DIY Guy]

Assuming this is to be a storage area and not living space, finish off with basement floor and wall paint.

Then, plan on running a dehumidifier nearly non-stop in summer months and also keep windows and doors shut tight during summer months.

What happens is humid air has a lot of moisture that condenses water when it comes in contact with a cold surface that is at a temp lower than the dew point. So if the dew point is 65 and your wall temp is 62, it will condense water or "sweat". By running the dehumidifier you are removing the moisture by condensing it out on the dehumidifier's cold condenser coils. You must keep the basement sealed up, however, since you can not remove the moisture from a near-infinite supply of outside air. When the dew point goes down below 55, you can open the windows and doors and let the fresh (dry) air into the basement and shut off your dehumidifier.