My house was built in the '50s. The orignal owner died and I bought it from relatives. My problem is this - the upstairs bathroom needs a complete overhaul, so I want to build one in the basement - it already has the toilet and the hot/cold water and drains. The real problem is the walls - they are a cement block, and they've been painted for sure twice, with what, I have no idea. I would like to cover the walls to hide the pipes, and make things look nice. HOWEVER, the toilet sits along one of these walls, and the tank is against one wall already, and only 4 inches from the other. My plumber said that a 10 inch toilet would buy me the room that I need on the backside, but I'm stuck with the 4 inch side clearance. That's OK. I had though about using some furring strips, and some greenboard, and some tileboard, BUT the entire basement are is damp. I am very concerned about getting mold behind the new walls. Nearly everybody that has seen the basement has the same concern. One guy suggested something called Ardex. I did a little research, and it says to apply on upainted surfaces, or remove all of the paint - I can't do that. Is there anything else that can be apllied, maybe over paint, or maybe if I rough the painted surface up a little???
Rodney
Rodney