anyone ever record in a basement w/ water seepage?

JustinHedrick · Post by **JustinHedrick** » Tue Mar 10, 2009 8:21 am

just getting my studio stuff out of storage and going to install it in my basement (1/2" 8 track, tascam mixer, crappy outboard gear).

the basement also houses the mechanicals (washer/dryer, water heater, furnace). anyway, it has been raining a lot lately and we don't have gutters on our house (landlord is supposed to rectify this soon), so our basement has some ground seepage: basically a little stream in the oposite corner from where my stuff is set up.

I have a dehumidifier running 24/7 and that seems to help the problem. (after the spring rain season, ithas anyone else recorded sucessfully in such conditions?

JustinHedrick · Post by **JustinHedrick** » Wed Mar 11, 2009 6:07 am

over 40 view and no replies?

i am the confused . . .

Nate Dort · Post by **Nate Dort** » Wed Mar 11, 2009 6:27 am

I'm not sure what you're asking. Yes, people have recorded in damp basements before. Make sure to mix in some of the dry signal so everything doesn't sound too wet.

Seriously though, it's probably not good for your gear. Even if you have a dehumidifier running 24/7, as long as you have liquid water on the floor in there, your humidity will stay high until that water has been removed from the room, preferably by emptying the dehumidifier collection bucket.

JustinHedrick · Post by **JustinHedrick** » Wed Mar 11, 2009 6:41 am

nate wrote:I'm not sure what you're asking. Yes, people have recorded in damp basements before. Make sure to mix in some of the dry signal so everything doesn't sound too wet.

Seriously though, it's probably not good for your gear. Even if you have a dehumidifier running 24/7, as long as you have liquid water on the floor in there, your humidity will stay high until that water has been removed from the room, preferably by emptying the dehumidifier collection bucket.

is that why my low end sounds so spongy??

thanks for the reply. my initial post was a bit confusing: the basement doesn't have water in it all the time. actually, it is only damp during the rainy spring/fall (damn illinois weather!). i empty the dehumidifier every 2 days. i just wanted to make sure that if I clean the water up in a timely fashion and remove it from the air, that it won't hurt anything . . .

right?

mikeyc · Post by **mikeyc** » Wed Mar 11, 2009 6:45 am

The biggest problem I've usually run into in this type of situation is not so much the moisture/water but the inherent mold issues that arise. If the house has had the seepage issue for a while, it's likely there's mold growing down there. It's a bitch on your breathing.

nordberg · Post by **nordberg** » Wed Mar 11, 2009 11:05 am

my basement gets a little wet now and then with a really heavy rain. the worst that's ever happened is a few guitar pedals getting wet, but i'm guessing rain water's better than beer. i have concrete floors so no (short term) damage and no lingering soak... i just make sure everything is either on wheels or is up off the ground if we're expecting rain.

-mike

decocco · Post by **decocco** » Mon Mar 16, 2009 11:14 am

I used to work in a studio that would flood during rain storms. No big deal. Just don't get the gear all wet. You should dehumidify. Wooden instruments do not like very high humidity!

JustinHedrick · Post by **JustinHedrick** » Mon Mar 16, 2009 1:55 pm

decocco wrote:I used to work in a studio that would flood during rain storms. No big deal. Just don't get the gear all wet. You should dehumidify. Wooden instruments do not like very high humidity!

cool. i do dehumidfy. i'm going to keep on rocking.

roygbiv · Post by **roygbiv** » Mon Mar 16, 2009 2:15 pm

Frankly, as far as things that effect your breathing, I'd be more worried about electrocution than mold.

rodreb · Post by **rodreb** » Mon Mar 16, 2009 3:12 pm

been working in a damp basement for 20 years. Get a few little streams in rainstorms, overall just damp. Never really had any problems. Yes, dehumidifying does help.

ott0bot · Post by **ott0bot** » Mon Mar 16, 2009 4:19 pm

i say put a prefab shed down there on some risers. hey now it's a control room too. make you musicians play in the pools of water, cause they are expendable, and cover your shed with giant rubber floor mats to keep it from being a conductor.

naw.....you should be fine. my friends basement studio in humid as heck Northeast nebraska held up fine, just follow the suggestions of the other posts and you can make it. Don't put anything valuable on the floor and dehumidify. Make sure you pick up all your cords too....don't be a slacker. However all those running appliances can't be good for micing acoustic instruments.

Since you're using analog tape you pobably don't want to store your tape reels down there. It should be fine while tracking....but long term humidity can damage the tape, as can extreme heat or cold.

JustinHedrick · Post by **JustinHedrick** » Tue Mar 17, 2009 6:12 am

i didn't even think about the tape. good suggestion!

johnny7 · Post by **johnny7** » Tue Mar 17, 2009 9:09 am

No doubt, you are trying to get the landlord to fix things, but is there anything you can do outside the house to divert water away? if you can tear the place up, put a some perf tube in the ground just outside of the location where the water rivulet is forming. I had some issues with water. i used to go outside in the downpours and observe the water flow off and around my house. At one point, I made a bamboo flume!

Good luck,

Johnny7

darjama · Post by **darjama** » Tue Mar 17, 2009 9:24 am

My basement can get pretty musky after a downpour, Moisture barriers, a dehumidifiers and a sump pump keep me dry and electrocution free.

madrex · Post by **madrex** » Thu Mar 19, 2009 1:06 pm

may want to invest in some long cables to track vocals upstairs... worked for a few years out of a similar basement situation with no problems regarding equipment, just occasional vocal performances, especially if the mold thing gets kickin'. yeech.

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anyone ever record in a basement w/ water seepage?

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