I've been cautious about epoxy too, mostly because of the moisture issues you mentioned. Had a similar experience helping a friend fix up their basement—epoxy looked great at first, but within a year, it was bubbling and peeling in spots. Granted, they didn't really prep the walls properly or think about drainage, so maybe that's the real culprit.
Your breathable epoxy solution sounds intriguing, though. Makes me wonder if the key is just picking the right product and doing thorough prep work. Did you have to do anything special to the walls beforehand, like sanding or applying a primer? Curious if breathable epoxy requires different prep steps compared to the standard stuff.
"Granted, they didn't really prep the walls properly or think about drainage, so maybe that's the real culprit."
Yeah, I'd bet money that's exactly what happened. Epoxy is super finicky about moisture and surface prep—learned that the hard way myself. When I did mine, I spent forever sanding and cleaning the walls, then applied a moisture-blocking primer before even touching epoxy. Curious though, does breathable epoxy still need a moisture barrier primer underneath, or would that defeat the purpose? Seems kinda counterintuitive...
I ran into a similar issue when we redid our basement last year. Thought I'd save some time by skipping the primer step since the epoxy claimed to be "breathable." Big mistake. Within a few months, we had bubbling and peeling in spots where moisture seeped through. Ended up having to strip it all off and start over—lesson learned the hard way.
From what I gathered afterward, even breathable epoxy benefits from proper prep and some kind of moisture barrier underneath. Seems weird, I know, but apparently "breathable" doesn't mean it can handle constant moisture exposure without issues. It's more about letting minor vapor escape rather than blocking actual water intrusion. So yeah, I'd still do a primer or at least make sure drainage is solid before applying anything. Better safe than sorry...
Had a similar experience myself a couple years back when we built our storm shelter. Thought we'd done everything right—proper drainage, moisture barriers, the works. But I underestimated how sneaky moisture can be, especially underground. A few months in, we noticed some damp spots and a faint musty smell. Turned out we hadn't sealed a couple of joints thoroughly enough, and water was slowly finding its way in.
Ended up having to strip back some areas and redo the sealing—definitely not a fun weekend. But since then, it's been rock solid. It's funny how even when you think you've covered all your bases, water still finds a way to surprise you. Glad yours passed inspection without any hiccups though, that's always a relief. Nothing beats knowing your shelter's good to go when you really need it.
"Thought we'd done everything right—proper drainage, moisture barriers, the works. But I underestimated how sneaky moisture can be, especially underground."
Yeah, moisture's definitely tricky underground. Did you also consider ventilation when you redid the sealing? I've seen a few shelters where folks nailed the waterproofing but overlooked airflow, and ended up with condensation issues anyway. Glad you got yours sorted though... nothing worse than having to redo work you thought was already done.
