Basement – Pros and cons of painting cinder block in basement

Multi-part answer here:

1. It could be the water table, in which case, there's not a lot you can do. If it's the water table, then you'll have water seeping up through the floor. BUT consider that when they built the house, they dug a bowl in the ground, and then backfilled with loose soil, rocks and whatever other garbage they had lying around. You could have a permeable (gravel and sand) fill inside a relatively impermeable bowl (clay). In this case, sloping the ground away can help. It will at least get rid of standing water up against the foundation and help mitigate anything flowing through the walls.

2. The major worry is mold. Make sure the area is clean, so that there's nothing for mold to feed on. You can spray with a biocide if you see any growing, and certainly don't enclose it by adding drywall over the area.

3. If you have rising damp, then an internal sealant won't do anything. the hydrostatic pressure will force water through. A dehumidifier will remove the symptoms.

The easiest way to insulate concrete block is to glue foam insulation board directly to the block. These boards come in 4 ft X 8 ft sheets and different R values. The other method is to build a wood or steel stud wall along the block to hold blanket style insulation along with electrical wiring etc. This method is a lot more work, but gives you a base to install sheetrock later on.

Depending on whether or not you want the attic area insulated or not, blanket or blown in insulation can be installed into the ceiling. ( this assumes you have a sheathed ceiling). Otherwise, you can install blanket insulation between the rafters. Depending on budget, sprayed in foam insulation is fantastic. You may also want to look at some venting to help exhaust hot air during the summer months. I may add a few comments later, but here's a start.