Gutting the basement and need to seal the concrete walls, what's the best thing to use?
We used KILZ in a old house I lived in years ago. It was concrete block, not poured walls. Regular paint just flaked off.
So that worked pretty good?
My basement walls leached water after a heavy downpours for years. KILZ ended it. I used 4 inch paint brush and worked the KILZ into every little imperfection in the concrete.
yes, the kilz held on great. kinda smells bad when you put it on. Of course today's paint may not be what it was then, wouldn't shock me if its a safer environmentally friendly version now.
If you have moisture coming in through the concrete walls, the best method is to dig down to the footings, wash the walls and seal the exterior with an exterior foundation sealer. They are usually tar based. We have a lot of heavy clay soil around here coupled with a high water table. I've helped dig up a couple basements in the past, power wash the walls, let them dry a couple days, and then apply foundation sealer. Certainly not the fastest method, but it stops the moisture intrusion. I have used kilz for a lot of applications, but I haven't sealed interior basement walls with it yet.
We didn't have water running in the house or anything. Just the standard damp walls making it difficult to paint.
that's a loaded question, in the "East" we like to do like Colson described, then add platon membrane and 2" foam while you're there, and drain tile and gravel at the footer obviously. In Eastern Washington, you may get away with skipping that if the site is right, and the ground slopes away from the house. No sealer that goes inside can be as effective as one on the outside, but maybe you don't need much? The Kilz that smells is probably the original shellac based primer. Kilz has turned into a brand name for lots of different primers, several would probably work for what you want, but know what you're getting.
Kilz has a Concrete sealant last time I was thru the paint section at Lowes. Do not know why looked at that but saw it. Also had a five gallon pail sized "DryLock" concrete sealant/anti-mildew.
Drylock was the standard paint for this for years. I've used it with good results.
Had good results with Drylock on walls that were always damp and leaky in the basement. Smell was intense though and would be sure to do it when you can ventilate. Used 2 coats of the “Drylock Extreme” and no more water. Walls are not damp and the dehumidifier runs less.