Basement gaming

[MoxManiac]

Hi all! I'm new to the site, I'm a big gamer and collector (spanning all generations) and i've lurked for awhile. Finally joined and want to contribute to the community.

As my first thread, I was hoping to get some insight on gaming setups in basement.

I'm moving in with my girlfriend and i've been given free reign of the basement for a gaming man cave. My questions is, is there any danger to my collection being in the basement? It's an unfinished basement (though the building is very new, it was built about 6 years ago) and there is a dehumidifer running all the time, but i'm concerned long term that the basement enviroment might not be good for my vast collection? I have a pretty sizable amount of cartridge and disc based games and I don't want to shorten their lifespan. Was wondering what people around here feel about this kind of thing and whether my fear is justified, and what I could possibly do?

[wiggyx]

Where do you live and how much humidity/moisture do you typically experience?

I'd check I make sure the basement has actually been waterproofed first. New construction doesn't always mean that it's thorough construction.

If so, then I'd make sure to keep everything at least 12" off the floor just in case a pipe bursts or something like that. Disc-based games won't be affected by moisture in the air, but obviously their manuals and covers will be. For carts, I store everything in cases (Universal Game Cases [UGC] or DS cases). If you're really concerned, then tossing a Sorb-It or any other silica packet in each case will cover pretty much any moisture that the games will come into contact with. Air-tight plastic bins for stuff that doesn't get used very often is always a good bet too.

If it hasn't been waterproofed, then I wouldn't store anything down there until it has been.

Other than that, just running the dehumidifier at a level which keeps it as close as possible to the humidity levels above the basement should do ya.

[MoxManiac]

Thanks for the response!

How do I know if it's been waterproofed? Should I ask the landlord? Waterproofed from outside water? The basement seems "half-finished" where there is wood framing on the basement walls but no drywall or anything yet.

I live in maine. We had a pretty dry winter but this summer is unusually humid. I don't really have any other place to put this stuff.

[wiggyx]

Thanks for the response!

How do I know if it's been waterproofed? Should I ask the landlord? Waterproofed from outside water? The basement seems "half-finished" where there is wood framing on the basement walls but no drywall or anything yet.

I live in maine. We had a pretty dry winter but this summer is unusually humid. I don't really have any other place to put this stuff.

NP!

I would ask the landlord. You can also dig down about 7 or 8 inches on your own by the foundation and inspect yourself if you'd like (or don't trust the guy). It's really easy to do during construction, but it's an extra expense, so sometimes it's left out of the budget, especially in areas that are well above the floodplain. Basically it's a sealant that's applied to the foundation of the building. 9 times out of 10 it will look like black or gray tar covering the cinder blocks in residential applications. Plastic membranes are also fairly common at this point too.

This is what the membrane usually looks like (can be light or dark gray too).







The spray/roll on stuff (tar-like) looks like this most of the time.



Again, sometimes it's not black, but is easily differentiated from the bare cinder blocks/concrete.





It's a royal PITA to do after construction is complete, and I'm sure you can see why :/

[MachineGex]

If it has a dehumidifier running all the time, I would think twice. There is a good reason a dehumidifier is running(all the time). I would guess it gets moist(if not wet). If you get a good rain, it may get really moist/wet.

Maybe set up a gameroom down there, but keep the good games upstairs. Also, ask your girlfriend if it EVER gets moist/wet down there. Also, you can tell by the smell. If it smells at all, you got a big problem.

If I found any of the above problems, I wouldn't take a chance.

Oh.....welcome to DP!!!!

[MoxManiac]

I didn't mention that the dehumidifer was my idea. She only recently started running one by my request. She had talked about setting up a projector setup down there and I told her she shouldn't put stuff like that down there without having one. So she bought one and started running it. I've never noticed any noticable smell with or without the dehumidifer. Though that thing has to be emptied like 2x a day (35 pint capacity)

Thanks for the pics wiggy. I'll ask the landlord and do a little digging (pun intended) I'd like to think they did do it, since the basement was always intended to be a finished basement, but who knows.

[Emperor Megas]

I didn't mention that the dehumidifer was my idea. She only recently started running one by my request. She had talked about setting up a projector setup down there and I told her she shouldn't put stuff like that down there without having one. So she bought one and started running it. I've never noticed any noticable smell with or without the dehumidifer. Though that thing has to be emptied like 2x a day (35 pint capacity)

I won't pretend to know anything about dehumidifiers or the Maine climate, but that sounds like a ton of moister to me. Perhaps it's normal, I don't know, but I'm just way too paranoid to have a basement game room (or at east storing the games themselves) in a climate that isn't very dry, especially if I didn't know if the basement was entirely finished/waterproofed. It goes without saying that I wouldn't have anything on the floor though. I'd raise everything at least a foot off the ground in a basement as a general rule, even if everything was sealed and finished, just because I'm paranoid.

Welcome to the forum.

[MachineGex]

Wow! Seems excessive.

I would not put my stuff in a room like that. I would also be worried about flooding. More than a few members have lost collections cuz of water damage. Is it worth the risk? I would just keep a few systems hooked up and bring down the games as you play them. You still can have a cool "man-cave", just keep the games upstairs and out of danger.

If you go ahead and turn it into a gaming room, make sure you take plenty of "before and after" pictures. We love to see how people set up their stuff. Best of luck!

[Orion Pimpdaddy]

I would never place any part of my collection in a basement, no matter how prepared the basement is. I've known people whose basements have flooded, and they lost everything down there. There's a lot of reasons for a basement to flood (blocked sewer line, subpump fails, 100-year flood, water pipe breaks) and I don't think you can prepare for all of them.

I had one friend whose basement flooded "all the way;" he opened the basement door and saw his stuff floating near the top of the steps. At least that's the way he described it to me.

Also, the extra humidity can speed up the corrosion of metal contacts on cartridges, and cause paper products to swell and mold (instruction manuals, cardboard boxes).

You might want to work out some other arrangement with your girlfriend, or store away your gaming stuff until the living situation changes.

Ether way, I wish you luck.

[wiggyx]

If it has a dehumidifier running all the time, I would think twice.

If it smells at all, you got a big problem.

If I found any of the above problems, I wouldn't take a chance.

Oh.....welcome to DP!!!!

The smell is indeed a good indicator that there's been moisture down there for some time. But, if it's fairly new construction, then there may not be a mold/mildew issue yet (mildew is really what gives off that super musky smell).

Running a dehumidifier all the time is very typical in areas with high humidity. Here in Cleveland we have a lot of 90%+ days in the summer, and this year has been especially bad. That in itself isn't cause for alarm, however...

I didn't mention that the dehumidifer was my idea. She only recently started running one by my request. She had talked about setting up a projector setup down there and I told her she shouldn't put stuff like that down there without having one. So she bought one and started running it. I've never noticed any noticable smell with or without the dehumidifer. Though that thing has to be emptied like 2x a day (35 pint capacity)

Thanks for the pics wiggy. I'll ask the landlord and do a little digging (pun intended) I'd like to think they did do it, since the basement was always intended to be a finished basement, but who knows.

... dumping it twice a day is NOT a good sign at all That's about 9 gallons of water a day!

I have serious doubts that the basement has been waterproofed if that is the case. We have a finished and unfinished portion in our basement (dork cave and laundry/storage). Both sides are closed off from each other and we run a dehumidifier on both sides. I run the game side at about 50-55% humidity and the same on the laundry side. I change the finished side about once a week and the unfinished side simply dumps directly into the drain.

I had one friend whose basement flooded "all the way;" he opened the basement door and saw his stuff floating near the top of the steps. At least that's the way he described it to me.

Also, the extra humidity can speed up the corrosion of metal contacts on cartridges, and cause paper products to swell and mold (instruction manuals, cardboard boxes).

Eek! Man, I would just cry for days if I went downstairs and saw that. Luckily I work from home, so I could prolly head something like that off it I knew it was coming. Obviously one cannot account for every situation and there are definitely more risks storing in a basement than a first or second floor.

OP, if you do end up using the basement for storage, then I highly recommend casing the games and tossing in silica packets, whether it's individual cases for each game or large, lidded plastic bins/tubs. If you do that, then they'll stay dry no matter where you store them (save for flooding, of course). I REALLY doubt that there's been significant waterproofing done to the building based on just the info about the dehumidifier. How long has it been running, and if it's more than a few days, does it pull that much every day? Pulling that much in the first few days is not at all a concern, but doing so every day after that is a BIG concern.

Also, since I totally dropped the ball on saying so before, welcome!

[jb143]

OP, if you do end up using the basement for storage, then I highly recommend casing the games and tossing in silica packets, whether it's individual cases for each game or large, lidded plastic bins/tubs. If you do that, then they'll stay dry no matter where you store them (save for flooding, of course). !

This is what I do. I got a ton of those silica gel packets from the last job I worked at and have them with everything in the basement I want to keep dry. Though I don't keep many games in the basement, I do have most of my books down there and they've been fine that way for the past several years.

Something else that I'd recommend, if it's not done already, is to put extenders on the gutters. That will keep water away from the house when it rains and it would be much less likely to get inside during a downpour.

[MoxManiac]

This is what I do. I got a ton of those silica gel packets from the last job I worked at and have them with everything in the basement I want to keep dry. Though I don't keep many games in the basement, I do have most of my books down there and they've been fine that way for the past several years.

Something else that I'd recommend, if it's not done already, is to put extenders on the gutters. That will keep water away from the house when it rains and it would be much less likely to get inside during a downpour.

I talked to my girlfriend after reading this thread some more and she said it's not typically twice a day when she keeps up on it. While I was there this week i did it twice a day but that day it was pouring outside and all three floors of the apartment were humid as hell. Also, keeping it empty isn't a priority for her so it goes awhile without being emptied - if i was living there it'd be emptied religiously.

I do remember the basement being bone dry in the winter; we're in the middle of a excessively humid summer and the basement never felt more humid then the rest of the house - is there a way to test for humidity? I'm going to keep tabs on how often it has to be dumped.

I mean, is moisture really the only issue here, save for flooding? I mean, if I have a dehumidifer running, won't that solve the humidity problem anyways, regardless of frequency of emptying it?

I'll take my chances with flooding, in the 30 years of me living in places with basements, i've never once encountered a flooding issue.

[wiggyx]

If you're really willing to chance it, then I would buy a more commercial/industrial grade dehumidifier. It sounds like you have a LOT of moisture.

[frogofdeath]

I'll take my chances with flooding, in the 30 years of me living in places with basements, i've never once encountered a flooding issue.

For most of my life I could have said the same basic statement. A few years later, living through a record hurricane season and a 500 year flood most of the country didn't know about changed my mind. Stuff happens, at the very least you may want to look into renter's insurance. Not just for your gaming goods, but anything else you have. It's been a few years since I rented, but if I recall, most renter's insurance is fairly cheap.

Also, ask your girlfriend if it EVER gets moist/wet down there. Also, you can tell by the smell. If it smells at all, you got a big problem.

I've been teaching middle school for too long, because the use of pronouns in these sentences made me laugh

[MachineGex]

I talked to my girlfriend after reading this thread some more and she said it's not typically twice a day when she keeps up on it. While I was there this week i did it twice a day but that day it was pouring outside and all three floors of the apartment were humid as hell. Also, keeping it empty isn't a priority for her so it goes awhile without being emptied - if i was living there it'd be emptied religiously.

I do remember the basement being bone dry in the winter; we're in the middle of a excessively humid summer and the basement never felt more humid then the rest of the house - is there a way to test for humidity? I'm going to keep tabs on how often it has to be dumped.

I mean, is moisture really the only issue here, save for flooding? I mean, if I have a dehumidifer running, won't that solve the humidity problem anyways, regardless of frequency of emptying it?

I'll take my chances with flooding, in the 30 years of me living in places with basements, i've never once encountered a flooding issue.

It sounds like you had already made up your mind. Practically everyone in the thread suggested it was a bad idea and wouldn't do it. Life happens and dumping the humidifier, keeping a close eye on things, power outages, heavy rain, etc., are all difficult to control on a daily basis. It takes only a few hours to ruin everything.

Best of luck, but I dont think one person suggested it was a wise idea to keep all your gaming stuff in a "high risk" basement.

Is there a reason you can't store the bulk of your games upstairs? Systems and such can easily be replaced so I would keep those hooked up in the basement. I would set up everything like you want except I would never keep all my games(carts, discs, etc) down there. To me, everything would still look great, but the hard-to-replace stuff(games) would be safe upstairs. You still could set up everything like you want and just bring the carts down as you wanted to play them.....

[Emperor Megas]

Also, ask your girlfriend if it EVER gets moist/wet down there. Also, you can tell by the smell. If it smells at all, you got a big problem.

L0L at frogofdeath. Just...wow!

[BlastProcessing402]

You could keep your stuff in plastic tubs (with lids) while not using them. It won't save stuff if you get a huge flood, but if you go down there regularly, you should be able to catch a small flood before it escalates to a large flood.

Making sure the sump pump is in working order is a must.

[MachineGex]

L0L at frogofdeath. Just...wow!

That has to be my best quote ever. Thanks for pointing it out. If that is really the case.....forget the gaming, dump the girl!