Waterproof basement to still look great and be cost efficient!

[Julie Verardi]

I have a basement in Jersey City that is a great space. Every so often water gets in. 1 time it was seepage from the floor and a french drain solved that in one section. It's been fine for 4 years and now water has found a new way along the wall. Hoping the roof work we did will solve that issue. Finger crossed. 

I'm looking for suggestions on what I can put on the floor (currently cement) and walls (currently brick) to water proof it but not have to rip up and destroy if water finds its ways in again. The two walls that I had issues with under the dry wall are brick so I'm thinking of exposing the brick since that's in style, cleaning the brick, patching up the missing mortar and painting it with a water proof white paint. Any suggestions on what type of paint and tips when exposing brick walls in the basement?

Lastly the floors are cement so looking to put something over it so it still makes the basement look finished but god forbid water gets in again and I'm faced with having to put a french drain repairing the floors will be no big deal and water can never get under it to the point where it will cause me headaches. I heard epoxy is the best but wanted to ask other owners how they water proofed there basement to still look good and be cost efficient. 

I still want to attract tenants with it looking good but if I get another flood repairing won't be that bad and water won't stay trapped. 

[Nathan Gesner]

Basements can be sealed from the exterior. They dig it up, coat it with a sealant, and fill it back in. It's not cheap, but I think it's the most proven method.

As for flooring, you could stain the floor. I used a water-based stain instead of acid-based, and it was extremely simple. Here's an example of what I ended up with:

Another option is the luxury vinyl plank. They make great product now that can handle water without warping. If you get water in the basement, pull the flooring up, dry it out, reinstall.

There's also some very attractive sheet vinyl that looks like hardwood. I just bought a building that has had some in their showroom for ten years and it's in perfect shape and very attractive.