Need help with concrete insulation

I'm renovating a basement storage into a laundry room and the floors are all leveled and tiled but there's a concrete slab sticking out of 2 walls. They're about 30cm high and 20cm deep. My problem is that they're constantly absorbing moisture from the ground beneath (and in fact they were left as is because there's so much ground water running under the house through layers of gravel) and then forming mold on top when the humidity and heat mix up. I'm in a very cold country with low humidity but there's occasional mold problems. I want to build a custom wood furniture for the laundry machine, a small table, drawers and shelves but I'm afraid the wood will draw moisture if in direct contact with the cement slabs. How would I go about insulating the slabs before building around them? I've looked at insulation coatings and possibly covering with tarp and foam blocks, but wondered if anyone here has done something similar? I'm pretty lost and don't wanna get it wrong and have to take down everything in 5 years.

Mar 31, 2025 - 16:14

I'm renovating a basement storage into a laundry room and the floors are all leveled and tiled but there's a concrete slab sticking out of 2 walls. They're about 30cm high and 20cm deep.

My problem is that they're constantly absorbing moisture from the ground beneath (and in fact they were left as is because there's so much ground water running under the house through layers of gravel) and then forming mold on top when the humidity and heat mix up. I'm in a very cold country with low humidity but there's occasional mold problems.

I want to build a custom wood furniture for the laundry machine, a small table, drawers and shelves but I'm afraid the wood will draw moisture if in direct contact with the cement slabs.

How would I go about insulating the slabs before building around them? I've looked at insulation coatings and possibly covering with tarp and foam blocks, but wondered if anyone here has done something similar?

I'm pretty lost and don't wanna get it wrong and have to take down everything in 5 years.