Basement flooring options

[Pete F.]

So you have 6/9 from the floor to the ceiling now which pretty much limits things esthetically. Bite the bullet, demo the floor, drop it as much as possible, add radiant and repour. You don't have to demo the whole floor leave the mechanical space, but I would put in a sump so I could pump it if needed.

[nightfighter]

Originally Posted by Pete F.

So you have 6/9 from the floor to the ceiling now which pretty much limits things esthetically. Bite the bullet, demo the floor, drop it as much as possible, add radiant and repour. You don't have to demo the whole floor leave the mechanical space, but I would put in a sump so I could pump it if needed.

I was trying to figure how to get radiant in there too, Pete... But since he said he is already cut into the hill, I would bet he wouldn't gain much if anything by chipping out the floor. The original builder probably went short on stone and concrete on the ledge. 50/50 call... If the sump were to be put on the uphill side, you would get an idea of floor and stone depth, assuming he doesn't hit ledge....

[magster]

Best bang for the buck : rubber sheet flooring on the internet, usually for basement or garage flooring. Choose a width and order the length.It will be delivered to the door.I have condensation in the summer in a few spots which can be vacuumed up.

[spence]

Originally Posted by nightfighter

I was trying to figure how to get radiant in there too, Pete... But since he said he is already cut into the hill, I would bet he wouldn't gain much if anything by chipping out the floor. The original builder probably went short on stone and concrete on the ledge. 50/50 call... If the sump were to be put on the uphill side, you would get an idea of floor and stone depth, assuming he doesn't hit ledge....

Yes, it's a funky situation. I'd note as well that the addition with the finished basement was mickey moused pretty badly.

The slab sits right on the ground. Not sure what's under there but with all the ledge trying to drop it would likely be a nightmare. Also I don't want to do anything that might compromise the foundation to this house.

The floor of the dirt cellar is a slightly higher grade than the finished basement. While there is no "proper" perimeter drain/sump I have installed a drain at ground level to collect water that makes it into the dirt cellar and have dug a sump pit at one corner of the foundation where the water table can get dangerously high.

So that's two sumps and a third on battery backup. So far it's worked pretty well.

I think the stained concrete has potential, and if there was still a water issue it would be easy to just pull up area rugs and vacuum up the mess.

My concern with the concrete is that I wouldn't be able to really seal the concrete that well...I'd like to stop the moisture that works it's way straight up through the slab. Perhaps this isn't as big of an issue as I think?

-spence

[nightfighter]

Jeff,

Look into Radonseal. It is a product that claims to permeate into the concrete up to 4 inches, sealing out moisture and Radon gas.

[basswipe]

Spence if you have moisture coming up through the slab staining and sealing really is not an option.The water has no other place to go but up,any finish you apply will eventually fail.

Gotta fix the water issue before thinking about applying a finish to that slab.

[spence]

Originally Posted by basswipe

Spence if you have moisture coming up through the slab staining and sealing really is not an option.The water has no other place to go but up,any finish you apply will eventually fail.

Gotta fix the water issue before thinking about applying a finish to that slab.

That is my concern. I can't say how bad it really is, but I've got to think an unsealed slab without a crawlspace would pull a lot of moisture out of the ground.

-spence