Comments on: Basement sub-floor

By: groogs

groogs — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 20:32:53 +0000

Kris: Take a look at http://gregmaclellan.com/blog/laminate-flooring/. It really will depend on what you are using as flooring. I basically just wanted access to the drain in case it ever gets clogged or something.

By: Kris

Kris — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 18:34:25 +0000

Hi there Greg,

I made the same decision as you in regards to the dimpled plastic roll covered with OSB. I’m in the finishing stages of my remodel, and I’m desparately trying to figure out what I’m going to do with the drain. Could you email me some pics of what you did to finish off the drain? Thanks so much

Kris

By: bob clarke

bob clarke — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 15:29:23 +0000

i have a dirt floor in my crawl space ..what can i use .. would it be the Delta-FL then some pressure treated 2×4 for a sub-floor or what other combo would you suggest..thx

By: pete

pete — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 19:49:15 +0000

my hot water tank burst on me a few weeks back.. I had a regular sub floor that raised my floor a few inches. when they removed the floor I found that I have 3 holes in the middle of my basement (by holes I mean pipes). One is the sub pump I believe as I’ve noticed when it rains, some water is in there and then disappears (it’s about 2 ft deep, and the water doesn’t come anywhere close to the top).. how can I do the above floors, and cover these, and then put floating floors over? is there any tricks?

By: groogs

groogs — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 19:35:41 +0000

Rob: The floor drain is just a drain in the slab. I cut a hole for it in the subfloor, and my intention is just to put a drain cover on the hole in the finished floor. I had thought about trying to find a flange, but then I realized if there is water underneath the subfloor, I still want it to drain.

I’m not sure if it’s the best way.. and in fact, the drain ends up in a weird spot in the room. I think it’s important though that it’s accessible (in case it needs cleaning out or whatever), as well as usable (in case there is a leak in the washing machine or sink or whatever).

By: Rob Marchand

Rob Marchand — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 02:32:53 +0000

Quick question for you. I was wondering if you did anything special for the floor drain - does it sit below the level of the Delta-FL and the OSB floor? Or is there a special cover/flange that you are using?

I am doing something similar, and have been trying to figure out how to handle the floor drain, which is out in the open area of the floor.

Actually, looking more closely at the pictures - is the floor drain aligned with a floor drain in the slab?

Thanks in advance!

Regards,
Rob

By: tim morey

tim morey — Wed, 11 Mar 2009 20:59:19 +0000

I have a 4′ drain tile around the inside of my basement and it goes to a sump basket. What i’m seeing is that for the second year in a row after 8 year of a dry basement the water table has raised and when it gets above the tile there is alot of pressure. I have no cracks in the basement floor. The water is coming in around the walls between the Basement walls and the slab. There is so much water pressure now that i have a pin hole in the basket and it is spraying water. The water does drain to the sump basket as well. It’s like i need to line the basement with a pool liner. the water isn’t coming from the out side. Do you have any other ideas? The basement is only about 800 square feet..

Thanks for the response though.

By: groogs

groogs — Mon, 09 Mar 2009 19:55:36 +0000

There shouldn’t be any moisture problems in the actual floor, since the flooring is a vapour/moisture barrier. With a small amount of moisture, it should dry fine because of the air gap.

However, if you have a large amount of water (eg, flooding), so there is no longer an air gap, I could see that being a problem, possibly leading to mold since it may not fully dry out. In fact, the install instructions specifically say it’s not to be used as the only protection for flooding.

Personally, I would think it would be better to find out where the water is coming from and fix that. This can protect against moisture that naturally comes through a porous material like concrete, but running water is a different story.

If there are cracks in the foundation, or other holes, plug them up. Consider improving the drainage around the house - adding some dirt to raise the grade around the house, and adding extensions to your downspouts can do wonders.

If it is just water coming up through the sump hole, then maybe you need a bigger/second sump pump (don’t forget to have a battery-powered backup pump, or some other way to handle water if the power is out). You might also need to investigate improving the drainage around the outside of the foundation, although this is obviously a lot more work and a lot more costly.

By: tim morey

tim morey — Mon, 09 Mar 2009 13:21:25 +0000

I finished my basement a two years ago, i put my basement in 6 years ago and had no water problems. Now for some reason the water table has changed or something. I have a sump pump in the basement with a tile around the outside perimeter of my basement addition on 2 sides. Water is coming in on all 4 walls and the floor do to the water table being so high. The water table went up Late January of last year and went down around mid march, Yesterday i started getting water in the basement again. i never get any more then about 1/2 of water over the floor since i have the sump pump. What i was wondering is if this product would work or if i would have Moisture or Mold problems.
Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks Tim

By: Eric

Eric — Fri, 06 Feb 2009 00:39:35 +0000

Thanks. That’s very helpful. I’ll do some checking at my local Rona to see if they have Delta-FL.