Damp Basement Flooring Options

15 years ago

Hi. I'm starting to explore options for our basement floor. We're refinishing our basement this summer. The existing basement has carpeting, which really needs to go. We've had a few occasions with water coming into the basement (seems to be when we get a lot of rain for several days and the water table may be high).

I'm thinking that ceramic or porcelain tiles are the way to go. However, my hubby thinks we also need some sort of vapor barrier or air gap membrane between the concrete slab and the tiles (both to prevent water from coming up and to keep the tiles from getting too cold). Is this necessary? How effective are products such as Superseal Tile Subfloor or any of those dimpled membrane products?

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Comments (7)

floorguy
15 years ago
Score the concrete with a diamond blade in a circular saw saw shallow, to look like tile grout lines. Then acid stain the concrete. www.acidstain.com or look at www.scofield.com
Check out the galleries.

It really isn't hard to do.

Then some remnant carpets for area rugs.
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tam18420
Original Author
15 years ago
That might not work. We had to pull up half the carpet due to water damage. Under the carpet, there are solid vinyl tiles (I think that's what they are) that are mostly broken. The concrete floor under these broken tiles are not smooth at all.
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First, try to ascertain where the water table is. Just because you're on a hill doesn't mean the water table isn't high. If the water table rises above your footings at any point, an interior system might be indicated. That's because water could be coming up through the slab or at the joint where the wall meets the poured footing. If the water table isn't that high, the only sure cure would involve excavating all around and using one or more of a number of different waterproofing products. These include spray-on membranes, bentonite, plastic bubble membranes, peel and stick and crystalline products. If there's a surface water problem, yes, swales might be helpful. But before that, look closer to home. Are your eavestroughs clean and functioning? Where do the downspouts exit? They should be sending water at least 10 feet away from the foundation. Is there a good slope down from the foundation to surrounding soil. I've seen many homes that sit in a depression--either because the original builder put the first floor too close to grade, or subsequent owners altered the grading. Not to mention the gardening types who load up on thirsty plants next to the foundation and water away like crazy. Next time it rains, go outside and check what's happening. ******* Mildew grows on my shoes in the closets upstairs, and my clothes have a musty odor. This is a separate problem and very likely the result of inadequate insulation on the closet walls. So moisture condenses inside--or even on--the interior walls during the winter. You can usually solve this problem by keeping the closet doors open during winter or providing an additional continuous source of heat. It's a reason to avoid placing closets on outside walls of a home, and especially corners where three and four stud framing cuts the R levels drastically. This post was edited by worthy on Sun, Mar 17, 13 at 16:49
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Alisande, we have a damp basement, too, and, like you said it's a pain to empty it. We have to empty it about twice a day in the wet season. As you might imagine, we're really tired of doing this! We wish we had a floor drain to have it empty into, but we don't since it's an old house. What we're going to try to do--and maybe you can do this, too--is figure out how to get the dehumidifier drain into the laundry sink. In our case, we need to rig some sort of hose for it and figure out a way to raise the dehumidifier to the proper height. But maybe you don't have a sink in your basement... :( Even so, a dehumidifier is worth having. We got ours at Lowes for about $120 and it has been money very well spent. Our basement smells clean and nice, and the items we store down there don't get damp like they did before we were running the dehumidifier. Of course, a dehumidifier can't solve all moisture problems. It definitely sounds like your gutters/etc were causing the problems. You might want to take a look at some books on basement moisture problems. Right now, I have two books out of the library on this subject that are really helping us figure out how to make some simple fixes without calling in the professionals. Home Water and Moisture Problems: Prevention and Solutions by Gary Branson (this one is so good that I'm planning on buying it for friends and family for Christmas!) 5 Steps to a Dry Basement or Crawl Space by Ronald K. Gay I sure hope some of this info is useful. I know how annoying it is to have a wet basement. Good luck!
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All LVP is actually waterproof. It's a very solid option for basement flooring because of this. That being said though, remember that you should never leave water sitting on your flooring, whatever that flooring, for weeks on end. The water won't damage you LVP, but it will eventually seep through to the bottom floor and gradually cause damage and become a huge insurance problem. You can measure against this though with the installation of a moisture trap depending on your situation. Another thing about LVP, is the option of ER or Embossed in Register. With ER, the texture of the plank matches up perfectly with the register or the original graphic. This means that every grain is captured in detail, including wood knots. An advantage of this is increased surface area so it protects against slipperiness and you from falling. Here's the main link I used to learn about ER and LVP if you'd like more information. I hope this helps!: https://www.reallycheapfloors.com/blog/the-best-flooring-for-basements/
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organic_nick
15 years ago
what size are the tiles ?
what color is the glue residue on the concrete ?
You need to address the water problem first .
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tam18420
Original Author
15 years ago
organic nick - The tiles are 9" square and the glue residue is black. What does this mean? Any thoughts on any waterproofing methods to use?

gordansmith - "When properly sealed, ceramic tile floors can hold up well to moisture exposure". => What is meant by properly sealed? Would that be a vapor barrier under the tiles and thinset?
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organic_nick
15 years ago
Tam , You more then likely have Asbestos Tile .
The black adhesive is a cut back adhesive used in the seventies for tile which also has asbestos in it .
It was used as a binder in the glue .
That needs to be properly addressed first .
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fourtogo
15 years ago
Hello, we are currently going through much of the same. We have a 70s' tri-level with lower level family room that had carpet until the rain seepage ruined it. After installing a second sump pump in the crawl space, we ripped up carpet and soaked pad along with the lovely orange tiles below. We've decided to replace carpet with 18x18 ceramic tiles, although we were also looking at a product called duraceramic which is warmer on the feet because only the top layer is ceramic. It also has acrylic grout instead of sanded which is easier to keep clean. They also make this in a wood look. It's a little cheaper than ceramic but my husband said if we want ceramic we should buy the real thing. I asked the friend we're buying new ceramic from if we could have had asbestos. He said if the tiles were smaller than 12x12 they probably were, but ours weren't. Good Luck!
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organic_nick
15 years ago
I put the duraceramic in a weekly rental down Alantic City about seven years ago .
Have to go back and replace the carpet every year .
But the duraceramic still looks new .
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Damp Basement Flooring Options

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Damp Basement Flooring Options

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floorguy

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