Hi as far as the O.C. basment finished system goes. I feel its very similar to a mobile home interior, they try to sell you on the waterproof and mildew/mold resistance. I have been a property damaged repair contractor in Ohio, Mich and Indiana for more than 20 years. The O.C. System doesnt hold up any better in a heavy moisture/waterdamage/flood situation. I would go with a standard studwall, wood or metal and drywall walls and ceiling. We finish 20 basements per year on average and build more than 30 additions on top of our fire and water work. If you have a serious moisture issue, deal with that first then finish the basement. The price is also high for what your are getting. As far as the rest of your do it your selfers. I have nothing against you save the fact you like to compare your work/quality/knowledge and cost to that of a licensed reputable contractor. Maybe you should try building your own vechicles, filling your own teeth, mending your wounds, butchering your meat and so on. Sure many of you can trip your way through a remodle project with varing results, especially in todays world where there are a million web sites to explain how to do just about anything. Home improvment seems to be the career many of you just can't seem to accept as a legitimate way of making an honest living. The real story is folks in the trades work all day long in the field, go home have dinner with their families then leave to visit homeowners like yourselves, most who wouldnt think of leaving work early to meet prospective contractors during business hours, but dont think a thing of "in the one case above" calling out 15-20 contractors for a free estimate more than likely at nite or on a weekend. Btw our professionaly finished basements start at $35 to $40 per square foot based on the scope of work and yes we dont feel comfortable with a gross profit of less than 30% much less than your mechanic, grocer, doctor, lawyer, or your local gas station. The average age of our employees and contractors is 52. Based on that in twenty years you will get to do all your home improvment projects your self and avoid paying a qualified contractor a well earned wage. Look out for that roof replacment!!! YOUR IGNORANT TO COMPARE YOUR SWEAT EQUITY TO A QUALITY CONTRACTOR If your employer did'nt earn a profit you wouldnt have a JOB

This is a really old thread, but for anyone that finds this (like me), let me share my recent experience. We had an unfinished basement for 10 years. Over those years, we had seepage through the walls due to improper drainage outside (this was a brand new house). I agree with the poster above that suggests you fix your landscaping. We had spots where water was pooling, and water just...finds a way. It's what it does. Anyway, also during that time, I worked down in the basement on top of some old carpet and pad that we tore out of a room we put hardwood floors in. Never had any issue with that just sitting on the floor. We recently had our third child, and decided it was time to finish the basement. We decided that we would waterproof the north side of the house that had most of the water seepage in the past. For the flooring, we put down linoleum in the bathroom, laminate in my office, and carpet in the main part of the basement where the kids would play. Lowe's sold us on the VERY BEST (their words) carpet pad for basements. It's this newfangled crap that has a "breathable" vapor barrier. So water can escape from underneath but not penetrate through it from above. That's the claim. Well, fast forward LESS THAN ONE YEAR... The whole area where that carpet is smells musty and gross. If you are going to use a pad, DO NOT, PLEASE, GOD, DO NOT buy anything with a vapor barrier on it, even if they swear it is breathable. It may be breathable, but not enough. The crappy 6 pound rebond stuff I had sitting down there for probably 7 years never did this. The moisture from your floor needs to be able to escape, not get trapped underneath there. Lowe's is now sending out somebody to look at it, and they will decide how to handle this problem. It is going to be a huge nightmare. Even if they are super cooperative, and offer to replace everything, I still have to move all of our stuff out of there, have it all tore up, clean up whatever mess is there properly (somehow I don't think Lowe's will do this part for me), and then get it reinstalled again. From other things I have read, if you are going to put anything over top of the concrete, you shouldn't try to seal it. Walls are one thing, especially if you have functioning drain tiles that will drain the water that has nowhere to go. I'd be interested to know if anyone has opinions on the laminate I put down in my office. Underneath that is the foil covered pad, which is...a vapor barrier.. Every video you watch on the internet says this is how it's done in basements. I get stopping the vapor from hitting the laminate, but worry now that it's just trapped and will try to creep up the walls. Home ownership is so much fun!

Indeed, French drains (weepers) are not a cure all. The other preventives you can take, are: --correcting outside grading so the water flows away from the structure. -- installing or repairing downspouts and eavestrough. --taking downspout water away from the foundation area using long underground drains a few inches under the soil. Plastic bubble membranes, invented in Europe by Cosella, work two ways. They keep water from reaching the foundation; and if it does, they allow it to flow freely down the wall to the weepers. Finally, you can bring your home or other structure up to current standards and above. This involves excavating around the perimeter of the building down to the footings. At that point, the building can then be covered in peel and stick waterproofing, spray-on materials and/or wrapped in a plastic bubble membrane. Weepers are usually recommended, followed by a couple feet of free draining gravel, sometimes followed by more free draining material, fabric and a clay cap. Peel and stick waterproofing materials are sometimes used in conjunction with plastic bubble membranes These are the most common approaches. But there are others too, including insulation, penetrating sealers on the inside, or the old reliable layers of saturated cloth and fibrated asphalt. Spray-on waterproofing can bridge small cracks and is best used with membrane wraps All these approaches involve other details as well. The best time to consider waterproofing is before construction starts, as none of the above retrofits address the basement floor or underside of the slab.

Update......3/16/2010. I am gonna use the first tile guy that came out (friend of my plumber). Nice guy, very attentive to my questions, etc. The second tile guy that came out said he guaranteed I will have no porblem tiling on the sleepers over concrete. RED FLag!? He said he would email me a quote......he never did. oh well. When I order the tile yesterday, I told the ladies at the tile shop who my tile contractor was....they spoke very highly of him....calling him a perfectionist....hopefully that bodes well for me and my bathroom. So here are the new specs..... Bathroom floor: Mud Bed [including bonding agent on concrete and wire mesh to strengthen the mud bed] tile se on diagonal Radiant heat floor set in mudbed Thinset Tile Shower: Swanstone Shower pan [34x48] Durock walls Thinset/tape seams Mapei liquid waterproofer (either HPG or AquaDefense) One recessed niche tile to ceiling Look ok? TWO Questions: 1. Any preference for either Mapei waterproofing products? The HPG or AquaDefense? 2. Question on vapor barrier for foundation wall One wall of the bathroom is on the poured foundation wall. Do I need a plastic between the cement wall and the insualtion and studs? thanks. mike