CurtPalme.com Home Theater Forum

[stgdz]

What are the advantages of a subfloor in a concrete basement and how thick are they usually?

[zaphod]

warm.
dry.
let's you use hardwood flooring.

that said... lami works pretty darn good. and there are composite floorings that (for example) are essentially 4'x4' plywood squares with hardwood on top.

[emdawgz1]

[ecrabb]

Not only dryer and warmer as Zaphod indicated, but softer, too. A floor with any give at all is more comfortable to walk, sit and stand on than is concrete. Makes the basement feel less like a basement and more like the rest of the house if it has a little give - a little bounce.

If you have the headroom, you can use treated 2x4 on their wide side (sleepers) and sheath as you normally would. As Zaphod mentioned, you can also use a material like DriCore. It's fast and easy to install if you have some basic tools and a table or circular saw, but it's not cheap at $1.25-1.50/sqft...
http://www.dricore.com

If you want to spend a little less money and a little more time, you can also use a membrane material like DeltaFL and traditional sheathing:
http://www.deltafl.com

Midwest Basement Systems also installs a plastic tile designed to elevate the flooring off the concrete, but doesn't sell materials to DIY, and is very expensive to have installed. There are DIY alternatives, however if you've ever looked at "garage" tiles... It's in the same price ballpark as DriCore.

I'm leaning toward DeltaFL or the "garage floor tile" DIY method.

SC

[ecrabb]

Oh, there's also Platon, which is like DeltaFL:
http://www.systemplaton.com/flooring.html

And SUBFLOR, which is like DriCore:
http://www.subflor.com

SC

[zaphod]

i cheaped out on a subfloor (and i didn't have the height anyway) by using 1/3 sleepers. worked a lot better than you might think. and because they're lying "flat" the reduced structural issues weren't. dropped some carpet on top and had a great little office.

my in-laws have water pipe radiant heat in the floors and it's really comfy. quiet too for a home theater. my two heating vents can distract me.

but don't discount the radiant heat sources that are not based on water pipes in the floor. there is that big roll stuff that goes under the floor and uses electricity. some of it even plugs into the wall!

[WanMan]

[jask]

similar to SCs recommendations- you can carpet directly over this without the plywood deck.
********deleted****

Edit: sorry, this is the product to use if you want to carpet without a plywood deck over top: http://www.superseal.ca/all_in_one_subfloor.html

[Herbie]

Hello guys!


I use DriCore in my basement two years ago. and I would say yes it is worth using however the shims they provide are not the greatest. You will need more than they state. and most of the time in alot more than one corner two get the floor level.
Dricore benfits allow drainage and adequate support for additional flooring. It also helped bring the temperature up in my basement. MY basement used to stay a cool 45 degrees all year long now its an even 50 degrees doesn't sound like big jump but its noticeable to me...

[WanMan]

Your basement stayed 10º colder than the average temp of the earth at basement grade? Sounds like an anomaly to me.

[MikeEby]

Does having a wood floor sub floor have any acoustical benefits?

Lots of speakers come with spikes...I've always wondered what's that all about?

Mike

[ecrabb]

I think a subfloor is generally a good thing acoustically, but I think a really good carpet and pad is comparable.

As for the spikes for speakers, I always assumed it was mostly so the speakers would stand up. A tall/skinny speaker standing on carpet/pad is not a good thing from a stability standpoint. The spikes go right through the carpet and pad so the speaker sits on the floor sheathing instead of the carpet.

SC

[Freak18]

The biggest advantage of sub floor for a basement was you can put virtually any type of flooring on top of it to fit your basement needs. And we know that the concrete makes the best basement sub flooring material is because you can seal it to make it water-resistance. Knowing the importance of basement are great to look for. Basement Dehumidifier

[LOTREE]

If it's for insulating purposes I'd go with shiplap rigid foam insualtion [ pink(Owens Corning / blue (Dow) ] and Tuck Tape all seams then sheet with plywood.

If you want the 2x2' panels something like this:

http://www.ovrx.com/basement-insulation-science.html

and the reason I wouldn't go with the dimpled back OSB wood panels you see everywhere if temp/moisture is a concern:

http://www.ovrx.com/subfloor-comparison.html

I'm tempted to take up the subfloor in my basement apartment for the fact it gets so cold during the winter, -25C day with the windchill, and put down rigid foam.

[ecrabb]

If moisture is a concern, you shouldn't be putting finished flooring down at all, and definitely not sealing it with a complete vapor barrier with no airflow ability.

Those Barricade panels look like a neat system, Greg - I hadn't seen those. The only thing I don't like is that if any water does reach the basement slab (due to intrusion, or from the room side), it will never, ever dry. It's stuck there. If you use the panels, it's also damn near $2/sqft... Getting to be nearly as much as decent floor finishes!

If you don't have a moisture problem, the foam idea isn't bad, though... I just looked up 1/4" Dow EPS, and you can get a 4' x 50' stack for $31, so ~$0.15/sqft. Throw a sheet of 15/32 Plytanium ($11.54/4x8) on top, and you're looking at about .36/sqft for a total of close to $0.50/sqft... Which smokes every other subloor method I've been thinking about. I just don't know if I like the non-drying aspect of it.

SC

[LOTREE]

Yeah, that was my concern with rigid foam on cement. While it is a 100% vapor barrier there is the concern of moisture underneath but it seems to be the new building code and I have yet to find anything stating otherwise especially on the topic of increased mold concerns. Considering rigid foam is also used for cement foundation forms and left in place I see no reason not to apply it after the fact. You'd certainly want to be sure there are no existing cracks and/or water seepage before tackling the job.

I guess with the elimination of the air space/movement under the floor you've also eliminated or greately reduced the introduction of mold spores. Watching Holmes on Homes is what made me want to tackle the project. I'm not sure of the exact YouTube video but I can find it if you like. I'll check when I get home.

[LOTREE]

Here you are: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4jSuWbdJy5A