Basement Flooring Guide

Basement floors that are made of concrete have a high chance of being corrupted by moisture. It’s because of the water in liquid or vaporous form that enters into the basement through floor resulting in mold, mildew and the accompanied unpleasant odor. Paint can’t remain in good state in humid conditions and gets peeled off or causes blisters to appear in a matter of time. As a consequence, any kind of carpeting on such floors is bound to collect moisture and get damaged in the process. But, there are ways to seal a basement floor against moisture and gas leakages.

Sodium Silicate Vapor Impermeable Concrete Sealers

It is best to use a sealer with sodium silicate for such applications, as it is impervious to vapors emanating from the interior of a concrete floor. These sealers prove to be better than surface film sealers as the latter still allow water and its vapors to penetrate thru the concrete. Water in vaporous form gets collected beneath the surface of the sealer and as the pressure continues to builds up, blisters begin to appear.

Sodium silicate penetrating sealer works better as it is capable of penetrating thru the concrete up to a depth of four inches. On entering the concrete it reacts with free elements of concrete to give a crystalline structure and seals the microscopic pores on the concrete floor. The concrete gets dense and hardened on curing. That keeps water and its vapors on the exteriors of concrete and can be wiped off or it gets evaporated on its own if there is no covering on the floor.

Gas and Vapor Transmission

When the microscopic pores of the concrete get filled, gas and vapors are unable to penetrate thru the concrete. They can no more migrate from the surrounding soil to the basement area.

Stops Efflorescence

You would have observed a chalky white material appearing on the basement floor. This is known as efflorescence. This is formed as solid salts leash out of the concrete and getting deposited on the surface of the concreter after water gets evaporated. Though a normal process, the application of penetrating concrete sealer stops it altogether.

Advantages of using Penetrating Sodium Silicate Vapor Impermeable Concrete Sealer

* Puts an end to water vapor transmission
* Eliminates water seepage
* Reduces gas and vapor migration
* Makes the surface paint worthy
* Doesn’t cause any change to appearance
* Concrete becomes hardened

Easy Application

Concrete sealers offer the easiest of application and can be applied by just using a brush or roller. However, many people prefer to do it with a pump up garden spray with a flat fan pattern spray tip. That way you get the most even coating of materials. However, you need to make sure that the basement floor is thoroughly clean and dry, devoid of any oils or grease prior to its application.

The leakage in your basement can be controlled by the application of waterproof masonry sealer. You can conveniently get it from any hardware store. This powder is soluble in water. You make a paste of this powder with water and apply on the wall. On getting dried up, it acts as a barrier of moisture. Of course, you’ll make sure that the surface is thoroughly clean before you decide to apply the solution. Having mixed the sealant, follow the instructions of the manufacturer to get desired results.

Any cracks or holes in the wall can be filled by using masonry sealers. This is a very simple job. The mixture is straightaway applied and left to dry. You should understand it’s very important to fill up all the holes and cracks before proceeding with the application of paint; else the final finish may not come to expectations.

It’s good to have some useful tools and materials in stock at home for carrying small projects and you are not required to rush to hardware store every time you want to complete a small renovation or repair job. Some of these tools are wire brushes, trowel, sponges, spanners and screw drivers of different sizes paint thinners and sand and cement.

In case you just want to provide protection to brick work or concrete wall, simply coating them with masonry paint should do the trick. It prevents walls from leaking. As usual, the application of any paint should be preceded by a thorough cleaning of the surface to be painted. Wire brush comes handy for such cleaning. The prepared walls need to be coated with a coat of primer before application of paint. Primer helps to get a smoother finish and prolongs the life of final coat of paint.

Even small projects can make your home a more comfortable place to live in, as they offer better protection from harsh weather conditions. While undertaking any repairing project you should plan it in detail and spend the required time for its completion rather than rushing it up.

All these improvements make your home more desirable and welcoming and possibly add to its value too, should you decide to sell it anytime. There are many homeowners who lack interest in undertaking any renovation project or even to properly maintain the present one. Usual reason is that people take it for sure that such projects are very expensive. It’s not unusual for many home owners to go for a second loan for execution of such projects, but that’s not really appreciable as taking loan sets in the debt spiral.

Most homeowners don’t seem to realize that all such projects for keeping the home in good shape aren’t really too expensive. And, quite a few don’t take much of time also. The expensive projects are usually confined to the bathroom and kitchen.

Replacements with expensive parts work out cheap in the long run than continue having a leaking basement. Another welcoming feature is that most of these projects are easy to do DIY kind of projects and don’t require any special skills or professional help for their completion. For instance, one could conveniently install a shower for under five hundred dollars. Showers are not difficult to install and come with user manuals giving detailed instructions for installation in an easy to understand language.

Now that the basement construction is over, you start thinking on the lines of providing its floor with some kind of covering. It’s a usual practice, and rightly so, to finish the structural part first and then think in terms of painting, flooring and other finishing touches.

Basement flooring need a careful calculated thought, as they are prone to mildew and moisture that can be ruinous. And, what if it gets flooded for any reasons? You have to find a medium that takes care of such eventualities, yet remains affordable. One good practical solution is to use commercial carpet squares and tiles. There are many advantages to using that and make them a very logical choice for basement floor covering. Here are some good reasons that make commercial carpet tile an ideal choice for basement floorings.

1. Almost all commercial carpet tiles come with a hard rubber like material at their back. This backing material has built in characteristics to remain unaffected by water and mildew, thus making carpet tiles a perfect material for basement applications. But, perhaps the best feature of these tiles is that they can be reused even if the basement floods. The tiles can be pulled up and dried out in the sun and reaffixed on the floor after the latter has dried up completely. It’s important to add here that some of the commercial carpet tiles have built-in cushion padding and are somewhat soft. This design of tiles tends to absorb moisture while installing, and should not be used. You should insist on using the variety that has a hard stiff backing.

2. The installation of commercial carpet tiles is very easy. You just glue them down with a suitable adhesive. However, loose lay method is proven to be the best. If the tiles are installed tightly without using any adhesive, it becomes easy to pull them out in case basement gets flooded. Further, it makes so convenient to replace any tile, should the need arise. As matter of fact if the tiles were not glued, you can easily remove them and pressure wash in case of their getting dirty or stained for any reason.

3. Basement floor covering may attract a lot of foot traffic, especially if the garage is next to the finished area. Commercial carpet squares have the capacity to bear heavy traffic. The tiles that you would have often seen at the airports, hotels, and restaurants belong to this category of tiles.

4. Commercial grade carpet tiles can be exploited to get distinctive looks in a room. Basement flooring needs not be bland to remain functional. It’s quite popular to see people using 2 to 3 colors to get checkerboard or contemporary designs. The uses of different colors not only give the basement a designer look, but also hide the seams where the carpet tiles come together.

5. Usually, commercial grad carpet tiles are expensive, but you can get them at affordable prices if you go around the market and conduct a bit of a survey. There are wholesalers offering it for as low a price as $.89 per square foot or even less. That amounts to just $89 for a finished area of 100 square feet! And, if you decide to carry the installation on your own, you further save the expense of installation.

Acid staining concrete results to having deep, rich translucent tones, nothing like paints or coatings that deliver a solid, opaque effect. Depending on one’s preferred color and the techniques applied, the resultant looks can vary from that of polished marble or natural stone to that of tanned leather and even stained wood. The result is a consequence of the reaction of acid stains with the lime content of concrete. Acid stains are unable to penetrate a sealed or painted surface to react with lime, meaning that a painted or sealed concrete surface can’t be treated with acid stains.

Do you need to take away the paint or sealer from the concrete surface before using acid stain over it?

Not really!

The availability of most recent acrylic polymer modified concrete enables you to apply a thin layer (1/8inch thick) of concrete over the present sealed or painted concrete surface with least surface preparation. Here are the essential steps you should take for applying a layer of these polymers for subsequent acid staining over an already painted or sealed concrete surface.

a. Run a sander with 60grit sanding screen all over the place. The sander should be used for a minimum of one hour per thousand square feet. That would ensure the paint or sealer to remain bonded with the substrate.
b Using a mild detergent rinse the surface and let it dry completely.
c. Apply a liberal coat of acrylic primer, Cp1000.
d. Allow this primer to cure overnight.
e. Apply a second coat of acrylic primer, Cp1000. The second coat is just to moisturize the surface.
f. As the primer gets clear and dry to touch, it’s prepared to accept the concrete overlay.
g. Consider using polymer modified concrete overlay, Pentimento, 1/8inch thick. It is a retrievable concrete overlay for getting an extremely smooth concrete finish.
h. After a gap of 24 hours of curing or polymer concrete overlay, it’s time to apply acid stains.
i. Patinaetch acid stain should be sprayed at the rate of 250ft2/gal. Give it time of 2-3 hours to react with lime in the concrete, followed by the normal process of getting rid of residue. Make sure that residue is thoroughly cleaned before using ammonia to neutralize the surface.
j. Let the surface get dry completely, giving it at least 24 hours, and then seal it with one coat of water based epoxy, Perdüre E32 followed by another coat of water based polyurethane, Perdüre U46.

Application of Pentimento does not take care of the problem of moisture. It will be very desirable to have a MVER test done before applying Pentimento and acid staining with Patinaetch. At times it may prove to be better and cost saving option to go for concrete resurfacing than grinding off the paint or sealer. Even if they are removed from the surface, there is no surety of your getting the desired results after acid staining.

There are a few things that need your attention before you get started with your basement flooring. A very important factor is to know the purpose for which you are going to use the basement. Once you have defined the purpose, it becomes easy to zeroing on the best choice of material for the purpose. The basement may be used for many different purposes. For instance you may consider using it as a bedroom or may be a gym, else as a laundry room. You will agree that the requirements of flooring would be different if it were used for laundry applications than it was for say a bedroom. You may simply use it for storage purposes or develop it to a recreation room. Unless you plan to store edibles for a long time, the choice of flooring wouldn’t really matter on its being used for storing household items. So, the choice of flooring material changes with what you finally want the room for.

Having decided the purpose of utilizing the basement, you need to consider the type of flooring it would have. Basements are too well known to attract humidity and moisture, being below ground level. Quite often you may not see moisture or dampness on the floor or walls, but you may yet feel it from the smell of mildew or stale odor. The porous nature of cement facilitates seepage of water on the walls and floor, in case you have concrete floors that have not been sealed sufficiently. You have to arrange for its waterproofing to prevent seepage of water.

In case the concrete flooring of your basement is not too pleasing, you may consider having another material installed over it. While helping to make the space with more comfortable looks, it will also reduce the damages likely to be caused by moisture. The finished floor will get a smoother finish and look warmer. This will also help saving the floor below from any kind of spillage and keep it dry even in case of a broken or cracked pipe. However, if the basement is already very dry, you may avoid having a sub floor.

Basement flooring can have many of the materials for installation. But, it is good to consider the purpose for which you intend using the basement. Perhaps you plan to have a bedroom there, and then who is going to use that? Generally, people would keep it for guests who are not going to be around for long. Under such a situation any economical material that doesn’t require frequent cleaning and maintenance will be more suitable. Why not have plain cement floors? You may just coordinate the colors on walls and the ceiling to get a somewhat cool atmosphere as basements are generally totally enclosed having no windows.

It may be a good idea to have ceramic or porcelain tiles. They are easy to clean and maintain. Moreover, they are perhaps the easiest to install. However, it is too well known that the most important part of installing such floors is the preparation of floor. Before installing tiles make sure that the floor is devoid of any cracks or creases in cement, else the tiles may develop cracks soon after installation. Once the grout has set and the tiles have been cleaned to shine, you may start moving in the objects that you might have planned and continue to enjoy the place.

Contrary to common belief, the water damage to basement foundation is not only thru saturated soil surrounding the home, but also thru improper or insufficient drainage in the basement area. Water in the soil due its inherent nature of coming up to the top pushes the floor from below. The hydrostatic pressure so built up presses against all surfaces of the basements, including floor and walls. That’s why houses with imperfect waterproofing in the basement develop cracks on the floor and walls.

Under normal circumstances, groundwater or rainwater in underdeveloped areas continues to go down the soil due gravitational force. Sooner or later this water goes to join some underground reservoirs or another natural source of water like a spring, creed or river. When we build houses or buildings on such an area that had lot of groundwater beneath, there is a significant change of circumstances. Water that had hitherto been free to move in the soil meets with the resistance offered by foundations, and that causes problems to homeowners with improper drainage.

Hydrostatic pressure from surrounding saturated soil begins to build up gradually and presses against basement walls and the floor. This continuous pressure causes floors and walls to develop cracks and moisture seeps thru them, leading to build up of mold and mildew. If ignored, this can cost a lot of money for being fixed. That’s what makes it all the more important to improve drainage system prior to heavy rains because emergency repairs in case of an unanticipated flood will surely cost a lot more than simple preventative maintenance.

If we provide proper footer drain tiles around the footing of the foundation, the excess of water can be routed away from your home, thus preventing pressure on the floor and walls. Unless it’s too old a house, the foundation would have been provided with some kind of drainage system. Quite often, just repairing or cleaning of existing drainage suffices the purpose. That’s definitely cheaper than excavation and installation of new footer drains.

Very often the existing footer drain tiles of clay get obstructed or broken by accumulated dirt or tree roots. As a result, water is unable to move away from your home and hence all the complications. Drain cleaning companies can find the exact location of the blockage without digging all around your home by just tapping into a small portion of the drainage system surrounding your home.

It makes sense to get estimates from a few companies before finalizing your contract with a waterproofing company to take care of your damaged basement floor and walls. Rather than delaying the action, you should plan in time and take timely action needed for correcting your foundation and save yourself from the unnecessarily heavy expense that may be incurred to avert an emergent situation later.

Having a bathroom basement would certainly complete the idea of really using it as an extension of the main house, thereby putting it to better use. Undoubtedly, it adds value to your home without adding to its exteriors, thus keeping the project affordable.

As you know basements are generally dark and cold places and it’s not really encouraging to be there. So, before you add a bathroom there, you have to ensure that it would be put to use, otherwise what’s the point to invest in having a new one built. And to encourage your family to be visiting the basement it has to be given better welcoming looks. And, one way to make it more inviting is by treating its floor. The bathroom remodeling has to be done in way that the whole basement becomes a good-looking functional area.

In most of the cases the basement floor is poured concrete. Depending on the kind of overall finish of your basement, it might have been painted or left just like that. Some are provided with carpets to make it more inviting with warmer looks. But, let’s not overlook the fact that carpets are easily damaged by water, and basements are known to be humid. A carpeted basement has to be totally waterproof. Moreover, if it rains heavily, you may have water coming in the basement and that could seriously damage your carpet.

You just can’t avoid moisture in and around a bathroom. If planning to have a bathroom in the basement, it may not be the best choice to have carpets on the floor. Even if it’s there, you should have it removed. In any case you will be required to remove or remodel some part the floor to accommodate plumbing for the new bathroom. That results to having a completely new or mostly new concrete floor. Some house owners leave the flooring in basements just like that. That’s not very encouraging to start patronizing basemen so frequently that you feel the need of having a bathroom there. Let’s understand that a bare concrete floor is not encouraging the use of our bathroom and one reason is that however hard you may try, a concrete floor begins to look dirty soon after you have cleaned it.

The situation can be avoided by installing a tile, vinyl or ceramic floor. These materials result to having attractive neat floors that are not damaged by moisture or humidity. That’s a great plus for any basement material. While finalizing your choice of material for the purpose you’ll need to take consideration of your budget, the preset state of concrete floor and the final look that you would like it to give it. While thinking of colors, just keep in mind that dark colors do not really jell with the atmosphere of basements. The reason, as basements are already deprived of most of the incoming sun and are dark, needs special lighting arrangements; addition of any more dark colors will become overwhelming. You may yet use strong colors but only to accentuate certain elements.

Most of the bathrooms in the basements are quite small, compared to the ones above ground. So, you need to be more considerate about flooring of such bathrooms, as small places are difficult to clean and maintain. It would be worth spending time planning it, lest you be on your knees for its cleaning or removing mildew stains. So, choose a material that is easily cleaned.

The floor of your basement bathroom may not be the most important aspect of this project, yet it should not be overlooked. Ultimately it is the choice of flooring that finally matters to motivate people to start visiting this part of your home, and hence the new bathroom. You would be glad that you spent time considering different options before going ahead with the present one that enabled the place to have good looking inviting looks.

One of the least visited places in your home is the basement. Basements have this stigma attached of being damp, old, dark storage place. We are reminded of its cold floors and the accompanied chillness. But, that’s the result of our own doing. Basements could be put to so many different uses, if only you made some efforts to change its appearance! The availability of modern basement floorings can help you do that. On its acquiring a better appearance you will be prompted to make better use of it. Additionally, you have to plan the role it’s going to play in your routine life. You should have fairly good idea of the purpose you intend using it for. That will help to plan better. Here are a few ideas to help you transform your cold and old basement to a warm comfortable room of your home.

Basement flooring definitely forms a part of the total design that you may have for making the place more comfortable and welcoming. Basement being a part of your home should not be neglected. On the contrary it should be put to better use, otherwise you are wasting such a valuable space under your disposal for which you certainly are paying. The same idea should be extended to the rest of your home, make optimum use of all the space in each and every room by adding some comforts therein.

Basically our mindset towards basements wouldn’t prompt us to look for alternatives for putting it to some better use. With little effort and a bit of imagination, your basement could become a nice and inviting room for the family or a place to entertain people. You may even turn it to a small personal movie theater. The walls and floor are already there. All you need to do is to have suitable seating arrangements and a welcoming ambience that may call for attractive flooring. Whatever purpose you may have in mind for this space, you would in all probability like to cover its existing flooring, which most often is concrete.

You may paint the walls to complement the flooring or else have flooring in a color of your choice and paint the walls to match its color. In case you plan to convert your basement to a family room you should have a convenient to clean flooring that is durable too. Why not go for linoleum or some kind of tiles. Carpets look nice but tend to get dirty a bit too fast. So, keep in mind the quality and volume of traffic that you may have there. The remodeled basement could well be used to entertain people. Otherwise it may well be utilized for housing game tables or a pool table.

Concrete is the most common flooring encountered in basements. You may continue with that, yet give it a new look. A good option is to apply epoxy paints. They are available in many colors and don’t cause any change in the composition of concrete. You have a choice of solid colors or you may have stains added therein to get an inviting look for basement flooring. With so many options available these days why would anyone continue having old, uninviting basement flooring?

Intentionally or otherwise, the basement in most households ends up being used for dumping of all the things not required in the main house. As a result, it gets neglected most of the time, though it’s very much a part of the house. Nevertheless, basements can really be put to a number of better uses. Whichever better way you may decide to use it, you will need to give its flooring a treatment in accordance with the intended purpose of use. So, here are some of the more popular types of basement flooring with their purposes and plus and minus points.

Concrete – That’s the kind of flooring you come across most often in basements. Most of the people use basement for storage purposes and concrete floor is just fine for that. Basements that have lot of foot traffic or movement of goods do well to with concrete flooring. Concrete flooring is also desirable for people who like to tinker with things in the workshop modeled in basements. They can conveniently keep moving things in and out of house without causing any disturbance to the rest of the household. Perhaps only concrete floor can accept that kind of abuse. But these concrete floors certainly don’t make a very pleasant sight.

Ceramic Tile – Though a better option than concrete, ceramic tiles are not desirable for basement floors that witness high foot traffic or haulage of heavy items more regularly. As basements are known to attract moisture with high level of humidity, tiles will protect your floor from water damage. That makes them good for having washing and drying machines.

Hardwood Laminate – If you have really transformed the basement to be an extension of your home, this is the ideal flooring. In true sense it means your basement is not used as a dump yard but is functioning like a game room, library, music room, or whatever. For such conversions of basements hardwood laminate make warm nice looking flooring. But again, you have to provide a good ventilating system for using such floorings because basements are known to inherit moisture build-up. If the basement remains closed for most of the time, the humidity reaches a high level that damages wood.

Thick Carpeting – that’s the easiest way of giving a new look to your basement. The limitation is that carpets can’t bear heavy traffic for long, nor does it allow frequent dragging or hauling of heavy items on its surface. However, if the basement is used for storing comparatively lighter and small items, carpets help to give a soft look to the basement. Another problem with carpets, as we all know is that they help build-ups assisted by the moisture and humidity that can’t really be avoided altogether in a basement. But, then it may be taken care of by installing a dehumidifier.

Rubber/Foam Mats – They have the best of properties of both, carpets and tiles. They are better than carpets as they don’t encourage molds and or other build up yet remain softer than tiles. They are waterproof. The most significant feature is that they dampen noise. That makes them very useful for basements that have a lot of activity and the resultant noise, as rubber mats will muffle up the noise generated therein. You can further add to their noise absorbing characteristics by suitably incorporating insulating materials in the basement. It can be so effectively designed that you may even use power tools at night without causing any disturbance to the household or neighbors.

Radiant Heating – Houses in cold climates would really find it difficult to get a better option than this. These waterproof panels are sturdy and would continue to contain heat even in severe winters. But these very characteristics make them undesirable for houses in hotter climates, as basements are characteristically hot and the heat contained in basements brings around humid conditions. Naturally, such a flooring will add to the problem in houses located in tropical regions.