Basement Flooring Guide

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.