Found 18 results for the keyword(s) ‘Basement, Floors’

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  Myths and misconceptions about concrete and water

  A comment from a reader: "I notice in your section on self leveling concrete that you mention about needing to let the water out before putting anything on top of the new compound. (Self Leveling Concrete) This is a common misconception about concrete, in fact the water does not leave, it become...
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  Creating Drainage Paths Under Basement Walls

    For years we have talked about protecting the sill plate of basement walls from moisture rising up from the concrete.  This could be water in the concrete from plumbing spills, or even from under the slab from a high-water table.  The old standard ways to protect that bottom piece of wood on t...
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  Floor covering in a basement

  I'm asked a lot about covering a floor in a basement. There are several considerations we need to deal with: the hard and cold concrete and maybe with levelling the floor. Of course we need to pay attention to water, either coming from outside the house or from plumbing spills inside the house si...
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  How do you properly stand a stud wall up against a basement wall?

  When we are working with wood studs we generally build the wall on the floor and then lean it up to the wall. But in the basement we have all kinds of overhead obstructions, so if you just tip it up, you will probably find yourself blocked by pipes or ducts. The secret is like in the photo, to b...
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  Stopping flies and gasses from coming out of my basement floor drain with Dranjer!

  I have had several letters recently about bad smells and even flies coming up out of basement floor drains and sump pump pits. One viewer was quoted hundreds of dollars to break up the entire basement and replace all the sewer lines. The real problem is usually that the trap under the floor has ...
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  Full height basement insulation? An animation explaining why the answer is YES.

  An animation on a CD that I produced with the Reader's Digest several years ago showed clearly why you should insulate the entire wall all the way down to the floor. No, you won't freeze anything outside, as the important footings are below the frost depth anyway and there is always some heat los...
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  How do you trace drains under the basement floor?

  The most effective technique, one that can save you hundreds of dollars of erroneous digging, is to use a "sonar probe".         This gadget is often combined with a video camera designed to look inside sewer pipes.           An emitter probe is snaked into the drain line. You walk...
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  What makes a good sump pump pit?

  It is rather surprising to me how little information there is available on sump pumps and more specifically on sump pump pits.  We find two basic kinds installed in homes. One is just a water collection box where perimeter drains flow and a pump then lifts the water up and away from the house. ...
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  Where should basement furnace ducts be placed?

  Doug from Manilla, Ontario checked this site for basement heating systems: "I read the section? on cold air returns in the basement, however I could not find anything on where hot air vents should be placed. Do they need to be at the floor level or at the ceiling level?" In the house above the f...
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  Can I install a floating floor in a basement bathroom?

  No flooring company recommends any kind of wooden floor in a bathroom, and even fewer (fewer than no?) who would recommend it in a basement bathroom where you might not only have water constantly spilling from the top but maybe moisture coming up from the floor.You want to do it anyway? OK, here...