Jay Pique wrote:
Just bought an 1890 two-story brick house with a stone foundation.
The basement is dirt right now, and I'd like to pour a concrete slab
down there. There's sufficient cieling height for a 4" slab without
excavating, which I'd definitely prefer not to do. Do I need a vapor
barrier? Can I just pour right over the dirt? I'm just starting to
do my research, so any thoughts or info would be appreciated.

JP
Call your friendly local concrete flatwork company and get an estimate.
Unless house is tiny, too much concrete to hand-mix or with a rental
mixer, unless you pour it as multiple slabs. Need to make sure there is
drainage before you do anything. 1890 house will not have outside
foundation drains, so you will likely need gravel and a sump pit. Also a
good time to replace any interior posts with modern ones with proper
footers, and do any needed floor leveling. Are you SURE about ceiling
height? Just because you don't bang your head, does it meet local code
to be counted as living space? And is there an outside entry to get the
concrete down there? Carrying it down in buckets sucks.

This will not be a cheap project. It is worth the money to get on-site
professional advice, and probably have a pro do most of the work.
Floating concrete is not as easy as it looks. You also want a pro
inspection of the mortar/chinking on the stone foundation. 1890s mortar
loves to turn to dust without warning if there is a heavy rain.

If cost is an issue, and basement is basically dry, lots of vintage
house owners put a brick or paver floor down instead of concrete. Much
easier for a DIY, since you can do a few feet at a time. And if it ever
floods, easy to take up to do any repair on drains and such.

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