I'm fixing up my workshop in the basement. The floor is a concrete
slab, and I plan to cover it with vinyl/ rubber tiles. Moisture is not
a problem.

There is a gap between the slab and the cinder block walls. This gap
is only about 1/8" wide at two of the walls, but along the long wall
the gap widens in a few places to about 1". Along the edge of the slab
there is insulation, some kind of Styrofoam. The top of this
insulation has deteriorated somewhat over the years (the house is 20+
years old), but looks reasonable. In most spots, the gap is only about
1/4" deep (some loose insulation chips, small "rubble" is visible),
but for about 3-4 feet the gap is much deeper, about 1 - 1 1/2".
Again, there is some "rubble" visible in the gap. Using a flashlight,
I can see a space between the insulation and the foundation wall, but
I can't see how far down this space goes, for obvious reasons.

I was thinking of sealing the gap (the top section that is) before
laying the tiles (now or never...).
Cement is the obvious choice, but I've heard of this thing called
"temperature" and "expansion". That's what I get for watching all
those DIY shows. Ignorance is bliss......

So, I thought about cutting a strip of thin board (1/8"), place this
in the gap against the wall, and then fill the gap with cement,
effectively using the board as a form. That should leave enough room
for expansion.
What material would work best? Vinyl concrete patcher? Some sort of
epoxy? Ordinary cement?

Thanks.

wrote in message
oups.com...
I'm fixing up my workshop in the basement. The floor is a concrete
slab, and I plan to cover it with vinyl/ rubber tiles. Moisture is not
a problem.

There is a gap between the slab and the cinder block walls. This gap
is only about 1/8" wide at two of the walls, but along the long wall
the gap widens in a few places to about 1". Along the edge of the slab
there is insulation, some kind of Styrofoam. The top of this
insulation has deteriorated somewhat over the years (the house is 20+
years old), but looks reasonable. In most spots, the gap is only about
1/4" deep (some loose insulation chips, small "rubble" is visible),
but for about 3-4 feet the gap is much deeper, about 1 - 1 1/2".
Again, there is some "rubble" visible in the gap. Using a flashlight,
I can see a space between the insulation and the foundation wall, but
I can't see how far down this space goes, for obvious reasons.

I was thinking of sealing the gap (the top section that is) before
laying the tiles (now or never...).
Cement is the obvious choice, but I've heard of this thing called
"temperature" and "expansion". That's what I get for watching all
those DIY shows. Ignorance is bliss......

So, I thought about cutting a strip of thin board (1/8"), place this
in the gap against the wall, and then fill the gap with cement,
effectively using the board as a form. That should leave enough room
for expansion.
What material would work best? Vinyl concrete patcher? Some sort of
epoxy? Ordinary cement?

Thanks.


Perhaps you should leave the gap as it is and just place baseboard along the
walls. That way if the slab needs to move it can.

--
Roger Shoaf
If you are not part of the solution, you are not dissolved in the solvent.

wrote in message
oups.com...
I'm fixing up my workshop in the basement. The floor is a concrete
slab, and I plan to cover it with vinyl/ rubber tiles. Moisture is not
a problem.

There is a gap between the slab and the cinder block walls. This gap
is only about 1/8" wide at two of the walls, but along the long wall
the gap widens in a few places to about 1". Along the edge of the slab
there is insulation, some kind of Styrofoam. The top of this
insulation has deteriorated somewhat over the years (the house is 20+
years old), but looks reasonable. In most spots, the gap is only about
1/4" deep (some loose insulation chips, small "rubble" is visible),
but for about 3-4 feet the gap is much deeper, about 1 - 1 1/2".
Again, there is some "rubble" visible in the gap. Using a flashlight,
I can see a space between the insulation and the foundation wall, but
I can't see how far down this space goes, for obvious reasons.

I was thinking of sealing the gap (the top section that is) before
laying the tiles (now or never...).
Cement is the obvious choice, but I've heard of this thing called
"temperature" and "expansion". That's what I get for watching all
those DIY shows. Ignorance is bliss......

So, I thought about cutting a strip of thin board (1/8"), place this
in the gap against the wall, and then fill the gap with cement,
effectively using the board as a form. That should leave enough room
for expansion.
What material would work best? Vinyl concrete patcher? Some sort of
epoxy? Ordinary cement?

Thanks.
People will probably scream but I have seen tile layers fill this kind of
gap with thinset mortar more than once. No it's not really intended for that
but I have torn up installations where it had been done years before and
still looked fine. You might want to just partially fill the wide areas and
leave whatever can be easily covered with quarter round or baseboard for
expansion as somebody else suggested.

This stuff is made specifically to address your problem .. .. ..

http://www.latexite.com/pr-crkstix.html



I was thinking of sealing the gap (the top section that is) before
laying the tiles (now or never...).
Cement is the obvious choice, but I've heard of this thing called
"temperature" and "expansion". That's what I get for watching all
those DIY shows. Ignorance is bliss......

So, I thought about cutting a strip of thin board (1/8"), place this
in the gap against the wall, and then fill the gap with cement,
effectively using the board as a form. That should leave enough room
for expansion.
What material would work best? Vinyl concrete patcher?

On Mar 28, 9:22 pm, " wrote:
I'm fixing up my workshop in the basement. The floor is a concrete
slab, and I plan to cover it with vinyl/ rubber tiles. Moisture is not
a problem.

There is a gap between the slab and the cinder block walls. This gap
is only about 1/8" wide at two of the walls, but along the long wall
the gap widens in a few places to about 1". Along the edge of the slab
there is insulation, some kind of Styrofoam. The top of this
insulation has deteriorated somewhat over the years (the house is 20+
years old), but looks reasonable. In most spots, the gap is only about
1/4" deep (some loose insulation chips, small "rubble" is visible),
but for about 3-4 feet the gap is much deeper, about 1 - 1 1/2".
Again, there is some "rubble" visible in the gap. Using a flashlight,
I can see a space between the insulation and the foundation wall, but
I can't see how far down this space goes, for obvious reasons.

I was thinking of sealing the gap (the top section that is) before
laying the tiles (now or never...).
Cement is the obvious choice, but I've heard of this thing called
"temperature" and "expansion". That's what I get for watching all
those DIY shows. Ignorance is bliss......

So, I thought about cutting a strip of thin board (1/8"), place this
in the gap against the wall, and then fill the gap with cement,
effectively using the board as a form. That should leave enough room
for expansion.
What material would work best? Vinyl concrete patcher? Some sort of
epoxy? Ordinary cement?

Thanks.

My basement is above ground on the back and side walls and is half
finished (a third side). Has unused French drain. I framed and
insulated the exposed sides and covered with painted peg board making
it great for hanging tools and things. Floor painted but if tiled
would not show gap. I think you should leave yours alone and not fill
it.

Also there is no such thing as a dry basement. I've had 2 minor water
excursion incidents in the 30+ years I've lived here, both due to not
maintaining draining from downspouts. Simple extensions solved
problems but any time rain water hits side of house, there is
potential for water in basement.

Frank

On Mar 29, 8:38 am, "Frank" wrote:
On Mar 28, 9:22 pm, " wrote:





I'm fixing up my workshop in the basement. The floor is a concrete
slab, and I plan to cover it with vinyl/ rubber tiles. Moisture is not
a problem.

There is a gap between the slab and the cinder block walls. This gap
is only about 1/8" wide at two of the walls, but along the long wall
the gap widens in a few places to about 1". Along the edge of the slab
there is insulation, some kind of Styrofoam. The top of this
insulation has deteriorated somewhat over the years (the house is 20+
years old), but looks reasonable. In most spots, the gap is only about
1/4" deep (some loose insulation chips, small "rubble" is visible),
but for about 3-4 feet the gap is much deeper, about 1 - 1 1/2".
Again, there is some "rubble" visible in the gap. Using a flashlight,
I can see a space between the insulation and the foundation wall, but
I can't see how far down this space goes, for obvious reasons.

I was thinking of sealing the gap (the top section that is) before
laying the tiles (now or never...).
Cement is the obvious choice, but I've heard of this thing called
"temperature" and "expansion". That's what I get for watching all
those DIY shows. Ignorance is bliss......

So, I thought about cutting a strip of thin board (1/8"), place this
in the gap against the wall, and then fill the gap with cement,
effectively using the board as a form. That should leave enough room
for expansion.
What material would work best? Vinyl concrete patcher? Some sort of
epoxy? Ordinary cement?

Thanks.

My basement is above ground on the back and side walls and is half
finished (a third side). Has unused French drain. I framed and
insulated the exposed sides and covered with painted peg board making
it great for hanging tools and things. Floor painted but if tiled
would not show gap. I think you should leave yours alone and not fill
it.

Also there is no such thing as a dry basement. I've had 2 minor water
excursion incidents in the 30+ years I've lived here, both due to not
maintaining draining from downspouts. Simple extensions solved
problems but any time rain water hits side of house, there is
potential for water in basement.

Frank- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

I agree with Frank. I have a similar set up....finished basement with
cinder wall and concrete slab floor with a small gap. I also had some
minor water issues and was GLAD the seepage went down the gap and not
puddle on the concrete floor.

If you really want to seal the gap, why not use the "foam in a can"?
It comes in a "gap filler" formula for larger spaces. From
experience, don't try to wipe away any excess when wet. Just let it
harden up, then trim with a razor knife.

--Jeff

Gentlemen,

Thanks for all the great advice. Water can indeed be a problem. I have
good drainage, even the heaviest of rainstorms doesn't affect the
basement. But....I have a pipe running from the A/C to the outside
(condensation water), and last summer tied a utility sink outside into
this drain. My wife was filling up the sink the other day, and water was
coming out the little vent pipe inside. It went right down the gap in
the corner grin.

I extended the vent pipe of course, but it certainly supports what Frank
said.

So, I plan to use a combination of the various ideas.
- Leave the gap where it is narrow
- There are some areas I can't cover with tile (HVAC, well pump/ tank).
Coincidentally (well, probably not...), this is where the gap is widest.
I will partially fill the gap with some expanding foam (just to give it
an edge), then use some thinset (or maybe just gray paint) over it to
make it blend in
- Install baseboard along the sides. Conventional (wood) baseboard is
not going to attach easily to cinder block, so I was looking at vinyl
baseboard instead. Something 1/4" thick should do the job.

Again, thanks for all the advice.


JB wrote:
On Mar 29, 8:38 am, "Frank" wrote:
Floor painted but if tiled
would not show gap. I think you should leave yours alone and not fill
it.

Also there is no such thing as a dry basement. I've had 2 minor water
excursion incidents in the 30+ years I've lived here, both due to not
maintaining draining from downspouts. Simple extensions solved
problems but any time rain water hits side of house, there is
potential for water in basement.


I agree with Frank. I have a similar set up....finished basement with
cinder wall and concrete slab floor with a small gap. I also had some
minor water issues and was GLAD the seepage went down the gap and not
puddle on the concrete floor.

If you really want to seal the gap, why not use the "foam in a can"?
It comes in a "gap filler" formula for larger spaces. From
experience, don't try to wipe away any excess when wet. Just let it
harden up, then trim with a razor knife.

--Jeff

I'm fixing up my workshop in the basement. The floor is a concrete
slab, and I plan to cover it with vinyl/ rubber tiles. Moisture is not
a problem.

There is a gap between the slab and the cinder block walls. This gap
is only about 1/8" wide at two of the walls, but along the long wall
the gap widens in a few places to about 1". Along the edge of the slab


Whatever you put in should be squishable. Tarred felt is usual,
isn't it?