Hello all, I am re-doing myu basement and am going to be putting down a wood
floor and laminate flooring on top of it. I was going to strap the concrete
floor with 2x1's and then 1/2 inch plywood on top. Should I put anything on
the floor like a vapour barrier? How far should I space my 2x1's from each
other? I was going to run them parralel to,one another about 12" apart..
Any help appreciated
Kudos
Steve

--

Why do you need wood, just do the laminate over concrete with a vapor
barrier.

dude wrote:
Hello all, I am re-doing myu basement and am going to be putting down
a wood floor and laminate flooring on top of it. I was going to strap
the concrete floor with 2x1's and then 1/2 inch plywood on top.
Should I put anything on the floor like a vapour barrier? How far
should I space my 2x1's from each other? I was going to run them
parralel to,one another about 12" apart.. Any help appreciated
Kudos
Steve

Do a dampness test first. Tape a 12"X12" piece of tin foil to the floor for
two days. Peel it off and look at the concrete. If it's dark (ie damp) then
you probably want to use a vapour barrier. Strapping's not a bad idea it
will allow you to shim if the floor if uneven. Plywood is a good base.
Personally I'd space the straps 16" OC perpendicular to the direction of the
plywood. I'm not sure how worried about you are about sqeaks in the basement
but you could also use construction adhesive to hold your plywood to the
straps. Are you planning on just floating the straps or fastening them down
too?

"dude" wrote in message
sgroups.com...
Hello all, I am re-doing myu basement and am going to be putting down a
wood
floor and laminate flooring on top of it. I was going to strap the
concrete
floor with 2x1's and then 1/2 inch plywood on top. Should I put anything
on
the floor like a vapour barrier? How far should I space my 2x1's from each
other? I was going to run them parralel to,one another about 12" apart..
Any help appreciated
Kudos
Steve

You need a vapor barrier. If you want to go with the strapping and plywood,
put some sheets of 3/4" insulation between the straps also.

OTOH, with laminate, you don't need the strapping or the plywood. It is an
unneeded step unless you have other reasons to do it.

Beware uneven concrete surface, particularly high spots. It's an imperfect
world, and long pieces of wood placed over a "bumpy" surface won't look
good. Personally, I don't think hardwood was ever intended to be placed on
slab, but nowadays it's done frequently...with mixed results.
Once you've got your beautiful floor in place, then you have to "defend" it.
Consider flooring that can be removed piecemeal. What if your refrigerator
leaks and buckles one part of the floor? Could be a real headache. I hate
those automatic water and ice dispensers in refrigerators; their plumbing is
sometimes inadequate to stand the test of time, resulting in leakage. Your
insurer might balk, rightfully, if your leak is a "slow" one.

"dude" wrote in message
sgroups.com...
Hello all, I am re-doing myu basement and am going to be putting down a
wood
floor and laminate flooring on top of it. I was going to strap the
concrete
floor with 2x1's and then 1/2 inch plywood on top. Should I put anything
on
the floor like a vapour barrier? How far should I space my 2x1's from each
other? I was going to run them parralel to,one another about 12" apart..
Any help appreciated
Kudos
Steve

--

Hello,
The floor is uneven and slopes toward a drain that i have my wash basin
attached to. I definitely have to get the floor even. My problem is the
basement is half finished by the previous owner and
i've been fixing up their screw-ups. It looks like the floor that they have
has tar paper (yes tar paper) under neath it. Therefore
Iassume I need a type of vapour barrier. On top of the wood floor they've
laid 3 different carpets. I just want to redo it all with laminate floor or
maybe carpet. I plan on fastening them with concrete screws and then
screwing the plywood into the straps.
thanks

"dude" wrote in message
sgroups.com...
Hello all, I am re-doing myu basement and am going to be putting down a
wood
floor and laminate flooring on top of it. I was going to strap the
concrete
floor with 2x1's and then 1/2 inch plywood on top. Should I put anything
on
the floor like a vapour barrier? How far should I space my 2x1's from each
other? I was going to run them parralel to,one another about 12" apart..
Any help appreciated
Kudos
Steve

--

Floors are suposed to slope to the drain, If you flood or When not if
your water heater goes or a pipe or laundry hose breaks you will ruin
your wood floor. There is good reason basement floors are not wood.
Water always finds the lowest spot.

I am suggesting your apply a clear coating to the concrete, and throw down
plenty of rugs. If you want to tempt fate, you can glue down rugs, but
removal of the glue, someday, will be a real problem, especially in a
submerged space with no ventilation. In fact, even applying glue in such a
space is problematical.

"dude" wrote on 30 Jan 2005:

I am ina cold part of the
country and want to improve the insulation value of my basement.
Therefore putting in a wood floor above the cold concrete is
easier on the feet and will help to keep the basement and house
warmer.

If your basement is fully underground, the temperature of the
concrete floor (and the walls 2'-4' below the surface of the ground
will be 55 degrees. I like insulation over the concrete too, but
it's not going to be doing a whole lot for you. As another poster
noted, a thick pad and heavy carpet will insulate very nicely.

--
Doug Boulter

To reply by e-mail, remove the obvious word from the e-mail address

"dude" wrote on 30 Jan 2005:

My problem is the
basement is half finished by the previous owner and
i've been fixing up their screw-ups. It looks like the floor
that they have has tar paper (yes tar paper) under neath it.

Um, that's not necessarily a screw-up. Felt (what you're calling
tar paper) is SUPPOSED to be installed between a wood subfloor and
strip flooring. It also functions as a vapor barrier to some
degree.

--
Doug Boulter

To reply by e-mail, remove the obvious word from the e-mail address

dude wrote:
Hello,
The floor is uneven and slopes toward a drain that i have my wash basin
attached to. I definitely have to get the floor even. My problem is the
basement is half finished by the previous owner and
i've been fixing up their screw-ups. It looks like the floor that they have
has tar paper (yes tar paper) under neath it. Therefore
Iassume I need a type of vapour barrier. On top of the wood floor they've
laid 3 different carpets. I just want to redo it all with laminate floor or
maybe carpet. I plan on fastening them with concrete screws and then
screwing the plywood into the straps.
thanks

"dude" wrote in message
sgroups.com...

Hello all, I am re-doing myu basement and am going to be putting down a

wood

floor and laminate flooring on top of it. I was going to strap the

concrete

floor with 2x1's and then 1/2 inch plywood on top. Should I put anything

on

the floor like a vapour barrier? How far should I space my 2x1's from each
other? I was going to run them parralel to,one another about 12" apart..
Any help appreciated
Kudos
Steve

--






Dear 'Dude'

I have a similar uneven concrete floor, with far more grade in places
than necessary which makes my table saw and and other machines slant.
The basement is about 1500sqft. So far the cheapest and best solution
will be to hire someone to pour new concrete (through a small window
with road access thankfully) and reset the grade. Then part of the
floor (my shop, furnace, drain, storage) can stay concrete, and the
other section I will probably put 2x2' chipboard 'tiles' with a plastic
dimpled backing. They snap together, give you an air space, vapour
barrier and a way for water to run down the original concrete to the
drain (a requirement as others have pointed out.) You can easily put
additional drain openings in a couple of places to allow any water to
get down to the slab (and to the drain)

Also, before doing this, make sure your drain line is in good shape all
the way to the street. You wouldn't want to have to rip it all up if
your drain backs up. The drain guy that did mine told me to also
install a valve in the floor drain to prevent the sewer from backing up
into your basement. Cheaper than insurance.

I haven't done any laminate, but I've done 3000sqft of hardwood
upstairs. I wouldn't put a solid floor on a concrete slab unless the
slab was FLAT. Shimming your 2x1 grid may be alot of work (and I'd put
down 3/4" ply). I may just put a coat of poly on the chipboard tiles
and put down area rugs. I think it will look fine for a basement, and
it will be warmer and more pleasant to be down there.

Rob

Hi Rob,
Could you please go into more detail on this:

"The drain guy that did mine told me to also
install a valve in the floor drain to prevent the sewer from backing up
into your basement. Cheaper than insurance."

What type of valve?

thanks
Steve



"Rob Mitchell" wrote in message
...
dude wrote:
Hello,
The floor is uneven and slopes toward a drain that i have my wash basin
attached to. I definitely have to get the floor even. My problem is the
basement is half finished by the previous owner and
i've been fixing up their screw-ups. It looks like the floor that they
have
has tar paper (yes tar paper) under neath it. Therefore
Iassume I need a type of vapour barrier. On top of the wood floor
they've
laid 3 different carpets. I just want to redo it all with laminate floor
or
maybe carpet. I plan on fastening them with concrete screws and then
screwing the plywood into the straps.
thanks

"dude" wrote in message
sgroups.com...

Hello all, I am re-doing myu basement and am going to be putting down a

wood

floor and laminate flooring on top of it. I was going to strap the

concrete

floor with 2x1's and then 1/2 inch plywood on top. Should I put anything

on

the floor like a vapour barrier? How far should I space my 2x1's from
each
other? I was going to run them parralel to,one another about 12" apart..
Any help appreciated
Kudos
Steve

--






Dear 'Dude'

I have a similar uneven concrete floor, with far more grade in places
than necessary which makes my table saw and and other machines slant.
The basement is about 1500sqft. So far the cheapest and best solution
will be to hire someone to pour new concrete (through a small window
with road access thankfully) and reset the grade. Then part of the
floor (my shop, furnace, drain, storage) can stay concrete, and the
other section I will probably put 2x2' chipboard 'tiles' with a plastic
dimpled backing. They snap together, give you an air space, vapour
barrier and a way for water to run down the original concrete to the
drain (a requirement as others have pointed out.) You can easily put
additional drain openings in a couple of places to allow any water to
get down to the slab (and to the drain)

Also, before doing this, make sure your drain line is in good shape all
the way to the street. You wouldn't want to have to rip it all up if
your drain backs up. The drain guy that did mine told me to also
install a valve in the floor drain to prevent the sewer from backing up
into your basement. Cheaper than insurance.

I haven't done any laminate, but I've done 3000sqft of hardwood
upstairs. I wouldn't put a solid floor on a concrete slab unless the
slab was FLAT. Shimming your 2x1 grid may be alot of work (and I'd put
down 3/4" ply). I may just put a coat of poly on the chipboard tiles
and put down area rugs. I think it will look fine for a basement, and
it will be warmer and more pleasant to be down there.

Rob

dude wrote:
.......
...valve in the floor drain to prevent the sewer from backing up
into your basement. Cheaper than insurance."

What type of valve?

Check valve

dude wrote:
Hi Rob,
Could you please go into more detail on this:

"The drain guy that did mine told me to also
install a valve in the floor drain to prevent the sewer from backing up
into your basement. Cheaper than insurance."

What type of valve?

thanks
Steve



"Rob Mitchell" wrote in message
...

dude wrote:

Hello,
The floor is uneven and slopes toward a drain that i have my wash basin
attached to. I definitely have to get the floor even. My problem is the
basement is half finished by the previous owner and
i've been fixing up their screw-ups. It looks like the floor that they

have

has tar paper (yes tar paper) under neath it. Therefore
Iassume I need a type of vapour barrier. On top of the wood floor

they've

laid 3 different carpets. I just want to redo it all with laminate floor

or

maybe carpet. I plan on fastening them with concrete screws and then
screwing the plywood into the straps.
thanks

"dude" wrote in message
newsgroups.com...


Hello all, I am re-doing myu basement and am going to be putting down a

wood


floor and laminate flooring on top of it. I was going to strap the

concrete


floor with 2x1's and then 1/2 inch plywood on top. Should I put anything

on


the floor like a vapour barrier? How far should I space my 2x1's from

each

other? I was going to run them parralel to,one another about 12" apart..
Any help appreciated
Kudos
Steve

--






Dear 'Dude'

I have a similar uneven concrete floor, with far more grade in places
than necessary which makes my table saw and and other machines slant.
The basement is about 1500sqft. So far the cheapest and best solution
will be to hire someone to pour new concrete (through a small window
with road access thankfully) and reset the grade. Then part of the
floor (my shop, furnace, drain, storage) can stay concrete, and the
other section I will probably put 2x2' chipboard 'tiles' with a plastic
dimpled backing. They snap together, give you an air space, vapour
barrier and a way for water to run down the original concrete to the
drain (a requirement as others have pointed out.) You can easily put
additional drain openings in a couple of places to allow any water to
get down to the slab (and to the drain)

Also, before doing this, make sure your drain line is in good shape all
the way to the street. You wouldn't want to have to rip it all up if
your drain backs up. The drain guy that did mine told me to also
install a valve in the floor drain to prevent the sewer from backing up
into your basement. Cheaper than insurance.

I haven't done any laminate, but I've done 3000sqft of hardwood
upstairs. I wouldn't put a solid floor on a concrete slab unless the
slab was FLAT. Shimming your 2x1 grid may be alot of work (and I'd put
down 3/4" ply). I may just put a coat of poly on the chipboard tiles
and put down area rugs. I think it will look fine for a basement, and
it will be warmer and more pleasant to be down there.

Rob






Duane answered this below. Thanks Duane, as I didn't know what it was
called and was going to have to figure that out myself in a few days/weeks.

BTW, I had a really bad drain pipe, clay, that was infested with roots
from my beautiful maple tree. Rather than cutting down the tree and
digging up my lawn, I had a fibreglass liner installed in the pipe. I
was a bit skeptical at first, but the guy gave me references. One year
on, it has been perfect. I'm planning on having it camera'd again just
to check before I spend $$$ on the basement and install the check valve.

Rob