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leveling basement floor (has drain in the middle of ‘dip’

hlechat | Posted in General Discussion on May 23, 2011 04:43am

Have a full basement, with a drain in the middle (house built in the 1920’s).

The floor slopes strongly to the drain. Which COULD be nice when I flush the hot water heater for the first time, but is terrible for putting in some walls for a laundry area. (The washer/dryer are pretty much in front of the drain).

 

What to do, what to do? 

    Build a fake floor over top of the drain, keep a trap door in case I need to get to the drain?

 

   Put some concrete on top, raise the drain to the new height?

 

This is a puzzler for this one, I tell ya.

 

End result, want to put down an floring, put up some walls and shelves, build a laundry area and generally improve the feel and usability of the space. Oh, and increase the value of the hosue for that splendid day when it goes on the market.

 

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  1. renosteinke | May 23, 2011 06:56pm | #1

    Well, there's no shortage of ideas here about remodelling a basement - and they contradict each other.  I'll sher with you my take on the matter.

    I had agreed completely with the method I first saw in an FHB article, until dealing with a flooded basement made me reconsider my assumptions.

    First, any basement floor needs to be levelled - not just one with a noticeable slope. Basement floors are not nearly as level as you would think - there are plenty of pockets that trap water. Remember, water can come from above as well as from below - or even condense from the air. So you'll still want it to tend to slope toward the drain (or sump), if ever so slightly. 

    There are a variety of products available that need but an eigth of an inch of thickness to be strong. I've worked with a gypsum product -'gypcrete'- that's not damaged by water at all, pours like water, levels as flat as you would like, and is as hard as rock when cured. Just leave a drain opening. I'm sure your local concrete contractor has a similar product.

    For covering the floor, I would choose something readily removed and porous. Face it: the basement WILL flood. Or, moisture WILL come up from below. You want to be able to roll up the wet pieces and let them dry in the sun.

    The other half of the moisture equation is ventilation. Most folks overlook this. A finished basement needs a generous supply of fresh air, and a good exhaust, to prevent excess humidity from encouraging that 'musty' smell.

    You'll notice that I did not mention anything about a layer of plastic, or sealing the floor. That's for a reason. I am against such a practice. Moisture WILL come up from the ground, and trapping it under the floor can lead to nothing good. That's why I would avoid any epoxy products. I would also avoid any permanent, or 'waterproof,' floor covering like linoleum. Area rugs, or a 'floating' cork or wood floor seem to be better options. The only place I'd use 'waterproof' materials are in the lowest foot of the walls.

  2. [email protected] | May 23, 2011 07:22pm | #2

    leave the drain alone.

    At some point you will have water that needs to drain out.  This need will occur when you don't expect from ground water seepage, or broken plumbing. 

    My sister didn't like the drain in her basement, (she thought it was letting in sewer gas), so she plugged it with a rubber test plug.  A few months later the hot water heater leaked.  If the drain had been working in the mechanical room there wouldn't have been a problem. 

    As it was, the whole basement flooded.  Took thousands to fix it, and more to replace the things she had stored down there.  She wasn't bright enough to wade in and remove the test plug before the insurance guys looked at it.  So, she was on the hook for the entire cost. 

    Frame the walls you need inplace, on a pressure treated sill, anchored into the slab every foot, on top of a couple of stainless steel or nylon washers, and put plastic base on, that is elevated about an eighth of an inch so water can flow to the drain. 

  3. DanH | May 23, 2011 08:31pm | #3

    You can always dig up the floor and move the drain.

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