Author Topic: Basement Carpet  (Read 5251 times)

MasterStache

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Basement Carpet
« on: March 08, 2016, 05:57:38 AM »
In the process of (re)finishing my basement. We had a huge flood last spring in the basement, which was finished, but quite poorly. I was planning to tear down and redo anyways. The great basement flood just accelerated the process.

I put in new drainage and a new retaining wall in the backyard. I put in several dry creek beds as well to divert water away from the house. Since then we had one time where a tiny bit of water came into the basement. This was about 5-6 months ago. Not sure why as it didn't rain much. Since then we have had torrential downpours sometimes for hours and days, and nothing. Basement is dry as a bone. I still need to put covers on the basement window wells and am planning to install a paver patio, which should further help divert water away from house in the back. Oh and we had new gutter and downspouts installed.

I am about done with drywall and am looking at basement carpet options. My worry is that possibly at some point in the near or far future if by some chance a tiny bit of water makes it's way in, it will ruin the carpet. Or at least a small section of carpet. Is there any sort of underlayment I could/should use under the carpet padding that might help keep the carpet even just slightly off the floor? Perhaps it's a dumb question. Perhaps my unfounded fear is just getting the best of me. Thoughts?

GuitarStv

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Re: Basement Carpet
« Reply #1 on: March 08, 2016, 06:11:04 AM »
It's best to put carpet on a raised subfloor in a basement.  That means moisture barrier with sleepers and plywood, or a product like dri-core.  If you're just planning on laying carpet on concrete, (or carpet on padding on concrete) it will get mold and musty smells within a few years.

Doing it properly takes more time, and is more expensive.  It's worth it though.

MasterStache

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Re: Basement Carpet
« Reply #2 on: March 08, 2016, 06:15:55 AM »
It's best to put carpet on a raised subfloor in a basement.  That means moisture barrier with sleepers and plywood, or a product like dri-core.  If you're just planning on laying carpet on concrete, (or carpet on padding on concrete) it will get mold and musty smells within a few years.

Doing it properly takes more time, and is more expensive.  It's worth it though.

Thanks I will certainly look into that. I would actually prefer a bit of a raised floor. I tiled part of the basement as the garage leads into the basement and I figured carpet would get really nasty and dirty. But I had to level the floor first so I have a bit of a raised section where the carpet will meet the tile.

I will say the floor is somewhat uneven where we plan to put the carpet. We actually wouldn't have known that if it weren't for the water pooling in certain areas when the flood occurred. I am not sure how that would affect any underlayment system. 
« Last Edit: March 08, 2016, 06:23:59 AM by BeginnerStache »

Fishindude

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Re: Basement Carpet
« Reply #3 on: March 08, 2016, 06:16:10 AM »
Not a fan of carpet in a basement.
I would want a hard surface such as; tile, ceramic, quarry, vinyl, epoxy coating on concrete, or just plain concrete.   Just use large throw rugs or carpet remnants in areas where kids might play on the floor, you might lay on floor, etc.

MasterStache

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Re: Basement Carpet
« Reply #4 on: March 08, 2016, 06:19:44 AM »
Not a fan of carpet in a basement.
I would want a hard surface such as; tile, ceramic, quarry, vinyl, epoxy coating on concrete, or just plain concrete.   Just use large throw rugs or carpet remnants in areas where kids might play on the floor, you might lay on floor, etc.

Thanks for the feedback. We had carpet in the basement of our previous house. It was really nice, especially for the kids. No issues with it over many years. It will mostly be used as  a kids playroom so I would certainly prefer a softer floor material. 

Ottawa

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Re: Basement Carpet
« Reply #5 on: March 08, 2016, 06:33:27 AM »
Hey there,

As someone who just contemplated the same dilemma, we decided on the non-carpet route.  Carpet is not a long-term viable option for below-grade circumstances. 

If you have a fairly level concrete slab you could consider polished concrete.  Then, you can throw an area rug down if you want.

Just for fun we got a carpet quote = $2,700 for over 300sqft. 
The price for polished concrete was $2,800.

As a mustachian, one should always consider the long term cost.  I like to compare the carpet/concrete to shingles/steel roof in terms of a value proposition.

Just google images "Polished Concrete"

Ours looked a bit like this:


Most basement slabs have cracks in them.  Ours did, and they repair it like this:





Midwest

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Re: Basement Carpet
« Reply #6 on: March 08, 2016, 06:38:13 AM »
It's best to put carpet on a raised subfloor in a basement.  That means moisture barrier with sleepers and plywood, or a product like dri-core.  If you're just planning on laying carpet on concrete, (or carpet on padding on concrete) it will get mold and musty smells within a few years.

Doing it properly takes more time, and is more expensive.  It's worth it though.

+1 for Dricore.  We had a sump pump fail.  Water ran run the dricore while I fixed sump pump.  No damage.  Please note, dricore works great for small amounts of water not for floods that cover it.

MasterStache

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Re: Basement Carpet
« Reply #7 on: March 08, 2016, 06:41:10 AM »
Hey there,

As someone who just contemplated the same dilemma, we decided on the non-carpet route.  Carpet is not a long-term viable option for below-grade circumstances. 

If you have a fairly level concrete slab you could consider polished concrete.  Then, you can throw an area rug down if you want.

Just for fun we got a carpet quote = $2,700 for over 300sqft. 
The price for polished concrete was $2,800.

As a mustachian, one should always consider the long term cost.  I like to compare the carpet/concrete to shingles/steel roof in terms of a value proposition.

Just google images "Polished Concrete"

Ours looked a bit like this:


Most basement slabs have cracks in them.  Ours did, and they repair it like this:


That looks really nice!!

lakemom

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Re: Basement Carpet
« Reply #8 on: March 08, 2016, 06:55:35 AM »
You could check into carpet squares.  I think some of the big box stores sell them and they come in commercial grade as well.  Then IF a flood (or kids) ruins a spot you only need replace 1 ( or a few) squares.  I'd buy an extra box to have on hand for repairs just to be on the safe side.

MasterStache

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Re: Basement Carpet
« Reply #9 on: March 08, 2016, 06:56:01 AM »
It's best to put carpet on a raised subfloor in a basement.  That means moisture barrier with sleepers and plywood, or a product like dri-core.  If you're just planning on laying carpet on concrete, (or carpet on padding on concrete) it will get mold and musty smells within a few years.

Doing it properly takes more time, and is more expensive.  It's worth it though.

+1 for Dricore.  We had a sump pump fail.  Water ran run the dricore while I fixed sump pump.  No damage.  Please note, dricore works great for small amounts of water not for floods that cover it.

I am looking into the DRIcore and that looks like it might be the way to go. It might even bring the carpet level even with the tile, or close to it. Perhaps a win win. Thanks for your input.

MudDuck

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Re: Basement Carpet
« Reply #10 on: March 08, 2016, 07:13:47 AM »
+1 for carpet squares. flor.com has clearance + 20% off occasionally, so they're not terribly expensive if you go that route.

lthenderson

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Re: Basement Carpet
« Reply #11 on: March 08, 2016, 07:30:28 AM »
I don't like carpet in basements but the wife insisted and a happy wife is a happy life so we went with carpet tile. It has a rubberized backing so it doesn't act like a sponge as padding under carpet would. It could easily be pulled up if it got wet, dried and put back down. I also like the fact that if someone spills wine on it, I rip up the square, grab another one out of the box and it is back to new again.

big_owl

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Re: Basement Carpet
« Reply #12 on: March 08, 2016, 10:35:37 AM »
It's best to put carpet on a raised subfloor in a basement.  That means moisture barrier with sleepers and plywood, or a product like dri-core.  If you're just planning on laying carpet on concrete, (or carpet on padding on concrete) it will get mold and musty smells within a few years.

Doing it properly takes more time, and is more expensive.  It's worth it though.

+1 for Dricore.  We had a sump pump fail.  Water ran run the dricore while I fixed sump pump.  No damage.  Please note, dricore works great for small amounts of water not for floods that cover it.

I am looking into the DRIcore and that looks like it might be the way to go. It might even bring the carpet level even with the tile, or close to it. Perhaps a win win. Thanks for your input.


Huge endorsement for DriCore from us.  We had some pics of our install in this thread:

http://forum.mrmoneymustache.com/share-your-badassity/from-zero-to-million-dollar-basement-(diy)/

We put carpet on top of ours in the gym area of our basement, but honestly I love the engineered hardwood floor option.  Heck we even put a whole bunch of tile on top of it (also all in the thread).


dess1313

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Re: Basement Carpet
« Reply #13 on: March 08, 2016, 02:35:31 PM »
I put this stuff in my basement

http://www.dricore.com/en/index.aspx

it acts as a sub floor and water drainage system in one.  even if there's a slight flood it only ever will touch the bottom of the plastic.  unless of course there's a foot of water then there's not much of anything you could put in for that.   you can also get level adjusters as well for those spots you need to fill.  i had a pretty bad area i fixed up with those.  i put the whole 14x16 room floor in by myself in less than one day.  you may need to anchor some spots for stability with tapcon screws.  i added a couple air registers like i had a normal floor for ventilation purposes

the stuff is fantastic.  the room was also way warmer when i was done too.  i put carpet in afterwards and works well

 

Wow, a phone plan for fifteen bucks!