Marmoleum flooring for basement?

18 years ago

I think the Marmoleum colors will be perfect for our basement playroom...that is, if Marmoleum can be installed in the basement at all! Anyone done this or have an opinion to share?

Featured Answer

throwingutah

18 years ago

Okay, help me find where it says explicitly not to use it below-grade. All I can find is:
"Do not install on wood subfloors built on sleepers over concrete, on grade or below grade" in the installation manual, and in the residential warranty info,
"installation of Marmoluem Click over concrete subfloor or radiant heated floors (unless a non-recycled (100% virgin) resin 6 mil. polyethylene film vapor barrier with a density of 0.92 lbs./cubic ft. and a thickness tolerance of +/-10% is installed over such concrete subfloor and that emits a water vapor no greater than 3 lbs. per 1000 sq. ft. within 24 hrs.);
Â· installation of Marmoleum sheet or tile flooring over gypsum cement underlayments, lightweight aggregate concrete or any concrete subfloor (unless installed over such concrete subfloor and that emits a water vapor no greater than 5 lbs. per 1000 sq. ft. within 24 hrs.)"
Nothing I found seems to specifically say "don't use it below grade," but that it needs to have a vapor barrier. I looked, really.

Comments (6)

throwingutah
18 years ago
I looked at it...all the descriptions say not to install on wood/sleepers below grade, but I hope it can be used with Dri-core subfloors since they have a moisture barrier.

Here is a link that might be useful: Marmoleum floors
enviro_home_ctr
18 years ago
Forbo specifically states that their Marmoleum is not to be installed below-grade. The issue is that moisture coming-up through the slab, or coming from an improperly-cured slab will cause the adhesive to fail.

This said, lots of people have installed Marmoleum in a basement. This basically means that their warranty is void, but the warranty mostly covers manufaturer's defects, which you would notice before installation anyway.

If you're going to install in your basement, first do some calcium chloride moisture tests, and compare with Forbo's installation instructions for moisture tolerances. If your basement is prone to leaks and/or floods, don't even bother.
longroadhome
Original Author
18 years ago
Thanks all, my hopes are still alive. Our basement is dry. How can I perform the calcium chloride test? Hope this isn't oversimplifying, but is there a place I can buy a kit? One thing I don't want to do is install a vapor barrier. We are following the philosophy of buildingscience.com.
throwingutah
18 years ago
Interesting site. Wouldn't dri-core flooring follow the philosophy, though? There's air space underneath the vapor barrier, and you're supposed to install it with vents every ten feet.
lisabryn
16 years ago
Ugh.. I've been reading all the past postings about basement floors.... Can anyone tell me:

What is the BEST option for a basemet floor if there is a risk of moisture under the house and/or flooding? We need to rip ours up and replace (currently Pergo) because we took in a lot of water recently and are getting french drains put in.

I'd love to know what we should do to protect our finished basement, so what needs to go down first, followed by, and then the best flooring. This is causing us so much worry, as we have home offices, bedrooms, play room in the basement.

THANKS!