Damp Basement Flooring Options

15 years ago

Hi. I'm starting to explore options for our basement floor. We're refinishing our basement this summer. The existing basement has carpeting, which really needs to go. We've had a few occasions with water coming into the basement (seems to be when we get a lot of rain for several days and the water table may be high).

I'm thinking that ceramic or porcelain tiles are the way to go. However, my hubby thinks we also need some sort of vapor barrier or air gap membrane between the concrete slab and the tiles (both to prevent water from coming up and to keep the tiles from getting too cold). Is this necessary? How effective are products such as Superseal Tile Subfloor or any of those dimpled membrane products?

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Comments (7)

floorguy
15 years ago
Score the concrete with a diamond blade in a circular saw saw shallow, to look like tile grout lines. Then acid stain the concrete. www.acidstain.com or look at www.scofield.com
Check out the galleries.

It really isn't hard to do.

Then some remnant carpets for area rugs.
tam18420
Original Author
15 years ago
That might not work. We had to pull up half the carpet due to water damage. Under the carpet, there are solid vinyl tiles (I think that's what they are) that are mostly broken. The concrete floor under these broken tiles are not smooth at all.
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organic_nick
15 years ago
what size are the tiles ?
what color is the glue residue on the concrete ?
You need to address the water problem first .
tam18420
Original Author
15 years ago
organic nick - The tiles are 9" square and the glue residue is black. What does this mean? Any thoughts on any waterproofing methods to use?

gordansmith - "When properly sealed, ceramic tile floors can hold up well to moisture exposure". => What is meant by properly sealed? Would that be a vapor barrier under the tiles and thinset?
organic_nick
15 years ago
Tam , You more then likely have Asbestos Tile .
The black adhesive is a cut back adhesive used in the seventies for tile which also has asbestos in it .
It was used as a binder in the glue .
That needs to be properly addressed first .
fourtogo
15 years ago
Hello, we are currently going through much of the same. We have a 70s' tri-level with lower level family room that had carpet until the rain seepage ruined it. After installing a second sump pump in the crawl space, we ripped up carpet and soaked pad along with the lovely orange tiles below. We've decided to replace carpet with 18x18 ceramic tiles, although we were also looking at a product called duraceramic which is warmer on the feet because only the top layer is ceramic. It also has acrylic grout instead of sanded which is easier to keep clean. They also make this in a wood look. It's a little cheaper than ceramic but my husband said if we want ceramic we should buy the real thing. I asked the friend we're buying new ceramic from if we could have had asbestos. He said if the tiles were smaller than 12x12 they probably were, but ours weren't. Good Luck!
organic_nick
15 years ago
I put the duraceramic in a weekly rental down Alantic City about seven years ago .
Have to go back and replace the carpet every year .
But the duraceramic still looks new .