Carpet installed in the basement (1 Viewer)

[Kevin_F]

I am going to be having my carpet installed in my basement next weekend and I was wondering those of you that have this, do you have padding installed?

My installer is recommending not to install padding because of the condensation that builds naturally in a basement. I am a little leery of this, I would rather have the padding get ruined then the carpet. Also, I will have a dehumidifier, so the condensation in the basement should be even lower. Currently, moisture is not a real problem, without the dehumidifier running.

 

[Michael Whitney]

Is the rug going directly on the concrete? Or do you have like a built up subfloor?

I have not done this yet. When I do, I will be putting down Dricore floor system panels to lift the carpet off the floor and lessen the possibility of condensation.

 

[kurtZoom]

I also plan to use the Dricore product. Mostly for insulation since I don't seem to have a moisture problem. Seems like a good product. I was told the cost is about $1.50 per square foot.

 

[Kevin_F]

There is no subfloor, except for the riser that I built.

 

[Andrew Stoakley]

Hi Kevin,

I have installed the Dri-Core product in my basement as a subfloor for my theatre. I then had my carpet installers use a 10oz underpad below my carpet. Since we live in similar regions of North America, I would assume you have humidity problems in the summer and snow runoff in the spring. Before I built my theatre I had carpet with underpad on bare concrete and it always felt damp.. even if I knew there were no moisture issues.

I would recommend spending the extra bucks and use a system like Dri-Core before laying down your carpet with underpad. It might be a little more money depending on the size of your room but the overall benefits of having it (increased bass response, increased floor temperature are just a few) are excellent!

Let me know if you have any other questions.

Cheers,
Andrew

 

[Michael Whitney]

I would look into something to raise the carpet off the concrete floor. Thats where people I see have their problem, Concrete is porous and it just wicks dampness into the rug.

The Dricore panels are around $5.00 each at Home Depot if I remember correctly and they are roughly 2 ft sq. It may make sense to get these. Depending on if you are carpeting entire basement, maybe not, or merely the theatre area only.

Another option to ask your carpet installer is using a product like "Drylock" which is a plasticized paint product that can be painted on to walls and most likely floors to stop water from penetrating. Not sure how that would work for you. Could help stop dampness from wicking through the concrete. I have it on my walls in my basement now, but not on a floor as of yet. I dont know what happens if it rewarms and its durability underfoot.

 

[Dan_J_H.]

Hi Kevin,

I put dricore in my HT which is still under construction. The panels were very easy to put down and even before the carpet is down, it feels a lot nicer to walk on than the hard concrete floor. The thickness of the dricore panels is only about 7/8".

Click on the link to view my dricore floor.

Good luck,

Dan

http://community.webshots.com/user/danjh38

 

[ChrisWiggles]

Our carpet went directly on concrete, we used commercial carpet, and we got the thickest pad we could, i think it's like half inch or something. We decided against going with products under the carpet, and our basement is bone dry, so I don't predict any moisture problems. Others probably would need to use some kind of product underneath though.

 

[MikeTC]

Check moisture by taping duct tapes on all sides of a 1'X 1' plastic on the floor for about a week. If moisture built up underneath you may have moisture problem and should look at products and methods mentioned above. If no moisture, I would recommend the densest and thickest padding you could afford. 10 lbs, 0.5 inches rebond padding is what I used in my basement. I have been in the carpet business for about 20 years.

Good luck.

 

[Kevin_F]

It is a full basement, almost 900 sgft of living space, with the exception of the carpet, it is near complete so the price of the dri-core is not an option. There is 'some'moisture in the air, which is why I will be running a dehumidifier all the time to get rid of what every moisture remains.

I have drylock on the walls currently and may look into putting it on the floor as well. I will probably do that as well as some thick padding.

 

[Dave Poehlman]

Definitely put in the padding. I'd seal it first too. Not only to avoid moisture but to also avoid concrete dust from making its way up through the carpeting. Drylok makes a floor paint.

 

[MikeTC]

Never have I see dust make its way through padding and carpet.

 

[Rick Thoms]

Both houses I have had, I've always put good thick underpad and have never felt dampness